Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2009

Surprising Ship 'Contrails' Seen From Space

Although ships sail on the ocean, they can leave tracks in the sky. On Oct. 5, a NASA satellite snapped a shot of this phenomenon forming in a bank of clouds off North America’s west coast. The white trails look vaguely like the condensation trails, or contrails, left behind by...

Sep 30, 2009

Brilliant! Roof Tiles Change Color to Save Energy

On a blazing summer day, a black roof gets miserably hot, while a white roof reflects the sun and keeps a home cooler. In winter, the warmth generated by a solar-radiation-absorbing black roof can save energy. That's well-known and simple enough. Unfortunately, you can't have it both ways. Well ......

Sep 30, 2009

Volcanic Eruptions Caused Ancient Warming And Cooling

Volcanic eruptions were responsible for a deadly ice age 450 million years ago, as well as — in an ironic twist — a period of global warming that preceded it, a new study finds. The finding underscores the importance of carbon in Earth's climate today, said study researcher Matthew Saltzman...

Aug 31, 2009

New Understanding of the Heart's Evolution

Humans, like other warm-blooded animals, expend a lot of energy and need a lot of oxygen. Our four-chambered hearts make this possible. It gives us an evolutionary advantage: We're able to roam, hunt and hide even in the cold of night, or the chill of winter. Now scientists have a...

Aug 31, 2009

Powerful Ideas: To Hot Rocks in Earth, Just Add Water

Researchers will inject cool water and pressurized water into a “dry” geothermal well during a five-year, $10.2 million study aimed at boosting the productivity of geothermal power plants and making them feasible nationwide. “Using these techniques to increase pathways in the rock for hot water and steam would increase availability...

Aug 31, 2009

Arctic Ice at 3rd Lowest in Recent Decades

The Arctic sea ice cover appears to have reached its minimum extent for the year, the third-lowest recorded since satellites began measuring sea ice extent in 1979, according to the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center. Scientists have been watching the ice return with less...

Aug 31, 2009

Why Autumn Begins Tuesday

The first day of autumn — Sept. 22 this year — is no guarantee of fall-like weather, but officially the season's start comes around at the same time each year nonetheless. Well, sort of. The first day of autumn arrives on varying dates in different years for two reasons: Our...

Aug 31, 2009

Flowers Help Pollinators Get a Grip

The petals of most flowers are covered with cells in the unusual shape of cones, the pointy ends jutting up. But why? Researchers in England have shown that those cells let insects get a grip on unsteady flowers while gathering nectar and pollen. Heather M. Whitney, at the time a...

Aug 31, 2009

Dead Salmon 'Responds' to Pictures of People

A dead salmon has become a scientific celebrity after its brain supposedly lit up when shown pictures of humans during a brain scan. Some bloggers last week reported that the fish was still thinking or that the research is evidence of an ethereal soul. However, the study was done to...

Aug 31, 2009

Tsunami Warning System Didn't Help Samoans

WASHINGTON -- At 6:48 a.m. local time, an earthquake shook the floor of the Pacific Ocean. Seismometers detected a magnitude 7.9 quake and alerted the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii. By 7:03, the center had sent out a warning bulletin. An earthquake of this size has the potential to...

Jul 31, 2009

NASA Drops Probes Into Volatile Volcano

High-tech sensor pods were recently air lifted into the mouth of a volcano to monitor hot spots and provide early warning if the peak starts to blow. The sensors are part of a NASA project to study volcanoes from the inside. On July 14 scientists lowered the pods into the...

Jul 31, 2009

Pollution Reduces Rain Vital to Crops

Air pollution in China has cut the amount of light rainfall by 23 percent over the past 50 years, a new study finds. The cause: Particles in air pollution cause smaller drops of water to form, and smaller drops have a harder time making rain clouds. The result: Bad air...

Jul 31, 2009

Gigantic Lightning Jets Shoot from Clouds to Space

Strokes of lightning flashing down towards the ground are a familiar sight during summer thunderstorms, but scientists have capture an image of a rare lightning bolt shooting out upwards from a cloud, almost to the edge of the Earth's atmosphere. These bolts of upwards lightning, one type among a variety...

Jul 31, 2009

Majority of Americans Believe Health Care Reform 'Myths'

More than 50 percent of Americans believe a public insurance option will increase health care costs, according to a new survey on assertions the White House has called myths. The national survey, conducted from Aug. 14 – 18, involved a random sample of 600 Americans aged 18 and older living...

Jul 31, 2009

Heat Waves Getting Worse

Heat waves out West are getting worse as the climate changes, a new study finds. One example: From mid July to early August 2006, a heat wave swept through the southwestern United States. Temperature records were broken at many locations and unusually high humidity levels were recorded. The event included...