The Moon Hasn't Been This Close in Almost 69 Years On Monday (Nov. 14) at 6:15 a.m. EST, the moon will arrive at its closest point to the Earth in 2016: a distance of 221,524 miles (356,508 kilometers) away. This distance, which is measured from the center of the Earth to the center of the moon, is within 85 miles (137 km) of the moon's closest possible approach to Earth; to be sure, this is an extreme perigee. Two hours and 37 minutes after perigee (the moon's closest point to Earth), the orb will officially turn full. In recent years, the media has branded full moons that coincide with perigee as "supermoons," and this month's full moon will likely get a lot of extra attention since it will be the closest since Jan. 26, 1948. The Slooh Community Observatory will offer a live broadcast for November's full moon on Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. So be prepared. The full moon won't approach this close again until November 2034, although there were even closer full moons in January 1912 and January 1930. Remember?
Pollution de l'eau : eutrophisation des écosystèmes aquatiques L'eutrophisation est le phénomène d'asphyxie des écosystèmes aquatiques résultant de la prolifération d'algues, qui consomment tout l'oxygène nécessaire à la vie de l'écosystème. Ce phénomène résulte d'un apport trop riche de substances nutritives dans la rivière ou dans le lac concerné. Cette pollution de l'eau est principalement due au phosphore (contenu dans les phosphates, présents dans les lessives notamment) et à l'azote (contenu dans l'ammonium et les nitrates présents dans les engrais). Les algues qui se développent grâce à ces substances nutritives absorbent de grandes quantités d'oxygène lorsqu'elles meurent et se décomposent. Leur prolifération provoque l'appauvrissement, puis la mort de l'écosystème aquatique présent : il ne bénéficie plus de l'oxygène nécessaire pour vivre. Ce phénomène s'intensifie avec la profondeur du lac ou de la rivière, notamment des lacs profonds qui sont naturellement peu oxygénés.
Imgur user shows map of every river basin in the US A stunning new map shows the complex network of rivers and streams in the contiguous United States. Created by Imgur user Fejetlenfej, a geographer and GIS analyst with a ‘lifelong passion for beautiful maps,’ it highlights the massive expanse of river basins across the country – in particular, those which feed the Mississippi River. The map visualizes Strahler Stream Order Classification, the creator explains, with higher stream orders indicated as thicker lines. Scroll down for video Created by Imgur user Fejetlenfej , a geographer and GIS analyst with a ‘lifelong passion for beautiful maps,’ it highlights the massive expanse of river basins across the country – in particular, those which feed the Mississippi River, in pink It was created using the open-source QGIS software, and the high resolution prints are available on Etsy. The top left portion of the map shows much of the Pacific Northwest basin, illustrated in a brownish-orange color. Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% MinimizeExpandClose 1.) 2.)
Massive ‘anomaly’ lurks beneath ice in Antarctica SCIENTISTS believe a massive object which could change our understanding of history is hidden beneath the Antarctic ice. The huge and mysterious “anomaly” is thought to be lurking beneath the frozen wastes of an area called Wilkes Land. It stretches for a distance of 151 miles across and has a maximum depth of about 848 metres. Some researchers believe it is the remains of a truly massive asteroid which was more than twice the size of the Chicxulub space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs. If this explanation is true, it could mean this killer asteroid caused the Permian–Triassic extinction event which killed 96 percent of Earth’s sea creatures and up to 70 percent of the vertebrate organisms living on land. However, the wilder minds of the internet have come up with their own theories, with some conspiracy theorists claiming it could be a massive UFO base or a portal to a mysterious underworld called the Hollow Earth. “This continent has been shrouded in a mystery of its own for years now.”
Natural Brexit: Britain's original separation from Europe left scars on English Channel As it turns out, Brexit was not the first time Britain has separated from the European mainland. Scientists say that England and France were once connected by a ridge of land, until powerful waterfalls from an overfull lake demolished their connection. The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, help shed light on the emergence of Britain as an island, and on the changes this separation wrought in the greater region’s climate, ecology and human history. “The opening of the Strait has significance for the biogeography and archaeology of NW Europe, with particular attention on the pattern of early human colonization of Britain,” the study authors wrote. Some 450,000 years ago, Europe was a very different place. Glaciers covering the North Sea locked up much of the world’s water, leaving sea levels much lower than they are today. The debate over how the dry tundra turned into a wide waterway has dogged scientists for decades. See the most-read stories in Science this hour »
How North America got its shape - Peter J. Haproff Want to learn more about North America’s geologic history and plate tectonics? Talk to a geologist! Visit our UCLA Tectonics and Structural Geology group site and check out ongoing research and published papers on the Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau, and even Mars. You can find excellent figures and explanations of North American plate tectonics from the U.S. Want to learn more about the San Andreas fault and other active faults right in our backyard? North America's range of national parks offers many opportunities for visitors to see these geographical and geological formations in person.
Mysterious signal from deep space goes hyperactive - CNET The unexplained signals from the other side of the universe known as fast radio bursts are a rarely observed phenomenon and only one of them has been picked up more than once. Now scientists engaged in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence say that lone repeating fast radio burst (FRB) is being heard twittering away. FRBs are bright, millisecond-long pulses of radio signals from beyond the Milky Way that were first identified only a decade ago. Suggested explanations include everything from neutron star outbursts to alien civilizations using some form of directed energy to propel a spacecraft. One burst first observed in 2012, named FRB 121102, was later found to repeat in 2015. On Saturday, UC Berkeley postdoctoral researcher Dr. "The possible implications are two folds," Gajjar told me via email Tuesday. Whatever or whoever sent out the bright radio bursts, they left their source a very long time ago when the only life here on Earth was single-celled.
NASA just saw something come out of a black hole for the first time ever Wed, Nov 04, 2015 12:03pm You don’t have to know a whole lot about science to know that black holes typically suck things in, not spew things out. But NASA just spotted something mighty strange at the supermassive black hole Markarian 335. Two of NASA’s space telescopes, including the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), miraculously observed a black hole’s corona “launched” away from the supermassive black hole. Then a massive pulse of X-ray energy spewed out. So, what exactly happened? “This is the first time we have been able to link the launching of the corona to a flare,” Dan Wilkins, of Saint Mary’s University, said. NuSTAR’s principal investigator, Fiona Harrison, noted that the nature of the energetic source is “mysterious,” but added that the ability to actually record the event should provide some clues about the black hole's size and structure, along with (hopefully) some fresh intel on how black holes function. (Via Viral Thread)
Orionid meteor shower 2017: When is it & how to watch it Look up at the night sky this weekend and you’ll find a dazzling sight: The Orionid meteor shower, which will be at peak visibility over the next few days. According to NASA, the meteor shower — made up of debris from Halley’s Comet — will be most visible the night of Oct. 21 and the following morning. It’s an annual phenomenon, as the Orionid meteor shower becomes most visible every year in mid-October, when the Earth passes through the debris. Named because they appear to originate from the Orion constellation, the Orionids will be the brightest at 2 a.m. on both Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com. The shower will last from Oct. 2 to Nov. 26, according to AOL. It’ll be an amazing sight, as the brightness of Orionid meteors is rarely rivaled, according to Business Insider. And it doesn’t matter where you are, Newsweek reported, as the meteor shower will be visible from any place on earth. “Come prepared with a sleeping bag, blanket or lawn chair,” NASA wrote.
Scientists have created a single chart that illustrates the circle of life with every known species on Earth In 1582, Richard Mulcaster, headmaster of the Merchant Tailors’ school, wrote that “our English tung is of small reatch, it stretcheth no further than this Iland of ours.” It didn’t stay that way. Today, English is spoken by more than a billion people all over the world. It is a colorful, vibrant, and diverse tongue that long has picked up words from the many languages with which its speakers have come into contact. “English” The English language originates in the dialects spoken by the early Germanic tribes—the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—who began to settle Britain following the departure of the Romans in the fifth century AD. Its ultimate origin is the Latin Angli—“the people of Angul”—the name given to an area of northern Germany (now Schleswig-Holstein) where the tribe originated. When Pope Gregory the Great (590-604 AD) encountered a group of young Angles at a Roman slave market, he remarked that they looked more like angeli—“angels”—than Angli, prompting him to send St. “Beef” “Tea”
Scott Kelly Spent a Year in Space—Find Out How Hard It Was By Simon Worrall What does it feel like to blast off from Earth in a rocket, knowing that you will not see your family, feel the wind on your face, or taste fresh-cooked food for a whole year? Scott Kelly, the first NASA astronaut to spend close to a year on the International Space Station (ISS), describes how strange it was in Endurance, his new book. When National Geographic caught up with Kelly by phone in Las Vegas, he explained how a chance encounter with a book set him on his course to the stars, why he believes we are already capable of traveling to Mars, and how he coped in space after hearing the news that his twin brother’s wife, Gabby Giffords, had been shot. There’s an amazing moment in your book, Scott, when you lose your orientation in the dark during a spacewalk. I was on my second spacewalk. I started heading to the work site on the other side of the truss, an area I wasn’t familiar with, and I got completely lost in space and disoriented, and turned upside down.