Earth Archives - Disasters News

Jan182025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Sunita Williams Returns to Spacewalking After 12 Years, Tackles ISS Maintenance with Colleague Nick Hague

Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams stepped outside the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday for her first spacewalk in 12 years, alongside fellow astronaut Nick Hague. The spacewalk, designated as US Spacewalk 91, marks Williams’ eighth career extravehicular activity and Hague’s fourth. The mission, expected to last approximately six and a half hours, involves critical maintenance and upgrades to the ISS. Wearing an unmarked spacesuit as spacewalk crew member 2, Williams worked alongside Hague, who donned a suit with red stripes as spacewalk crew member 1. The duo's tasks include replacing a rate gyro assembly, which supports the station’s orientation control, and installing patches on light filters for the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) X-ray t...

Jan182025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Supermassive Black Hole 700 Million Times the Sun’s Mass Fires Energy Beam at Earth

Breaking News, Space

Astronomers have unveiled the most ancient blazar ever observed a supermassive black hole from the early universe shooting an energy beam directly toward Earth. This cosmic behemoth, with a mass equivalent to 700 million suns, offers scientists a rare glimpse into the universe’s formative years. Published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the study titled Properties and Far-infrared Variability of a z = 7 Blazar marks a breakthrough in understanding supermassive black holes. The newly identified blazar, named J0410−0139, lies an astounding 12.9 billion light-years away. Its energy beam has traveled nearly 13 billion years to reach Earth, originating just 800 million years after the Big Bang. This makes it the farthest blazar ever detected, outpacing the previous record-holder by ...

Jan172025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Shocking Discovery revel Supermassive Black Hole Targets Earth with Giant Energy Beam

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Space, Tech

Astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole in a distant galaxy shooting a powerful energy beam directly toward Earth. Dubbed J0410−0139, this rare cosmic phenomenon belongs to a category of black holes known as blazars. With a mass approximately 700 million times that of the Sun, the black hole dates back to the early universe, about 800 million years ago. The discovery was made using data from leading observatories, including the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, the Magellan Telescopes, and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, along with NASA’s Chandra Observatory in orbit around Earth. “The alignment of J0410−0139’s jet with Earth gives us a rare opportunity to study the inner workings of a supermassive black hole,” said Emmanuel Momjian, co-...

Dec232024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Wobbly Earth Shifts in Molten Core Could Be Altering Day-Length Fluctuations

Breaking News, Environment, Learning & Developments

Earth's day-night cycle, defined as a precise 24-hour period, serves as the cornerstone of our daily routines. Yet, the reality of our planet's rotation is far from precise. As Earth hurtles around the Sun at a staggering 107,000 kilometers per hour (67,000 miles per hour), its wobbly, molten interior and interactions with the Moon introduce subtle irregularities to the planet's rotation. Decoding Earth's Wobbly Spin While many short-term fluctuations in Earth's day-length have well-known causes such as the Moon's gravitational pull and shifting water volumes geophysicists have observed minute variations over millennial timescales that remain enigmatic. These fluctuations, amounting to just 3 to 4 milliseconds every thousand years, have perplexed scientists for decades. A team of ...

Dec52024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Jupiter to Light Up the Night Sky in a Rare Celestial Event on December 7

Breaking News, Space

A spectacular astronomical event is set to captivate stargazers on December 7 as Earth aligns directly between the Sun and Jupiter. This rare occurrence, known as Jupiter’s Opposition, will illuminate the largest planet in our solar system like never before. Throughout the night, Jupiter will dominate the skies, its brilliance unmatched and its details visible to anyone with even a basic telescope or binoculars. During this phenomenon, Jupiter’s sunlit side will face Earth in its entirety, creating a breathtaking view that resembles the full moon in its glory. As Earth’s faster orbit brings it into perfect alignment with the gas giant, the planet will appear larger and brighter than at almost any other time. The result is a celestial show that will keep skywatchers enchanted from dusk t...

Sep82024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Mysterious Formation of Earth’s Inner Core: How Mineral Physics is Unlocking Secrets Beneath Our Feet

Breaking News, Environment, Space

Deep below Earth’s surface, at a staggering depth of over 5,100 km, lies the inner core a solid ball of iron and nickel. Despite its size and influence, this mysterious part of Earth still puzzles scientists. While we know it plays a crucial role in shaping the conditions necessary for life on Earth, how and when the inner core formed remains a topic of ongoing debate. The Earth’s inner core is responsible for generating the planet’s magnetic field, which shields us from harmful solar radiation. This magnetic field is likely key to creating the conditions that allowed life to flourish billions of years ago. Without it, our planet may not have been able to sustain life. Interestingly, the inner core wasn’t always solid. As Earth has cooled over time, the once-liquid core has been grad...

Aug82024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Venus and Earth A Tale of Twin Planets with Divergent Destinies: Study Says

Breaking News, Environment

Venus and Earth often referred to as planetary twins, have evolved into starkly contrasting worlds. While Earth is lush and life-sustaining, Venus is a hostile environment with toxic clouds, acid rain, crushing atmospheric pressure, and searing temperatures. Despite their superficial similarities, these differences run deep. Unlike Earth, Venus lacks tectonic plates the shifting, grinding sections of Earth's crust that play a crucial role in maintaining its climate and fostering the continents. This absence of tectonic activity on Venus has been a significant factor in the divergence between the two planets. However, the geological past of Venus remains a mystery, particularly the formation of its oldest surface regions, known as tesserae. Recent research by scientists, including geo...

Jul162024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Climate Crisis and the Lengthening of Days: The Impact of Melting Polar Ice Caps

Breaking News, Environment

A recent study highlights a lesser-known consequence of the climate crisis: the melting of polar ice caps is causing Earth to spin more slowly, increasing the length of days at an unprecedented rate. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the paper reveals how water flowing from Greenland and Antarctica is resulting in more mass around the equator, a phenomenon co-author Surendra Adhikari of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory likens to a figure skater extending their arms during a spin, slowing down their rotation. While Earth is often thought of as a sphere, it is more accurately described as an "oblate spheroid," bulging around the equator much like a satsuma. This shape is constantly changing due to various factors such as daily tides, tectonic plate movement...

Jul132024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

New Study Reveals Ancient Origins of LUCA Early Life on Earth

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Idea & Innovations

Once upon a time, Earth was a barren planet. That changed dramatically when, out of the chemistry present during its early history, something began to squirm processing matter to survive, reproduce, and thrive. The nature of that something, and when it first appeared, have puzzled humanity for as long as we have been able to ask, "What am I?" Now, a groundbreaking study has provided some answers, revealing that life emerged surprisingly early in Earth's history. By analyzing the genomes of organisms alive today, scientists have determined that the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) the first organism that spawned all current life on Earth emerged as early as 4.2 billion years ago. Given that Earth is around 4.5 billion years old, this suggests that life began when the planet was s...