New Atlas

Physics Audio available

Scientists identify source of strange glow in the sky

Michael Irving April 29, 2019

It might be hard to believed that a phenomenon as eye-catching as aurora could go undocumented, but in 2016 a new type of sky light was discovered, and given the strange name of STEVE. Exactly how the phenomenon worked was unknown, but a new study has now found some answers.

STEVE is made up of a pinkish ribbon and green streaks sometimes described as a "picket ...

Space Audio available

NASA lab brews up alien atmospheres here on Earth

Michael Irving March 14, 2019

Earth’s pleasant, life-giving atmosphere is turning out to be somewhat of an oddity. To get a better understanding of exoplanets, a team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has recreated one of these alien atmospheres in the lab.

A NASA team has recreated the atmosphere of a "hot Jupiter" exoplanet, similar to this artist's ...

Space Audio available

NASA lab brews up alien atmospheres here on Earth

Michael Irving March 14, 2019

Earth’s pleasant, life-giving atmosphere is turning out to be somewhat of an oddity. To get a better understanding of exoplanets, a team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has recreated one of these alien atmospheres in the lab.

Space Audio available

Earth's atmosphere extends much farther than previously thought

David Szondy February 20, 2019

Most people think that the Earth's atmosphere stops a bit above 62 miles, but a new study based on observations by the US-European SOHO satellite shows that it actually extends as far 391,000 mi (630,000 km) or 50 times the Earth's diameter. This makes the Moon a very high altitude aircraft.

New analysis of data captured in the mid 1990s by the SOHO observatory has shown that ...

Environment

New research links rising global temperatures to more powerful summer storms, reduced air quality

Anthony Wood February 18, 2019

A new study out of MIT suggests rising temperatures are causing energy shifts in Earth's atmosphere that are strengthening midlatitude storms, while weakening other important weather systems over North America, Europe and Asia.

Rising global temperatures are causing energy shifts in Earth's atmosphere that are strengthening midlatitude storms and ...

Space Audio available

Hubble spots "hot Neptune" exoplanet that's evaporating at a record rate

Michael Irving December 13, 2018

A type of world dubbed a "hot Neptune" has been conspicuously few and far between in terms of exoplanet discoveries, but a new observation may explain why. Hubble has now spotted a hot Neptune named GJ 3470b that’s vanishing at a record rate.

An illustration of GJ 3470b, shrouded in a cloud of gas as its atmosphere is stripped ...

Space

Water discovered hidden deep beneath Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Anthony Wood September 5, 2018

Scientists may have discovered large amounts of water hidden deep beneath the surface of Jupiter’s famous Great Red Spot. The discovery, which was made using ground-based telescopes, opens up the possibility that extremophile lifeforms could exist in the atmosphere of the enigmatic gas giant.

Image of Jupiter's Great Red Spot created from data collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft

Space Audio available

Sizzling exoplanet is hot enough to vaporize titanium

Michael Irving August 15, 2018

With surface temperatures of up to 4,327° C (7,820° F), exoplanet KELT-9b is hotter than many stars – and, according to a new discovery, hot enough to vaporize heavy metals. Researchers have now detected iron and titanium vapor in KELT-9b’s atmosphere.

Exoplanet KELT-9b has surface temperatures of up to 4,327° C (7,820° F)

Science

Flying spiders are tapping into global electric fields for takeoff

Michael Irving July 9, 2018

It’s long been thought that spiders were "ballooning" on silk parachutes thanks to the wind picking them up, but a new study has found that the creatures are actually making use of atmospheric electric fields instead.

Researchers at the University of Bristol have found that spiders get airborne thanks to electric fields

Environment

Solar-powered harvester sucks drinkable water out of thin air

Michael Irving June 12, 2018

Although there are trillions of liters of water floating around in the air, it’s not easily accessible. Now engineers have developed a device powered by the Sun that can pluck practical quantities of drinkable water out of thin air, and they've successfully field-tested it in the Arizona desert.

Researchers at UC Berkeley test a device that can pluck drinkable water from the air