Glaciers Keep Melting

Atmosphere Journal (April 14, 2008)

Glaciers worldwide keep shrinking at an alarming rate, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The rate of thinning doubled from 2005 to 2006. The study looked at data from 30 glaciers in nine mountain ranges around the world.

On average, glaciers shrank by almost five feet (over 1.5 meters) in 2006, the latest year with available data. Some glaciers lost much more than the average... (more)

Copyright 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliate(s). All rights reserved.

Asteroid Passes Near Earth

Near-Earth Asteroid Offers Rare Chance for a Close Look
(From US News and World Report)

Scientists call them "near-Earth objects"—the giant space rocks that whiz by our planet every 5 years or so. The one that passed us early this morning came within an unsettling 334,000 miles of Earth. Not to worry, experts say, the asteroid, which may be up to 2,000 feet in diameter, isn't close enough to do any harm, and besides, NEOs that size are likely to hit us only once every 37,000 years.

But the flyby gave professional and amateur sky watchers alike a rare chance to bring out the big glass to catch a glimpse of the object. In a dark and cloudless sky, the asteroid ... (more)

Mysterious Hot Spot at Saturn's Pole

Astronomy Journal Entry
Mysterious Hot Spot at Saturn's Pole (January 21, 2008)


Thanks to new pictures from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, astronomers spotted a mysterious hot spot at Saturn's chilly north pole. The spot is a spinning vortex of gases much hotter than its surroundings.

A similar spot was found earlier on Saturn's south pole, currently bathed in sunlight. But astronomers were shocked to find a matching one on the wintry north pole, where the Sun hasn't been shining since 1995.

The hot spots are likely due to currents plunging down into the troposphere or weather layer of the atmosphere from higher altitudes. As gas in the atmosphere moves down towards the poles, it gets .... (more)

Polar view showing hot spot and hexagonal ring at Saturn's north pole.
NASA JPL.

Copyright 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliate(s). All rights reserved.