Latest in Science
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Fireball may bring memories of past meteorites that fell in Florida
The American Meteor Society received nearly 150 reports of a meteor flashing through the daytime sky Thursday, June 26. Most of the reports were from Georgia and South Carolina, but a few reported seeing the fireball from Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina. It's possible the "rock" that hit a Georgia home was meteorite associated with the fireball. Meteorites aren't very common in Florida, but there have been documented reports over the last 100 years, including three in this century, according to The Meteoritical Society. The NWS station in Peachtree City, Georgia, posted on Facebook, "It appears that either a meteor or space junk crossed the skies of north Georgia just before 12:30 p.m." June 26. The American Meteor Society logged more than 200 witness reports from North Florida up to North Carolina and Tennessee of a bright streak in the sky. Most of the reports were in northeastern Georgia and western South Carolina, at around 12:21 p.m. ET. Bill Cooke, the chief of NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office at the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, told The New York Times and local news outlets the meteor was about 3 feet in diameter and weighed more than 1 ton The Peachtree National Weather Service said "a citizen reported that a 'rock' fell through their ceiling around the time of the reports of the 'earthquake.'" "We are presuming that a piece of the object fell through their roof," the Peachtree NWS said. "Henry County EMA also reported that the object broke through the roof, then the ceiling, before cracking the laminate on the floor and stopping." While not as common as neighboring states, meteorites have been reported in Florida. The Meteoritical Society lists the following: Okechobee, 1916 2.2 pounds Eustis, 1918 1.1 pounds Bonita Springs, 1938 92 pounds Grayton, 1983 24.9 pounds Orlando, 2004 .39 pounds Tiger Tail, 2015 .08 pounds Osceola, 2016 In total, eight stones were found with a combined weight of 2.4 pounds A "confirmed fall" followed a "large daytime fireball (that) streaked across the sky in northern Florida" on Jan. 24, 2016. Designated as Osceola, eight meteorites were found in the Osceola Wildlife Management Area west of Jacksonville, with a combined weight of 2.4 pounds, according to The Meteoritical Society ➤ See photos A meteoroid is a rock in space. It becomes a meteor when it enters Earth's atmosphere and is commonly called a "shooting star" or "fireball." If it hits the ground, it's a meteorite, NASA said. "Scientists estimate about 48.5 tons of meteoritic material falls on Earth each day," according to NASA. "Almost all the material is vaporized in Earth's atmosphere, leaving a bright trail fondly called 'shooting stars.' "Several meteors per hour can usually be seen on any given night. Sometimes the number increases dramatically —these events are called meteor showers." The Bootid meteor shower is an unpredictable shower that peaks today, June 27, although it'll remain active until about July 2, according to The best times to catch the Bootid meteor shower are a couple of hours before dawn and after sunset, according to Forbes. Contributing: Eric Lagatta, C.A. Bridges, USA Today Network-Florida This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Fireball in the sky: List of meteorites that hit Florida
The Hindu
19 minutes ago
- Science
- The Hindu
IIA researchers use commercial dish TV antennas to measure Sun's magnetic field
A team of scientists and engineers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) radio astronomy group has used a novel technique to measure the Sun's magnetic field using commercial dish TV antennas. The technique involves measuring the magnetic field in the solar chromosphere, the region between the Sun's photosphere and corona, using the commercial dish TV antennas. The team demonstrated the technique recently. According to the team, the antennas operate at a frequency of 11.2 GHz, which is in the radio astronomy band of the electromagnetic spectrum. They said that this novel and unique effort has paved the way for regular measurement of the Sun's magnetic field from its surface to the outer layers of its atmosphere. 'Measurement of the magnetic field in the solar chromosphere is a key link to establish the connection between the Sun's surface and its corona from where the space weather disturbances originate. We are glad to have established a comparatively low-cost facility in the institute's Radio Astronomy Field Station in Gauribidanur for this purpose,' R. Ramesh, senior IIA professor and in charge of the Gauribidanur radio astronomy field station, told The Hindu. Spurring other experiments Prof. Ramesh said that the affordable set-up is expected to spur the educational institutions in the country to establish a similar facility on their campus, thereby paving the way for affordable astronomy that can provide valuable scientific quality data in addition to being a test bed to develop new technology within the country. Students from BMS College of Engineering, Bengaluru, and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetam, Bengaluru Campus, were involved in the set-up in Gauribidanur as part of their academic project work. He said the set-up will cost ₹20 lakh. 'This is a paltry sum compared to the budget required to establish a similar facility for measuring the Sun's magnetic field via conventional optical astronomy techniques, either from ground or space platforms,' he added.
The National
19 minutes ago
- Science
- The National
Pictures of the week: From a mosque in Oman to a mangrove in Indonesia
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally • Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered • Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity • Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Science
- Yahoo
'Pulsing, like a heartbeat': Rhythmic mantle plume rising beneath Ethiopia is creating a new ocean
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Rhythmic pulses of molten rock are rising beneath eastern Africa, according to a new study. The pulsing plume of hot mantle beneath Ethiopia, driven by plate tectonics, is slowly pulling the region apart and forming a new ocean near the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, researchers reported June 25 in the journal Nature Geoscience. "We have found that the evolution of deep mantle upwellings is intimately tied to the motion of the plates above," Derek Keir, an Earth scientist at the University of Southampton and the University of Florence, said in a statement. "This has profound implications for how we interpret surface volcanism, earthquake activity, and the process of continental breakup." The mantle plume lies under Ethiopia's Afar region, at the intersection of three tectonic plates. All of the rifts between these plates are different ages, and they are changing at different rates; some are in the process of forming new oceans, while others are pulling apart the crust beneath Africa. But the structure and motion of the plume, as well as the forces driving these movements, aren't well understood. To investigate the structure of the crust and the mantle plume beneath it, the scientists studied the chemical compositions of more than 130 samples of volcanic rocks from the Afar region. These samples provided information about the depth and composition of melted rock beneath the surface. The team also used computer models to determine how the region might respond to different kinds of mantle plumes and compared those responses to existing geological data. A single mantle plume lies beneath all three rifts, the researchers found, but its chemical composition is not uniform. Further, the molten rock surges upward rhythmically, leaving behind distinct chemical signatures. "The chemical striping suggests the plume is pulsing, like a heartbeat," Tom Gernon, an Earth scientist at the University of Southampton, said in the statement. "These pulses appear to behave differently depending on the thickness of the plate, and how fast it's pulling apart. In faster-spreading rifts like the Red Sea, the pulses travel more efficiently and regularly like a pulse through a narrow artery." RELATED STORIES —Study reveals 'flawed argument' in debate over when plate tectonics began —There's a 'ghost' plume lurking beneath the Middle East — and it might explain how India wound up where it is today —Africa is being torn apart by a 'superplume' of hot rock from deep within Earth, study suggests Varying spacing between the stripes in different rifts suggests that the mantle plume responds differently depending on the tectonic plates above. In places where the lithosphere — the crust and upper mantle — is thicker, the mantle flow is impeded, and the striping is more condensed. Under a thinner lithosphere, the stripes are more spread out. The findings could help scientists understand volcanic activity at the surface. "The work shows that deep mantle upwellings can flow beneath the base of tectonic plates and help to focus volcanic activity to where the tectonic plate is thinnest," Keir said in the statement. Future work in the Afar region could involve investigating the rate of mantle flow beneath the various plates, Keir added.
Leaders
23 minutes ago
- Business
- Leaders
ICAIRE, Microsoft Launch 2nd Phase of 'Elevate Initiative' to Train 5,000 Women in AI
The International Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Ethics (ICAIRE), headquartered in Riyadh, has announced the launch of the second cohort of its Elevate Initiative , in collaboration with Microsoft and under the sponsorship of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). This new phase aims to train 5,000 women worldwide in artificial intelligence, following the success of the first cohort, which equipped 1,000 women with foundational AI skills. The program forms part of ICAIRE's broader mission to build AI capacity among 25,000 women across the globe. The announcement was made by ICAIRE Acting Managing Director Dr. Abdulrahman Habib during a dialogue session at the third annual UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of AI, held this year in Bangkok, Thailand. Dr. Habib also emphasized ICAIRE's leadership in ethical AI research, its role in shaping policy recommendations, and its commitment to fostering global dialogue around responsible AI development. He highlighted inclusivity as a critical factor in driving innovation and expanding the intellectual landscape in AI. Moreover, increasing female representation in the AI sector, he said, is essential—and the Elevate Initiative plays a key role in making that vision a reality. The program offers a six-week, 26-hour curriculum that combines interactive courses, hands-on workshops, and mentorship from certified experts. Additionally, participants will receive a certificate of attendance and a scholarship to take the Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900) certification exam. Interested participants can register at: Related Topics : Paris AI Action Summit: SDAIA Highlights Saudi Arabia as Comprehensive Governance Model SDAIA Winter School Boosts AI Sector with International Researchers NEOM Ignites AI Revolution with $5 Billion Oxagon Data Center Saudi Arabia Hosts Catwalk 2025 in Al-Jouf, Hail Short link : Post Views: 182
