Earth & Sky : News and Updates

Science, Nature, People in the News

Featured on earthsky.org

Saturn's cloudtops, viewed at an angle
Favorite Saturn pictures.
Earth will be passing between Saturn and the sun on February 10, which means that Saturn will be at its brightest and best in our sky in January, February and March of 2007. We’re going to be posting some great Saturn pictures …

Climate of fear or climate of folly?
If you had looked past the headlines over the past three decades, you would have found a consistent message in science of an impending warming caused by human activities. And you would have found the story of a global cooling …

Are you an animal lover? Be a "voice for animals"
I like the way this program doesn’t differentiate between the importance of wild animals versus dogs and cats. All animals, domestic, wild or in between, are going to have to find a place in this world increasing crowded with human beings and all our stuff – our roads, cities, air pollution. Check it out…

Corporation aids market-based climate solutions
Goldman Sachs Center for Environmental Markets has awarded $2.3 million for three research grants, focused on finding market-based solutions to climate change.

Octopus escape
Earth & Sky video pick
Watch this National Geographic video of a big orange octopus escaping through a one-inch hole.

This week's radio shows

Venus and Jupiter in January, 2007
The sky's two brightest planets -- Venus and Jupiter -- both are returning to prominence in our sky.  But you’ll find them in different parts of the sky.

Are most stars solitary?
Here's news about double stars that you won't find in any astronomy textbook, because it represents a complete reversal in thinking on the subject.

A primordial galaxy in Cetus?
A recently discovered dwarf galaxy in the direction of the constellation Cetus might be a leftover building block in the process that makes giant galaxies.

Brazillian desert transformed into fertile soil
In 1972, Pedro Sanchez was asked to advise the Brazilian government.  "They told me," Sanchez said, "we just took our capital from this wonderful place called Rio de Janeiro, one of the nicest places in the world, and plunked it in the middle of this desert. Can we make this land productive?"

Economist values nature
Scott Barrett, Director of the International Policy Program at Johns Hopkins University, told us that an economist would value nature for its raw potential for goods. But there's more to it than that.

Agricultural runoff could harm Gulf of California
About two-thirds of the nitrogen in fertilizers used in California's Yaqui Valley finds its way to the coast, where it fuels oceanic plant blooms.

Urban forests filter city air
John Wear explained why communities should consider the value of trees when planning for growth. It's more than just aesthetics.


 

Happy New Year!


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