Greenhouse gas effect consistent over 420 million years
New calculations show that sensitivity of Earth's climate to changes in the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) has been consistent for the last 420 million years, according to an article in Nature by geologists at Yale and Wesleyan Universities. view more (2007-03-29)
The light and dark of Venus
Venus Express has revealed a planet of extraordinarily changeable and extremely large-scale weather. Bright hazes appear in a matter of days, reaching from the south pole to the low southern latitudes and disappearing just as quickly. view more (2008-02-22)
Field Project Seeks Clues to Climate Change in Remote Atmospheric Region
Scientists are deploying an advanced research aircraft to study a region of the atmosphere that influences climate change by affecting the amount of solar heat that reaches Earth's surface. view more (2008-06-13)
Ocean's 'twilight zone' may be a key to understanding climate change
A major study sheds new light on the role of carbon dioxide once it's transported to the oceans' depths. The research indicates that instead of sinking, carbon dioxide is often consumed by animals and bacteria and recycled in the "twilight zone," a dimly lit area 100 to 1,000 meters below the surface. view more (2007-04-30)
Rare transit of Mercury
Scientists from Williams College and the University of Arizona will observe Mercury in front of Venus from vantage points on earthbound mountains and with orbiting spacecraft on Wednesday. Nov. 8. view more (2006-11-03)
Hubble finds first organic molecule on extrasolar planet
The tell-tale signature of the molecule methane in the atmosphere of the Jupiter-sized extrasolar planet HD 189733b has been found with the Hubble Space Telescope. Under the right circumstances methane can play a key role in prebiotic chemistry - the chemical reactions considered necessary to form life as we know it. view more (2008-03-20)
Methane gas levels begin to increase again
The amount of methane in Earth's atmosphere shot up in 2007, bringing to an end a period of about a decade in which atmospheric levels of the potent greenhouse gas were essentially stable, according to a team led by MIT researchers. view more (2008-10-30)
Long-Term ozone measurements from Space assured
The EUMETSAT Polar System, and the ESA METOP-1 Programme together form a co-operative venture between the two organisations, and lead to the launch of the first METOP satellite in mid-2003. The system provides operational meteorological data from polar orbiting satellites, to complement and complete an international system of polar satellites... view more... (2000-03-05)
Imaging The Invisible: A New Look At Space Weather
How is it possible to image tiny particles that are normally invisible? What happens to our planet and its surroundings when huge solar storms collide with Earth's magnetic shield? These are just some of the questions that will be addressed this week during the UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting in Dublin. Our Earth is continually buffeted by a... view more... (2003-03-31)
Magnetic Tornadoes Could Liberate Mercury's Tenuous Atmosphere
As the closest planet to the sun, Mercury is scorching hot, with daytime temperatures of more than 800 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 450 degrees Celsius). view more (2009-06-03)
Beagle 2 Information Note: Next Stop Mars!
We have separation! That was the message from the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, to announce that the British-built Beagle 2 spacecraft is now flying independently from its Mars Express "mother ship". Initial confirmation that the separation manoeuvre has been successful came at 10.42 GMT, when Mars... view more... (2003-12-19)
Will The Leonids Go Out With A Bang?
Anyone willing to brave the early morning cold on 19 November may be rewarded with one of Nature's most spectacular firework displays - a major meteor storm. This year's Leonid meteor shower is expected to provide the last great storm for at least 30 years, and possibly the biggest in the 21st century. With meteor numbers predicted to reach or... view more... (2002-11-15)
Post-pandemic reforestation in New World helped trigger Little Ice Age, Stanford researchers say
The power of viruses is well documented in human history. Swarms of little viral Davids have repeatedly laid low the great Goliaths of human civilization, most famously in the devastating pandemics that swept the New World during European conquest and settlement. view more (2008-12-18)
Greenhouse Gases - Nothing To Blame For?
In the nearest future we may witness global cooling in spite of increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. That can happen, if the following hypothesis is correct: not the growth of greenhouse gases concentration provokes temperature to rise, but vice versa. It is generally believed nowadays that greenhouse gases are... view more... (2004-07-30)
Magnetic Tremors Pinpoint the Impact Epicenter of Earthbound Space Storms
Using data from NASA's THEMIS mission, a team of University of Alberta researchers has pinpointed the impact epicenter of an earthbound space storm as it crashes into the atmosphere, and given an advance warning of its arrival. view more (2009-05-29)
Radiation flashes may help crack cosmic mystery
Faint, fleeting blue flashes of radiation emitted by particles that travel faster than the speed of light through the atmosphere may help scientists solve one of the oldest mysteries in astrophysics. view more (2007-12-04)
Making adhesives safer
The greatest disaster in the history of the chemical industry brought notorious fame to the city of Bhopal in India in 1984, as well as making known the extreme toxicity of the chemical involved, methyl isocyanate. Although the isocyanate group is known to be extremely reactive, it is precisely this property that makes it so useful to the chemical... view more... (2001-10-04)
International Field Campaign examines impact of beetle kill on Rocky Mountain weather, air quality
Mountain pine beetles appear to be doing more than killing large swaths of forests in the Rocky Mountains. Scientists suspect they are also altering local weather patterns and air quality. view more (2008-09-25)
A sprightly explanation for UFO sightings?
In legend, sprites are trolls, elves and other spirits that dance high above our ozone layer. But scientists at Tel Aviv University have discovered that some very real "sprites" are zipping across the atmosphere as well, providing a possible explanation for those other legendary denizens of the skies, UFOs. view more (2009-02-24)
The greenhouse gas that saved the world
When Planet Earth was just cooling down from its fiery creation, the sun was faint and young. So faint that it should not have been able to keep the oceans of earth from freezing. But fortunately for the creation of life, water was kept liquid on our young planet. view more (2009-08-18)
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