Unraveling

The Arctic and North Atlantic oceans have seen an increasing number of days when precipitation falls as rain, not snow.The Arctic is known for its cold temperatures, which allow precipitation to fall as snow. But as temperatures warm, that snow is being replaced by rain. These changes can affect sea ice in the Arctic and weather patterns throughout the Northern Hemisphere.NASA scientists examined rainfall trends over the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans from 1980 to 2016 and found an increase in the frequency of rainy…

By Milan P. Ilnyckyj, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics March 8, 2024New research challenges the traditional view of white dwarfs as mere remnants of dead stars by explaining the prolonged luminosity of delayed white dwarfs. Credit: SciTechDaily.comResearchers discovered why some white dwarfs remain luminous for billions of years: a core process where lighter crystals rise and denser liquids sink, balancing the energy and maintaining surface brightness.Your astronomy textbook might describe white dwarfs as…

Researchers have developed a theory suggesting the existence of quantum viscosity in superfluids, potentially bridging classical and quantum hydrodynamics. This novel approach, which involves analyzing the fall of a sphere in a superfluid, seeks to validate the Reynolds similitude in a quantum context, challenging long-held beliefs in fluid dynamics. Credit: SciTechDaily.comA theoretical framework aimed at measuring Reynolds similitude in superfluids could potentially prove the presence of quantum viscosity.Every liquid…

Two neutron stars begin to merge in this artist’s concept, blasting jets of high-speed particles. Collision events like this one create short gamma-ray bursts. Credit: Sonoma State Univ./A. Simonnet; NASADiscovered inadvertently, GRBs have become key to understanding cosmic events, from black hole formation to the universe’s structure, through their immense power and the study of their afterglows.The most powerful events in the known universe – gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) – are short-lived outbursts of the highest-energy…

Cluster of cavum over the Gulf of Mexico off of Florida’s west coast captured by NASA’s Terra satellite on January 30, 2024.Scientists speculated about these holes for decades, but it’s now well understood that cavum clouds are caused by airplanes.Cavum clouds, also called hole-punch clouds and fallstreak holes, look so odd that people sometimes argue they are signatures of flying saucers or other unidentified anomalous phenomena. Seen from below, they can look like a large circle or ellipse has been cut neatly from the…

RIT leads a NASA-funded research project to explore electromagnetic signals from supermassive black hole mergers, aiming to advance our understanding of galaxies’ formation and evolution through high-precision simulations. Credit: SciTechDaily.comManuela Campanelli to lead research team studying electromagnetic signals from merging supermassive black holes.Rochester Institute of Technology scientists will be the lead researchers on a $1.8 million NASA grant to study electromagnetic signals from merging supermassive black…

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Trust, a cornerstone of human interaction, has a significant genetic component, with around 33% of the variation between individuals attributed to our genes, according to new Australian research using data from twins and a meta-analysis of previous studies on the heritability of trust. Successful relationships, economic…

A Tulane University study published in Nature Communications reveals the potential long-term effects of climate change on coastal wetlands, using a real-world experiment along the Gulf Coast. By leveraging a network of nearly 400 monitoring sites and novel satellite data techniques, the study found that nearly 90% of sites were unable to keep pace with the rapid sea-level rise, simulating conditions expected around 2070. The research underscores the urgency of adhering to the Paris Agreement to mitigate future wetland…

Research on the Quaternary period reveals rapid climate changes, known as Dansgaard-Oeschger events, in the last and penultimate glacial periods through Greenland ice cores and Turkish stalagmites. These findings, highlighting the North Atlantic’s influence, aim to improve climate models and extend understanding of climate variability up to 700,000 years.Throughout the Quaternary period of recent geological history, there have been alternating cycles of ice ages and warm intervals. Scientists can understand past climate…

A multiple-exposure photograph of insects circling a light at night. Credit: Samuel FabianRecent research utilizing high-speed tracking has explored the longstanding mystery of why insects are drawn to and circle around light sources at night. The study debunks previous theories, such as attraction to heat or mistaking artificial lights for celestial navigation cues, and introduces the dorsal light response as a key factor.It’s an observation as old as humans gathering around campfires: Light at night can draw an…