
New images reveal stunning views from mission to ‘touch' the sun

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
A meteor may have led to the formation of the Grand Canyon, new study says
A meteor may have led to the formation of the Grand Canyon, a new study has found. While many Americans are familiar with the Grand Canyon's beauty and uniqueness, they may not be aware of the story behind its formation. The Colorado River may have etched the canyon one mile deep, as rocky debris transported in floods did most of the carving, according to the Grand Canyon Conservancy. But what caused the flooding? A study published in Geology on Tuesday tied another Arizona landmark, the Meteor Crater, to the formation of the Grand Canyon. A meteor may have led to the formation of the Grand Canyon, a new study has found (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images) The study hypothesized the Meteor Crater, which was formed 56,000 years ago, triggered landslides in the Grand Canyon that blocked the Colorado River and formed a paleolake — a lake that has existed in the past— in the canyon. Geologists have long wondered how and when driftwood found in Stanton's Cave in the Grand Canyon got there, as the mouth of the cave is 150 feet above the river. There are also lake sediments found in the cave. "It would have required a 10-times bigger flood level than any flood that has happened in the past several thousand years,' one of the study's authors, University of New Mexico Distinguished Professor Emeritus Karl Karlstrom, said in a press release Tuesday. He continued: 'Or maybe they are very old deposits left as the river carved down, or maybe they floated in from a paleolake caused by a downstream lava dam or landslide dam? We needed to know the age of the cave deposits.' A study published Tuesday tied the Meteor Crater to the formation of the Grand Canyon (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images) The study hypothesized the Meteor Crater, which was formed 56,000 years ago, triggered landslides in the Grand Canyon that blocked the Colorado River and formed a paleolake, in other words, a former lake, in the canyon () The study found the driftwood to be 56,000 years old, the same geologic age as the asteroid impact and the landslide dam. Researchers suggested because the landslide appears to have the same age as Meteor Crater, the asteroid impact blast caused the landslide. The paleolake formed from the landslide, which dammed the Colorado River. Caves, such as Stanton's Cave, were flooded by the paleolake.


Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
More Time At Intersections Saves Walkers' Lives, New Study Shows
A 7-second delay for drivers resulted in a 33 % reduction in total pedestrian injuries – both fatal ... More and non-fatal — at New York City intersections, a new study found. Giving pedestrians a 7-second head start at traffic lights can reduce injuries and deaths by a third. The traffic safety intervention can mean the difference between life and death for walkers, and is one of the most affordable and do-able measures to implement that could be adopted more widely. Those are the main findings of a new study announced on Friday by the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, published in 'Nature Cities,' that found that a 7-second delay for drivers resulted in a 33 % reduction in total pedestrian injuries – both fatal and non-fatal -- at New York City intersections, 'The idea is to give pedestrians time to reach the center of the intersection where they're more visible,' Christopher Morrison, lead author of the study and assistant professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School, said in a statement. 'Most pedestrian-vehicle crashes happen near the curb, where drivers are less likely to see people crossing.' The delays or longer head starts, called 'Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs), ' allow walkers to begin crossing before vehicles get a green light to turn, typically offering a 7–11 second lead, depending on the intersection size. For the study, 'Effectiveness of leading pedestrian intervals for city walkers' safety,' researchers analyzed 6,003 intersections in New York City from 2013-2018 in what they said is the largest dataset to date evaluating the treatment's effectiveness and risk. Of the intersections assessed, nearly half had leading pedestrian interval treatments installed. Researchers focused on pedestrian injuries occurring within 100 feet of a signalized intersection. The reduction in injuries to walkers was consistent across all intersection types, according to the study, with the most pronounced impact seen during daylight hours, when fatal pedestrian crashes dropped by 65 %. 'As someone who lives in the city, it is good to know that interventions like LPIs led by NYCDOT are making pedestrians safe,' Siddhesh Zadey, a co-author and doctoral student in Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School, said in a statement. The report noted that New York City was an early adopter in the United States of the Vision Zero or Safe System approach to road safety and design that takes human error into account, first put into effect in Sweden in the 1990s. The goal of the initiative is to eliminate all road deaths and serious injuries by creating multiple layers of protection, so if one fails, the others will provide a safety net to lessen the impact of a crash. Improvements are designed to result in: safer people, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and better post-crash care. As part of the safety net, leading pedestrian intervals—alongside other low-cost measures like speed humps and turn-calming treatments like rubber speed bumps— 'are central to the city's pedestrian safety strategy,' researchers noted. 'LPIs are one of the most affordable and scalable traffic safety interventions,' added Morrison, the lead author of the study. 'A 7-second delay for drivers can mean the difference between life and death for pedestrians. Our findings show they work—and should be adopted more widely.' For more information and to access the study, click here and here.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Meteor strike may have triggered a landslide in the Grand Canyon some 56,000 years ago
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. - Two landmarks in the Desert Southwest may share a historic connection, unveiled in a study published in the journal Geology. Researchers led by a team at the University of New Mexico suggest that a large meteor triggered a massive landslide in the nearby Grand Canyon, blocking the Colorado River and forming a 50-mile-long lake. Evidence comes from decades of investigative work involving driftwood and lake sediments found in caves high above the river in the Grand Canyon. So how did decaying wood make it to at least 150 feet above the surface of the water? "It would have required a ten-times bigger flood level than any flood that has happened in the past several thousand years," Karl Karlstrom, the study's co-author, stated. "Or maybe they are very old deposits left as the river carved down, or maybe they floated in from a paleolake caused by a downstream lava dam or landslide dam." Original carbon dating performed in the 1960s estimated that the wood was at least 35,000 years old, but modern technology provided a more precise estimate of around 55,600 years - a time period that matches a meteor strike estimated to have occurred between 53,000 and 63,000 years ago. Prolonged Heat Waves At National Parks Could Pose Serious Risks To Visitors The study suggests that after the meteor collision, a shock wave, resembling at least a magnitude-5.4 earthquake, loosened rocks and cliffs, creating a landslide that effectively acted as a dam for the Colorado River, which then formed a lake. Based on aquatic sediments tested, researchers estimated the lake would have stretched about 50 miles and reached depths of at least 300 feet. "The team put together these arguments without claiming we have final proof; there are other possibilities, such as a random rockfall or local earthquake within a thousand years of the Meteor Crater impact that could have happened independently," Karlstrom explained. "Nevertheless, the meteorite impact, the massive landslide, the lake deposits, and the driftwood high above river level are all rare and unusual occurrences. The mean of dates from them converge into a narrow window of time at 55,600 ± 1,300 years ago which gives credence to the hypothesis that they were causally related." Over time, the dam that once blocked the Colorado River is thought to have eroded, and the massive lake has since dried up and filled with debris. Nearly 300 Queen Conchs Found After Illegal Harvest In Florida Keys Experts with the Lunar and Planetary Institute estimated that the size of the asteroid was likely in the ballpark of 100 to 170 feet across, which is large enough to destroy a community the size of Kansas City. Researchers did not state whether other nearby rockfalls may be attributed to the meteor strike or whether they happened overtime through a more natural Earth-based article source: Meteor strike may have triggered a landslide in the Grand Canyon some 56,000 years ago Solve the daily Crossword