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EarthSky Voices

Arctic sea ice succumbs to Atlantification

Satellite data reveal that warmer Atlantic waters are intruding on Arctic sea ice. The warm waters are impeding sea ice regrowth in winter.

How do forecasters make hurricane season predictions?

The complex interplay among many factors - African monsoons, ocean temperatures, wind shear, El Niño and La Niña – that go into predicting hurricane season.

Bizarre weather on other worlds: 4 examples

From iron rain on exoplanets to lightning storms on Jupiter ... Here are 4 examples of strange weather on alien worlds.

Warming is clearly visible in new US climate normals

Climatologists at NOAA have released updated climate "normals." They explain what "normal" means, how our U.S. climate normals have changed, and how to best make sense of them.

Warp drives: Physicists give chances of faster-than-light space travel a boost

If humanity wants to travel between stars, people are going to need to travel faster than the fastest-moving stuff known in our universe: light. New research suggests that it might be possible to build warp drives and beat the galactic speed limit.

Chinese rover Zhurong to attempt to land on Mars this month

The Chinese Tianwen-1 mission’s Zhurong rover will attempt to land on the surface of Mars in mid-May 2021.

What Proxima’s massive flare means for our chances of alien neighbors

In May 2019, astronomers measured the largest flare ever from Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our sun. What do such flares mean for possible alien life, on a planet in the Proxima Centauri system, only 4 light-years away?

How many Tyrannosaurus rex lived on Earth?

During 2.4 million years of existence, a total of 2.5 billion Tyrannosaurus rex lived on Earth, and 20,000 individual animals would have been alive at any moment, according to new calculations.

A case against killing spiders

An entomologist explains why it's a good idea to be nice to the spiders you encounter and consider a live-and-let-live policy.