Local News

NASA’s plan to nudge an asteroid
In the sci-fi movie Armageddon, astronauts intercept a killer asteroid heading for Earth, saving mankind. NASA is taking the first step to develop the technology to do just that, by planning a mission to slightly alter an asteroid's orbit. The ...

Grasses’ growing role for American cars
Second-generation biofuel made from natural grass species challenges ethanol derived from maize crops as the US seeks to reduce its fossil fuel use. LONDON, January, 2016 – In tomorrow’s world, it won’t be just the corn on the great American ...

Hailstone – Lack of hail causes concern
What is hail or a hailstone? Hail is a form of precipitation that occurs when updrafts in thunderstorms carry raindrops upward into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere where they freeze into balls of ice. Hail can damage aircraft, homes ...

Rising Temperatures Kick-Start Subarctic Farming In Alaska
We've heard a lot about the negative effects of climate change in the arctic and subarctic. But some Alaskans, like farmer Tim Meyers, are seeing warming temperatures as an opportunity. Now that potato harvest is underway at his Bethel farm, ...

The plastic in your fish
Scientists have long suspected that waste dumped into the ocean would ultimately find its way into the seafood that ends up on dinner tables. A new study provides evidence that this is more than just a theory. After analyzing fish ...

The Arctic’s ozone hole
The ozone layer over the Arctic Circle developed a giant hole this winter, scientists say. Over the North Pole, 40 percent of the ozone layer has disappeared—a record seasonal loss. Ozone high in the atmosphere shields the Earth from harmful ...

Renewables offer quick fix for US emissions
The US could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation by 80% below 1990 levels within 15 years just by using renewable sources such as wind and solar energy, according to a former government research chief. The nation could do ...

Climate deal unveiled in Paris, a ‘historic turning point’
Global climate envoys agreed a landmark accord on Saturday, setting the course for a "historic" transformation of the world's fossil fuel-driven economy within decades in a bid to arrest global warming. At the tail end of the hottest year on ...

Starburst galaxy sheds light on longstanding cosmic mystery
Scientists from the University of Delaware's Bartol Research Institute in the Department of Physics and Astronomy have discovered very-high-energy gamma rays in the Cigar Galaxy (M82), a bright galaxy filled with exploding stars 12 million light years from Earth. The ...

Ghostly Particles from Outer Space Detected in Antarctica
Buried deep in the Antarctic ice, an observatory has spotted ghostly, nearly massless particles coming from inside our galaxy and points beyond the Milky Way. Finding these cosmic neutrinos not only confirms their existence but also sheds light on the ...