A large x1.6 solar flare erupted from sunspot AR2158 on Wednesday afternoon, disrupting high frequency radio transmissions for over an hour as ultraviolet radiation bathed the upper atmosphere ionizing the upper layers. This second solar flare is the most powerful of the two that were emitted in as many days. The first significant flare one […]
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — When a segment of a major fault line goes quiet, it can mean one of two things: The “seismic gap” may simply be inactive — the result of two tectonic plates placidly gliding past each other — or the segment may be a source of potential earthquakes, quietly building tension over decades until […]
One of the most visible signs of climate change in recent years was not even visible at all until a few decades ago. The sea ice cap that covers the Arctic Ocean has been changing dramatically, especially in the last 15 years. Its ice is thinner and more vulnerable – and at its summer minimum […]
Research published last week in Science suggested that the makeup of the Earth’s lower mantle, which makes up the largest part of the Earth by volume, is significantly different than previously thought. The work, performed at the Advanced Photon Source at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, will have a significant impact on our understanding of the […]