winter

The Worm Moon will shine before dawn Friday. It’s the last full moon of winter 2022.

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The full moon of March will reach its peak Friday (March 18), just two days before the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It is, therefore, no surprise that many of the traditional names associated with the March moon have to do with springtime and the infamous storms of March. The most famous one … Read more

Arctic Ice Already Thinning at a ‘Frightening Rate’, Satellites Reveal

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New satellite data has revealed the Arctic is melting at a “frightening rate” due to the excess heat caused by human greenhouse gas emissions.  End-of-season Arctic multiyear sea ice – the ice that persists over several years – was roughly 50 centimeters (1.6 feet) thinner in 2021 than it was in 2019, the figures show, … Read more

On the Great Lakes, scientists are making a ‘Winter Grab’ of rare data | Science

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GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN—On a brutally cold day here earlier this week, Kirill Shchapov stood 200 meters off the shore of Lake Michigan, using a green auger to drill into a glistening ice sheet that stretched to the horizon. A fountain of water erupted when he yanked the auger from the hole. But soon Shchapov, a … Read more

Winter Olympic Sites Are Melting Away because of Climate Crisis

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The number of places on Earth with the right combination of natural climate and geography for the Olympic Winter Games is already inherently limited. But as global temperatures rise from the burning of fossil fuels, the list is narrowing further. Factoring in the specific conditions that world-class skiers and snowboarders need to safely land tricks … Read more

When is the midpoint of winter?

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Every year on Feb. 2, the U.S. mainstream media focuses its attention on the little community of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to see if a groundhog named Phil, emerging from his burrow on Gobblers Knob, will either see his shadow (meaning winter will persist for six more weeks) or does not see his shadow (foretelling an early … Read more

Winter Olympics 2022: See China’s stadiums from space in these snowy satellite photos

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Beijing National Stadium and Blue Cube (Image credit: MAXAR) The Winter Olympics of 2022 are here and Maxar Technologies has released satellite images revealing what many of the venues in Beijing and around China look like from space.  The winter games are taking place in Beijing, the same host city as the 2008 Summer Olympics. … Read more

February new moon 2022: The moon swings by Jupiter while winter constellations shine

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The new moon occurs Tuesday (Feb. 1), at 12:46 a.m. EST (0546 GMT), a day before the moon makes a close approach to the planet Jupiter in the night sky.  New moons occur when the sun and moon share the same celestial longitude, a projection of the Earth’s own longitude lines on the celestial sphere. … Read more

Covid-19 news: 119 people test positive at Beijing Winter Olympics

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By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu and Layal Liverpool A police officer stands guard inside the closed-loop bubble to protect against the spread of covid-19 at the Beijing Winter Olympics Kevin Frayer/Getty Images Latest coronavirus news as of 12.30pm on 31 January … Read more

How Gut Microbe Symbiosis Helps Squirrels Keep Their Muscles During Hibernation

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Ground squirrels spend the end of summer gorging on food, preparing for hibernation. They need to store a lot of energy as fat, which becomes their primary fuel source underground in their hibernation burrows all winter long.   While hibernating, ground squirrels enter a state called torpor. Their metabolism drops to as low as just … Read more