In July 2012, we almost lost everything. A Carrington-class coronal mass ejection (CME)…one of the most powerful ever recorded…erupted from the Sun, moving at over 7 million miles per hour, and missed Earth by a mere 9 days of orbital travel. To the average person, that sounds like a near miss. But in cosmic terms? …
Month: October 2025
Whimsy
Chook Tree
Native American Totem Pole
Native American Totem Pole Ketchikan, Alaska Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. The word totem is derived from the Ojibwe word odoodem, “his kinship group”. History Being made of cedar, which decays eventually in …
Murmuration Mysteries
“What’s fascinating is that these highly structured, seemingly purposeful formations might actually be the result of very simple interaction rules,” said Rothamsted’s Andy Reynolds, who conducted the analysis. “The sharpness of the border and the persistence of edge birds aren’t necessarily deliberate strategies. They’re just what happens when the system runs on topological interactions.”The study …
A map of Earth after a 480m sea level rise… because why not
A map of Earth after a 480m sea level rise… because why not. Candy to map geeks. Plus 10,000 footers where you don’t think.
Cooper’s and Airports
To a hawk, an airport can look like the perfect place to settle down. The layout provides ample open space, perches, and nice habitat for a variety of prey species. However, congregations of birds, especially big birds, pose a safety issue for aircraft. A new study focusing on Cooper’s Hawks (Accipiter cooperii), published in the …
That hare has some moves.
When old meets new
I remember hearing somewhere that technologies are never forgotten but maintained over time. Not strictly true but it has a nice ring to it. This example would apply.
Moose Tick Fix?
Researchers at the University of Vermont have found a fungus that they believe could stop tick-bombs, large masses of ticks that attach and feed on moose. Ticks can be a major problem for the moose, they irritate their skin, which causes moose to scratch so much that it damages and remove some of their fur. …
MX Geography
There may be some truth to it but these things are often a gag before facts.