earth

Planet Earth Contains Over 9,000 Tree Species Yet to Be Discovered, Scientists Say

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An ambitious, first-of-its-kind effort to estimate how many different kinds of trees exist on Earth suggests our planet is teeming with thousands of tree species that still haven’t been discovered.   The huge international research effort – involving the work of over 100 scientists – estimates that there are approximately 73,000 tree species in total … Read more

North Korean missile test captures photos of Earth from space: report

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North Korea has launched yet another missile, in what appears to be the nation’s biggest such test in more than four years. North Korea conducted a test launch of its Hwasong 12 intermediate-range ballistic missile on Sunday (Jan. 30), continuing a very busy January for the rogue nation. And the vehicle managed to snap some … Read more

Ancient solar storm smashed Earth at the wrong part of the sun’s cycle — and scientists are concerned

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An extremely powerful solar storm pummeled our planet 9,200 years ago, leaving permanent scars on the ice buried deep below Greenland and Antarctica. A new study of those ancient ice samples has found that this previously unknown storm is one of the strongest outbursts of solar weather ever detected and would have crippled modern communications systems … Read more

The Atmosphere of This Extreme Exoplanet Has an Intriguing Similarity to Earth

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Astronomers have just peered into the atmosphere of one of the most extreme exoplanets ever discovered. Although it’s absolutely not habitable (at least as we understand it), the exoplanet WASP-189b is the first in which scientists have been able to probe distinct atmospheric layers, each with their own chemical compositions and characteristics.   “In the … Read more

Birds Use Earth’s Magnetic Field For ‘Stop Signs’ When They Migrate

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Thanks to a combination of sensing the Earth’s magnetic field through vision and an in-built compass that allows them to orient themselves according to magnetic intensity, migratory birds don’t have much trouble finding their way.   Those biological gadgets, known as magnetoreception, allow birds to not only know which direction to head in on their first outbound migration but … Read more

This Extremely Toxic Lake Could Show Us How Life May Have Survived on Mars

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The search for life on Mars is not an easy one. Not only is the red planet difficult to get to, it’s deeply inhospitable to life as we know it. However, there are places on Earth that could show us how life may have been able to survive on Mars – if not now, then … Read more

Titan Comics transforms David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’ into a new graphic novel

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“The Man Who Fell To Earth” is legendary British director Nicolas Roeg’s classic 1976 alien encounter film starring rock megastar David Bowie, and to this day it stands as a milestone achievement in sci-fi filmmaking.  With its fascinating portrayal of a gentle extraterrestrial visiting Earth to retrieve water for his perishing planet, it’s a scathing … Read more

Signs of an Unknown Solar ‘Tsunami’ Have Been Discovered Deep Inside Earth’s Ice

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Deep beneath the ice in Greenland and Antarctica, researchers have found signs of an enormous solar ‘tsunami‘ that once crashed against Earth’s atmosphere more than 9,000 years ago.   This ancient superstorm was triggered by a wave of hot plasma and magnetism from the Sun, and it is significantly larger than anything we have recorded … Read more

Bird navigation: Slope of Earth’s magnetic field may be ‘stop sign’ for migrating species

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Eurasian reed warblers migrate to sub-Saharan Africa each year – and they seem to use the slope of Earth’s magnetic field to judge when they have reached their European breeding grounds Life 27 January 2022 By Alex Wilkins A Eurasian reed warbler Shutterstock / Rafal Szozda Some birds rely on Earth’s magnetic field to navigate and … Read more