drives

Venus’ extreme surface heat drives swirling winds in upper atmosphere, study finds

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The surface of Venus, as imaged by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft. (Image credit: NASA/JPL) Scientists have shown how the swirling winds and searing heat on Venus work together in a revealing new study. The surface of Venus is hot enough to melt lead with temperatures averaging 872 degrees Fahrenheit (467 degrees Celsius). This extreme heat is … Read more

How Targeted Advertising on Social Media Drives People to Extremes

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The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Have you had the experience of looking at some product online and then seeing ads for it all over your social media feed? Far from coincidence, these instances of eerily accurate advertising provide glimpses into the behind-the-scenes mechanisms … Read more

Juno solves mystery of what drives Jupiter’s polar cyclones

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Giant cyclones around the poles of the solar system’s largest planet are generated by the same forces that move water in Earth’s oceans, a new study has found.  Jupiter’s gargantuan polar cyclones, which are up to 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) across, were first spotted in 2016 by NASA’s probe Juno. Since then, scientists have speculated … Read more