NASA Says Tonga Eruption Sent Up Highest Ash Plumes Ever Captured by Satellite

When a volcano in Tonga erupted on January 15, it gave satellites their first glimpse at a plume of volcanic ash shooting into the mesosphere, the third layer of Earth’s atmosphere.   According to NASA, the Tonga event was the largest volcanic eruption since satellites began monitoring our planet. As the Pacific volcano shot a burst of ash … Read more

SpaceX is planning its highest Dragon flight yet with a private crew

By Leah Crane Anna Menon, Scott Poteet, Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis Polaris Program SpaceX has announced a new project aiming to take its Dragon spacecraft higher than ever before. The first flight of this programme, called Polaris Dawn, is scheduled for the end of 2022. Jared Isaacman, the billionaire businessman who sponsored and flew … Read more

Mt. Everest’s highest glacier lost 2,000 years worth of ice since the 1990s

Even the glaciers on Mount Everest are not safe from climate change, new research suggests.  In a record-setting study, a team of scientists scaled the world’s highest peak to monitor the mountain’s highest-altitude glacier — the South Col Glacier, standing nearly 26,000 feet (8,000 meters) above sea level — for signs of climate-related ice loss. … Read more

Everest’s Highest Glacier Lost 2,000 Years of Ice in Just 25 Years, Says New Study

The climate crisis enveloping Earth impacts the lowest depths of the sea and the most remote parts of the planet. And new research shows that it’s also causing change at the highest points of the world.   Scientists studying South Col – Mount Everest’s highest glacier – have reported that rapid ice loss is occurring … Read more