Tag: Science

Explainer: Is Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano Going to Erupt Again?

HONOLULU—Scientists say the immediate potential for an eruption at Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has declined after earthquakes and ground swelling subsided in the 24 hours leading up to Thursday morning. Earlier in the week, the quakes and changes to the ground surface prompted scientists to say the mountain could once again disgorge lava. Here’s an overview…


Do National COVID Mandates Fulfill the Public Good?

Commentary A crisis has now darkened Western democracies just as surely as long-benighted dictatorships. Wherein does it lie? In the disdain with which its proud technocrats dismiss conscience. Conscience is no quantifiable thing; it has no weight or measure, and it cannot be listed among a nation’s assets. Science can’t prove it exists. Yet conscience…


Maine Museum to Host Large Chunk of Mars Rock

BETHEL, Maine—A Maine museum will play host to a chunk of rock it said is the largest intact Mars rock on Earth. The Maine Mineral & Gem Museum said the specimen weighs 32 pounds and is about 10 inches at its longest point. The museum said the rock was the result of an asteroid impact…


800-Year-Old Medieval Chain Mail Vest From Norman Period Discovered in Longford, Ireland

A link to Ireland’s medieval past was located in a shed after a chance encounter during Granard’s Heritage Week this summer. That find consisted of an authentic, stunningly well-preserved 800-year-old chain male vest—called a hauberk—discovered fully intact. Bartle D’Arcy, general manager of local heritage center Granard Knights & Conquests, was wearing a replica hauberk mid-August…


Ocean Researchers Record Beautiful ‘Undescribed’ Species of Red Jellyfish 2,300 Feet Under the Sea

It’s been an exciting summer for ocean researcher Quinn Girasek—who played a role in the North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition, cataloging previously unexplored habitats of the Atlantic Gulf Stream. Although landlocked herself, the NOAA scholarship intern was part of an onshore team annotating organisms as they appeared live on divers’ cameras. And there was plenty…


Blue Origin Launches Artwork, Moon-Landing Test Into Space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—Blue Origin launched artwork painted on a capsule and a moon-landing navigation experiment into space Thursday, a month after sending founder Jeff Bezos on the company’s first passenger flight. No one was aboard for Thursday’s 10-minute flight, which included other experiments from NASA and others. The paintings by Ghana artist Amoako Boafo were…


Mystery of Space Inspired New Zealand Rocket Man’s Journey to Nasdaq

WELLINGTON—New Zealand entrepreneur Peter Beck said his space firm Rocket Lab was the result of a lifelong quest for signs of life outside earth, as the startup hit a new milestone with a Nasdaq listing on Thursday. The small satellite launch firm, often compared to Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX, listed on the Nasdaq…


Solar Orbiter Spacecraft Captures Venus Glare

This is the moment Solar Orbiter passed Venus earlier this month. The images show a dark area of the planet that is hidden from the Sun and a bright crescent of light—glare from Venus’s incredibly bright sunlit side. The footage was filmed by the Solar Orbiter Heliospheric Imager, SoloHI, as the spacecraft made its second…


Branson’s Virgin Orbit to Go Public Through $3.2 Billion SPAC Merger

Billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit, a small satellite launch service provider, is going public through a merger with a blank-check vehicle that values it at about $3.2 billion. The deal with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II, announced on Monday, includes $100 million in funding from Boeing Co, AE Industrial Partners, and others in the form of…


Man Finds British Rifleman’s Sword From 1890s While Building Deck in His Backyard

One Ottawa man’s backyard home project yielded more than a new patio when his contractor removed a sword from under the earth. The find led home owner Brad Sigouin on a quest to solve the mystery of its origin. While installing concrete piers for a new deck in April 2020, a worker found the weapon…