Feeling the heat lately? It might be because of El Niño, a climate pattern characterized by unusually warm sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. It can affect the trade winds. These are the permanent, normally easterly winds that flow around the Earth's equator.
When we track the water temperature using tools like satellites, buoys, and ocean floats to measure temperatures below the ocean's surface, they show a large body of unusually hot water. Way bigger than the pot of water you’re boiling for your mac and cheese. Yes, even if you’re making extra mac and cheese. This is serious business! It can cause the sea-surface temperatures in parts of the tropical Pacific to rise by more than 2°C (about 3.6°F) above average, suggesting this year's El Niño is unusually strong, and could make 2027 one of the hottest years on record.
Depending on where you are in the world, El Niño is associated with both droughts and floods. These affect the lives of people living in those places, as well as their agriculture and food production, so the whole world feels the El Niño effects.
The article "Everything You Need to Know About Space Travel (Almost)" from BBC's Science Focus covers the history of space travel, its importance for science and humanity, the challenges of interstellar travel, and the benefits of space exploration.
The article "Water found buried under Mars equator" from BBC's Science Focus showcases the discovery of ice beneath Mars' equator using data from ESA's Mars Express spacecraft. This finding could be crucial for future human missions to Mars, as the ice deposits could provide a valuable water source.
The article "Is It True That the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans Don’t Mix?" from BBC's Science Focus debunks the viral myth that these two oceans remain separate. It explains how their waters do mix due to ocean currents and salinity differences.
The article "Something Very Weird Is Happening to the Planet's Earthquakes; Here's Why" from BBC's Science Focus discusses earthquakes that occur away from fault lines, known as intraplate earthquakes. Scientists are studying factors like ice sheet melting and deep-earth stress to understand these mysterious seismic events.
The article "New Computer Model Helps Predict Volcano Eruptions More Accurately" from BBC's Science Focus details how scientists have created a model that improves eruption forecasts. By analyzing historical data from Italy’s Campi Flegrei, the model enhances predictions and helps in disaster preparedness.
The article "Can We Stop Hurricanes? Exploring Innovative Solutions" from BBC's Science Focus explores futuristic ideas to mitigate hurricane damage. Scientists are developing methods such as offshore wind farms and cooling ocean surfaces to weaken storms before they reach land.
Scientists have found some very old ice. No, it’s not bag of frozen peas that have been in your freezer for three years (which means someone’s not eating their vegetables). It’s actually cores of Antarctic ice, the oldest that have ever been collected, that go back over a million years.
Researchers are keeping almost 200 pieces of meter-long ice cores that were drilled from a depth of almost 3 km over the course of four years. After careful preservation, the ice now needs to be melted in order to reveal the rich environmental history that the ice has to offer. When melted carefully and incredibly slowly, scientists can see how the Earth changed over time, including variations in temperature, snowfall, and wind, because the tiny bubbles give a snapshot of carbon dioxide levels.
Studying this old ice will help scientists understand our environment today. For example, the concentration of greenhouse gasses we see today is higher than they have been in the past 800,000 years. To understand how the climate might change in the future, we need to learn about how it’s changed in the past.
Ever wanted to hop onto a fluffy cloud? Catch a falling star? Bottle sunshine? Well, you can’t. But what you can do is hold some of the Moon in your hand… if you’re one of the few qualified scientists who are researching new lunar material. Sharing is caring, but these researchers have a great reason for being very precious with moon dust.
Moon dust is some of the rarest material on the planet and, for the first time, China has shared its samples of moon dust internationally. These samples have now racked up some serious frequent flyer miles, traveling across the globe after being taken all the way from the Moon. Talk about jet lag. Until now, scientists have been using samples collected decades ago. It wasn’t until 2020 that China’s spacecraft went to an unexplored spot of the Moon, then returned with 2 kilograms of moon rock. This dust is now being studied, and researchers are working carefully (VERY carefully) to uncover the evidence it has to offer about our universe’s environmental history.
In Uncovering the Sun’s Most Magnetic Secrets, narrator Richard Hammond explains how the Sun gives us warmth and light, but up close, it's a raging fireball that can unleash powerful solar storms, disrupting electricity and communication on Earth. To understand these storms, scientists launched the world’s most powerful solar telescope using a helium balloon and sending it 23 miles into the sky. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds, which uncovers the hidden forces and unseen phenomena shaping our world.
Underwater volcanoes are some of the least visible — but most important — geological features on Earth. Scientist Dr. Isobel Yeo studies these deep-sea volcanoes near the Greek island of Santorini using remotely-operated underwater robots. These robotic tools allow researchers to safely explore volcanic regions and locate hydrothermal vents, where hot gases and fluids escape from cracks in Earth’s crust.
Her team is focused on understanding how underwater eruptions behave differently from those on land. The surrounding water pressure, temperature, and ocean currents can all influence how magma and gases move during an eruption. By studying these systems, scientists can improve predictions of volcanic activity and better understand potential risks.
Although an eruption is not expected soon, this research is important for improving early warning systems and helping nearby coastal communities prepare for future volcanic events.
Mars may be cold and barren, but it might have supported life! At least, that’s what scientists think, after finding rocks with some very interesting spots. These markings, nicknamed “leopard spots” and “poppyseeds,” are minerals that could have been made by Martian microbes, early in the planet’s history. They were discovered by the Perseverance Rover, which has been exploring Mars since its 2021 landing.
The rover has been focused on Mars’s Jezero Crater, which used to be a huge lake with a river running into it before drying up billions of years ago. Now, Perseverance collects samples to analyze in its onboard lab! Car Bluetooth is cool but c’mon, it’s no analysis lab…
These rocks aren’t exactly the video diary of an alien’s day in the life on Mars, but they could be the clearest sign of life ever found on Mars, which is thought to be one of the most promising places in our Solar System to look for life outside of Earth. The only way to confirm if the minerals were made by microbes is to get them back to Earth, so NASA and the European Space Agency have proposed a mission to collect them. It’ll be expensive, but this could be the answer to if there was life on other planets!
Feeling the heat lately? It might be because of El Niño, a climate pattern characterized by unusually warm sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. It can affect the trade winds. These are the permanent, normally easterly winds that flow around the Earth's equator.
When we track the water temperature using tools like satellites, buoys, and ocean floats to measure temperatures below the ocean's surface, they show a large body of unusually hot water. Way bigger than the pot of water you’re boiling for your mac and cheese. Yes, even if you’re making extra mac and cheese. This is serious business! It can cause the sea-surface temperatures in parts of the tropical Pacific to rise by more than 2°C (about 3.6°F) above average, suggesting this year's El Niño is unusually strong, and could make 2027 one of the hottest years on record.
Depending on where you are in the world, El Niño is associated with both droughts and floods. These affect the lives of people living in those places, as well as their agriculture and food production, so the whole world feels the El Niño effects.
The article "Everything You Need to Know About Space Travel (Almost)" from BBC's Science Focus covers the history of space travel, its importance for science and humanity, the challenges of interstellar travel, and the benefits of space exploration.
The article "Water found buried under Mars equator" from BBC's Science Focus showcases the discovery of ice beneath Mars' equator using data from ESA's Mars Express spacecraft. This finding could be crucial for future human missions to Mars, as the ice deposits could provide a valuable water source.
The article "Is It True That the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans Don’t Mix?" from BBC's Science Focus debunks the viral myth that these two oceans remain separate. It explains how their waters do mix due to ocean currents and salinity differences.
The article "Something Very Weird Is Happening to the Planet's Earthquakes; Here's Why" from BBC's Science Focus discusses earthquakes that occur away from fault lines, known as intraplate earthquakes. Scientists are studying factors like ice sheet melting and deep-earth stress to understand these mysterious seismic events.
The article "New Computer Model Helps Predict Volcano Eruptions More Accurately" from BBC's Science Focus details how scientists have created a model that improves eruption forecasts. By analyzing historical data from Italy’s Campi Flegrei, the model enhances predictions and helps in disaster preparedness.
The article "Can We Stop Hurricanes? Exploring Innovative Solutions" from BBC's Science Focus explores futuristic ideas to mitigate hurricane damage. Scientists are developing methods such as offshore wind farms and cooling ocean surfaces to weaken storms before they reach land.
Scientists have found some very old ice. No, it’s not bag of frozen peas that have been in your freezer for three years (which means someone’s not eating their vegetables). It’s actually cores of Antarctic ice, the oldest that have ever been collected, that go back over a million years.
Researchers are keeping almost 200 pieces of meter-long ice cores that were drilled from a depth of almost 3 km over the course of four years. After careful preservation, the ice now needs to be melted in order to reveal the rich environmental history that the ice has to offer. When melted carefully and incredibly slowly, scientists can see how the Earth changed over time, including variations in temperature, snowfall, and wind, because the tiny bubbles give a snapshot of carbon dioxide levels.
Studying this old ice will help scientists understand our environment today. For example, the concentration of greenhouse gasses we see today is higher than they have been in the past 800,000 years. To understand how the climate might change in the future, we need to learn about how it’s changed in the past.
Ever wanted to hop onto a fluffy cloud? Catch a falling star? Bottle sunshine? Well, you can’t. But what you can do is hold some of the Moon in your hand… if you’re one of the few qualified scientists who are researching new lunar material. Sharing is caring, but these researchers have a great reason for being very precious with moon dust.
Moon dust is some of the rarest material on the planet and, for the first time, China has shared its samples of moon dust internationally. These samples have now racked up some serious frequent flyer miles, traveling across the globe after being taken all the way from the Moon. Talk about jet lag. Until now, scientists have been using samples collected decades ago. It wasn’t until 2020 that China’s spacecraft went to an unexplored spot of the Moon, then returned with 2 kilograms of moon rock. This dust is now being studied, and researchers are working carefully (VERY carefully) to uncover the evidence it has to offer about our universe’s environmental history.
In Uncovering the Sun’s Most Magnetic Secrets, narrator Richard Hammond explains how the Sun gives us warmth and light, but up close, it's a raging fireball that can unleash powerful solar storms, disrupting electricity and communication on Earth. To understand these storms, scientists launched the world’s most powerful solar telescope using a helium balloon and sending it 23 miles into the sky. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds, which uncovers the hidden forces and unseen phenomena shaping our world.
Underwater volcanoes are some of the least visible — but most important — geological features on Earth. Scientist Dr. Isobel Yeo studies these deep-sea volcanoes near the Greek island of Santorini using remotely-operated underwater robots. These robotic tools allow researchers to safely explore volcanic regions and locate hydrothermal vents, where hot gases and fluids escape from cracks in Earth’s crust.
Her team is focused on understanding how underwater eruptions behave differently from those on land. The surrounding water pressure, temperature, and ocean currents can all influence how magma and gases move during an eruption. By studying these systems, scientists can improve predictions of volcanic activity and better understand potential risks.
Although an eruption is not expected soon, this research is important for improving early warning systems and helping nearby coastal communities prepare for future volcanic events.
Mars may be cold and barren, but it might have supported life! At least, that’s what scientists think, after finding rocks with some very interesting spots. These markings, nicknamed “leopard spots” and “poppyseeds,” are minerals that could have been made by Martian microbes, early in the planet’s history. They were discovered by the Perseverance Rover, which has been exploring Mars since its 2021 landing.
The rover has been focused on Mars’s Jezero Crater, which used to be a huge lake with a river running into it before drying up billions of years ago. Now, Perseverance collects samples to analyze in its onboard lab! Car Bluetooth is cool but c’mon, it’s no analysis lab…
These rocks aren’t exactly the video diary of an alien’s day in the life on Mars, but they could be the clearest sign of life ever found on Mars, which is thought to be one of the most promising places in our Solar System to look for life outside of Earth. The only way to confirm if the minerals were made by microbes is to get them back to Earth, so NASA and the European Space Agency have proposed a mission to collect them. It’ll be expensive, but this could be the answer to if there was life on other planets!