solar

Solar eclipse guide 2021: When, where & how to see them

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There are two partial solar eclipses in 2022. The first partial solar eclipse will occur on Apr. 30 and be visible from parts of South America, Antarctica, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Then on Oct. 25, another partial solar eclipse will be visible over Europe, western Asia and northeast Africa.  A solar eclipse occurs when the … Read more

Wild New Paper Suggests Earth’s Tectonic Activity Has an Unseen Source

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Earth is far from a solid mass of rock. The outer layer of our planet – known as the lithosphere – is made up of more than 20 tectonic plates; as these gargantuan slates glide about the face of the planet, we get the movement of continents, and interaction at the boundaries, not least of which is … Read more

Astronomers Detect Rare ‘Missing Link’ Black Hole in Our Closest Galactic Neighbor

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A rare treasure that could shed light on the evolution of black holes has been discovered in the Milky Way’s closest large galactic neighbor. In a cluster of stars in the Andromeda galaxy, aka M31, astronomers studied changes in light to identify a black hole clocking in at almost 100,000 times the mass of the … Read more

The World’s Massive Need For More Solar Panels Has One Shiny Catch

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There’s a major catch to the world’s need for solar panels, a new analysis suggests. The booming solar panel market – which is critical for a clean energy future – could demand close to half the world’s aluminum by 2050. Thankfully, there are ways we can mitigate this.    Unlike more precious metals, such as … Read more

Two Solar Flares Just Erupted on The Sun, Bringing Coronal Mass Ejections

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After a series of eruptions on the Sun, Earth may be in for auroras over the next few days. A sunspot called AR2929 has emitted two solar flares, accompanied by coronal mass ejections. Although neither was directed at Earth, the ejections that are currently blasting through space may deliver glancing blows to our planet’s atmosphere that … Read more

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Drilled Holes Into Mars, And Found Something Very Strange

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As it’s the foundation for all life on Earth, discovering carbon on other planets always gets scientists excited – and the Curiosity Rover on Mars has found an unusual mix of the chemical element that could hypothetically point to the existence of alien life.   That’s by no means certain, but it’s a possibility. It’s … Read more

Dimming The Sun Is a Dangerous Gamble And Should Be Banned, Scientists Warn

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Planetary-scale engineering schemes designed to cool Earth’s surface and lessen the impact of global heating are potentially dangerous and should be blocked by governments, more than 60 policy experts and scientists said on Monday.   Even if injecting billions of sulphur particles into the middle atmosphere – the most hotly debated plan for so-called solar radiation … Read more

Solar Power Could Boom in 2022, Depending on Supply Chains

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2022 is shaping up to be a solar boom. That is, if supply chain constraints don’t undercut the industry. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects U.S. solar companies will install 21.5 gigawatts of utility-scale capacity this year, shattering the annual record of 15.5 GW set last year. But EIA’s projection comes amid a period of considerable uncertainty … Read more

Astronomers Detect Water Vapor in The Atmosphere of a ‘Super Neptune’ Exoplanet

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New Year’s Day comes around once every 47.5 hours on the roughly Neptune-sized exoplanet TOI 674b, which makes it something of a rare creature.  In spite of years of hunting, surprisingly few middle-sized gas giants have ever been seen with orbits shorter than a few days in length, creating what astronomers refer to as a … Read more