Emitting

Australian passenger vehicles are emitting 50% more carbon dioxide (CO₂) than the average of the world's major markets. And the real-world situation is even worse than official figures show.That's the finding of a new study comparing the CO₂ emissions performance of cars, SUVs and light commercial vehicles in Australia and overseas.The comparison suggests Australia will probably fall well short of the economy-wide 2050 net-zero emission target for road transport. To hit the target, policies to cut vehicle emissions have…

Sediment from Canada’s Mackenzie River empties into the Beaufort Sea in milky swirls in this 2017 satellite image. Scientists are studying how river discharge drives carbon dioxide emissions in this part of the Arctic Ocean. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory / Jesse Allen (using Landsat data from USGS) When it comes to influencing climate change, the world's smallest ocean punches above its weight. It's been estimated that the…

A study quantifies the atmospheric emission of microplastics from sea spray, revealing that oceans release between 0.02 to 7.4 million tons of microplastics annually, necessitating detailed ocean microplastics inventories for accurate assessment. A new study quantifies how much microplastic is sent into the air from ocean spray. When sea bubbles pop, they launch tiny particles, like salt or organic fragments, into the atmosphere. This activity transfers a considerable amount of material, which can impact the world’s…

A strange radio signal pulsing from a spot 15,000 light-years away could point to an unconfirmed type of star.Called GPM J1839-10, the peculiar cosmic object has been caught flashing out radio waves every 22 minutes. That's incredibly slow, compared to other sources of pulsing radio waves. Moreover, a deep dive into archival information reveals we've been recording its slow pulse for over 30 years. It just managed to escape our notice until now.According to a team led by astrophysicist Natasha Hurley-Walker of the Curtin…

A cold star called WISE J0623 was discovered to be producing radio waves. The star is also known as a brown dwarf star which is located about 37 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Monoceros, according to Astrophysical Journal Letters.The brown dwarf is too small to be a regular star and too large to be a planet. However, the size of the star is similar to the planet Jupiter which has a magnetic field more powerful than our Sun's, according to the Conversation. About the coolest radio starThe WISE J0623…

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has captured incredible images of the Sun emitting a strong solar flare.On June 20, the Sun released powerful solar flare, reaching its peak at 1:09 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). https://twitter.com/NASASun/status/1671228956228321296 Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact high-frequency (HF) radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.The solar flare observed on June 20 is…

Scientists observing the compact radio core of M87 have discovered new details about the galaxy’s supermassive black hole. In this artist’s conception, the black hole’s massive jet is seen rising up from the center of the black hole. The observations on which this illustration is based represent the first time that the jet and the black hole shadow have been imaged together, giving scientists new insights into how black holes can launch these powerful jets. Credit: S. Dagnello (NRAO/AUI/NSF)In a historic first,…

NASA visualization of the Milky Way’s Fermi bubbles. Credit: ESA/Gaia/DPACEvidence shows strong outflowing winds responsible for the “Fermi bubbles.”A scientist from Tokyo Metropolitan University has shown that large gamma-ray emitting bubbles around the center of our galaxy were produced by fast-blowing outward winds and the associated “reverse shock.” Numerical simulations successfully reproduced the temperature profile observed by an X-ray telescope. Such outflows have been observed in other galaxies; this finding…

But carbon removal has become a touchy topic. There are real concerns that the growing focus on drawing down the greenhouse gas could encourage governments and businesses to delay or even avoid the most obvious and direct way of addressing climate change: preventing emissions from reaching the atmosphere in the first place.  The convenient perception that we might be able to continue pumping out large levels of carbon dioxide and simply clean up the atmosphere in the future is an example of what’s known as a “moral…

Astronomers had a rare opportunity to observe a galaxy in the early universe that is providing its surroundings with the building blocks required to create later generations of stars and galaxies, thanks to a fortunate cosmic alignment. The experts have found that the distant galaxy has been spewing elements required for the formation of galaxies and stars. The galaxy, A1689-zD1, was seen with gas flowing over its edges and is said to be the earliest known-run-of-the-mill galaxy. It was spotted in light magnified by a…