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!
A total lunar eclipse happens when the Earth moves directly between the Sun and the Moon, blocking sunlight from reaching the Moon’s surface. During the eclipse, the Moon can appear dark red or copper-colored as sunlight bends through Earth’s atmosphere.
Even though the Moon travels around Earth about every 28 days, total lunar eclipses are rare. That’s because the Moon’s orbit is tilted slightly, so most months, the Moon passes a little above or below Earth’s shadow instead of through it. Only every six months or so are the Sun, Earth, and Moon lined up closely enough for a possible lunar eclipse.
Last September, millions of people around the world watched the rare event during organized watch parties and backyard gatherings. Astronomers encouraged people to bring blankets, snacks, and telescopes to enjoy the nighttime spectacle together. While cloudy skies blocked views in some places, observers across parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia were able to see the eclipse from beginning to end under clear skies.
Fill this journal with lovely nature things. Start by circling the weather. Is it sunny, cloudy, rainy, or rainbow-y? Next, finish coloring a beautiful rainbow. Name and draw your favorite bug and then circle all the things you like to do in nature. Ask a grown-up to help you make a fruity rainbow with strawberries, mandarins, bananas, sliced grapes, and blueberries.
The article "Is Our Universe Stranger Than We Thought?" from BBC's Science Focus is a fascinating look at new research on the Universe that challenges what we thought we knew. Differences in how we measure the Universe's expansion and how galaxies are spread out suggest there may be missing pieces in our understanding of space.
In The Amazon Rainforest and Human Destruction, look at satellite images that show how forests across South America are being replaced by farms at a rapid pace. Over two million species of plants and animals live in the Amazon rainforest and many are endangered. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Seven Worlds, One Planet, a series featuring remarkable animal behavior from all seven continents.
In Frost on the Taiga, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how frost forms on trees, branches, and leaves. But with each new ice crystal, more leaves die. The exception: coniferous trees, a type of tree that makes up the massive taiga biome. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.
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!
A total lunar eclipse happens when the Earth moves directly between the Sun and the Moon, blocking sunlight from reaching the Moon’s surface. During the eclipse, the Moon can appear dark red or copper-colored as sunlight bends through Earth’s atmosphere.
Even though the Moon travels around Earth about every 28 days, total lunar eclipses are rare. That’s because the Moon’s orbit is tilted slightly, so most months, the Moon passes a little above or below Earth’s shadow instead of through it. Only every six months or so are the Sun, Earth, and Moon lined up closely enough for a possible lunar eclipse.
Last September, millions of people around the world watched the rare event during organized watch parties and backyard gatherings. Astronomers encouraged people to bring blankets, snacks, and telescopes to enjoy the nighttime spectacle together. While cloudy skies blocked views in some places, observers across parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia were able to see the eclipse from beginning to end under clear skies.
Fill this journal with lovely nature things. Start by circling the weather. Is it sunny, cloudy, rainy, or rainbow-y? Next, finish coloring a beautiful rainbow. Name and draw your favorite bug and then circle all the things you like to do in nature. Ask a grown-up to help you make a fruity rainbow with strawberries, mandarins, bananas, sliced grapes, and blueberries.
The article "Is Our Universe Stranger Than We Thought?" from BBC's Science Focus is a fascinating look at new research on the Universe that challenges what we thought we knew. Differences in how we measure the Universe's expansion and how galaxies are spread out suggest there may be missing pieces in our understanding of space.
In The Amazon Rainforest and Human Destruction, look at satellite images that show how forests across South America are being replaced by farms at a rapid pace. Over two million species of plants and animals live in the Amazon rainforest and many are endangered. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Seven Worlds, One Planet, a series featuring remarkable animal behavior from all seven continents.
In Frost on the Taiga, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how frost forms on trees, branches, and leaves. But with each new ice crystal, more leaves die. The exception: coniferous trees, a type of tree that makes up the massive taiga biome. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Frozen Planet, a series that shows a fragile world of beauty and hostility, where nature finds a way to survive and thrive in frigid conditions.