The Eta Aquarid meteor shower, remnants of Halley’s comet, peaks this weekend, and with just a waning crescent moon in the sky, it should be visible. The Eta Aquarids occur every year in early May, with this year’s peak activity happening early Sunday and an expected 10 to 30 meteors visible per hour. Meteor showers … Read more
China on Friday launched a lunar probe to land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights into differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side. It is the latest advance in China’s increasingly sophisticated space exploration program, which is now competing with the U.S., still … Read more
An orangutan appeared to treat a wound with medicine from a tropical plant — the latest example of how some animals attempt to soothe their own ills with remedies found in the wild, scientists reported Thursday. Scientists observed Rakus, a wild male Sumatran orangutan in Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia, pluck and chew up leaves … Read more
A lab in a Dutch zoo has presented special corals that bred themselves and nestled them in Europe’s largest coral reef. The corals are part of a project by the World Coral Conservatory. The project aims to create a bank of corals in aquariums across Europe. Just like the animals on Noah’s Ark, the corals … Read more
NASA and Voyager 1 are communicating back and forth again, after the most distant human-made object in space stopped sending usable data back to the space agency nearly five months ago. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Voyager 1, which is more than 15 billion miles away from Earth, stopped sending readable data back to scientists … Read more
Cape Cod, Massachusetts-based marine scientists successfully attached a camera tag to a great white shark in waters off the southeastern portion of the U.S. for just the second time. Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC) scientist Megan Winton and charter boat Capt. Chip Michalove of Outcast Sportfishing were both working off the coast of South Carolina, … Read more
Japan’s first moon lander has survived a third freezing lunar night, Japan’s space agency said Wednesday after receiving an image from the device three months after it landed on the moon. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said the lunar probe responded to a signal from the earth Tuesday night, confirming it has survived another weekslong … Read more
A recent study suggests that deep-sea corals from 540 million years ago might have been the first animals to glow. Marine creatures use light for various purposes, such as startling predators, luring prey and finding mates. Soft coral species in the deep sea exhibit bioluminescence, which researchers studied using remote-controlled underwater rovers. Many animals can … Read more
A new color-coded heat warning system was introduced by the National Weather Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Earth Day. Magenta represents the highest threat level, indicating rare and prolonged extreme heat without overnight relief, surpassing the previously used red category. Thresholds for the categories are determined based on scientific data … Read more
The earthquake that struck the East Coast earlier this month was felt by an estimated 42 million people and luckily caused little damage, but what are the chances of a bigger, more powerful quake striking the area? And if it does, what could it look like — and are we prepared? The April 5 phenomenon … Read more