GPS

The Tonga Volcanic Eruption Was So Powerful It Sent Ripples Out Into Space

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The ongoing volcanic eruption in Tonga began in December 2021, but it wasn’t until 5:15 pm local time on January 15, 2022, that the powerful explosion occurred. It generated an enormous cloud of ash, earthquakes, and tsunamis that reached as far as the distant coastlines of Peru on the other side of the Pacific.   … Read more

Satellite navigation: GPS software boost gives location to within 10 cm

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The software that allows smartphones to locate themselves is generally accurate only to within a few metres, but UK start-up Naurt claims its software can locate a device to within 20 centimetres Technology 4 January 2022 By David Hambling Satellite navigation software allows smartphones to determine their location Radoslav Zilinsky/Getty Images It is possible to … Read more

Australian wildlife: Reintroductions help threatened mammals recover

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Conservationists are reintroducing threatened mammals to their former ranges with fences to keep out cats and foxes Environment 29 December 2021 By Alice Klein A greater bilby scavenging at night cbstockfoto / Alamy Stock Photo Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate in the world, having lost 34 mammal species in the past 200 years. … Read more

GPS: US Navy is developing navigation based on cosmic rays for the Arctic

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At higher latitudes, traditional GPS navigation is not reliable, but muons produced when cosmic rays hit Earth’s atmosphere could be used to navigate in the Arctic, as well as underground or in the water Technology 7 December 2021 By David Hambling An artist’s representation of high-energy cosmic rays colliding with Earth MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Alamy … Read more