A PhD student at the University of Alberta discovered a new mineral inside a diamond recovered from a mine in South Africa. The mineral is named goldschmidtite in honour of Victor Moritz Goldschmidt, the founder of modern geochemistry. Potassium and niobium are the main components in the mineral which are very rare in the mantle. Potassium and niobium make up most of the mineral, meaning the r... [Full Article...]
This image was obtained using the Gemini North Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) from Hawaii's Maunakea. On 30 August 2019 the amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov, from MARGO observatory, Crimea, discovered an object with a comet-like appearance. [Full Article...]
But she has also become a lightning rod, drawing attacks by television and social media commentators. "If it were about science, it would be led by scientists rather than by politicians and a mentally ill Swedish child who is being exploited by her parents and by the worldwide left". [Full Article...]
On Tuesday, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler sent a letter to California's Air Resource Board warning that it could face serious consequences if the state did not rescind 130 state air quality plans that have been backlogged. "As evidenced by the EPA's recent work on interstate air pollution issues as well as analysis accompanying its rulemakings, California's chronic air quality problems are no... [Full Article...]
If nations somehow managed to stabilise climate change at the 1.5C mark, the Arctic Ocean would only be ice-free in September about once in every hundred years. "Over the 21st century, the ocean is projected to transition to unprecedented conditions", the report states. The oceans have become slightly more acidic, but that will accelerate with warming. [Full Article...]
NASA has been testing the Orion spacecraft to flawless it before the 2024 deadline. "This contract secures Orion production through the next decade, demonstrating NASA's commitment to establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon to bring new information again and prepare for sending astronauts to Mars", stated NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine . [Full Article...]
Japanese officials traced the fire to static electricity and oxygen propellant, and corrected the problem. The mission is codenamed HTV-8, because it's the eighth mission that MHI has run using the HTV cargo ship. This time JAXA's cargo ship is loaded up with some much-needed replacement lithium-ion batteries (their DirectTV remote is probably running low). Russian Federation sends up supplies, ... [Full Article...]
However in the beginning could all of the inner planets started off roughly the same? Venus is closer to the sun than Earth and looks scorched today, but scientists suggest its surface may have once had enough protection from clouds to stay cool enough to have a water ocean . [Full Article...]