As sea ice disappears and grows less reflective, the Arctic has lost around a quarter of its cooling power since 1980, and the world has lost up to 15%, according to new research led by University of Michigan scientists.
Earth Sciences
Jul 17, 2024
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843
Scientists have confirmed a cave on the moon, not far from where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed 55 years ago, and suspect there are hundreds more that could house future astronauts.
Astronomy
Jul 16, 2024
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38
The presence of conduits below the lunar surface has been theorized and extensively debated for at least 50 years. Now, an analysis of NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter radar data reveals what lies below the Mare Tranquillitatis.
Space Exploration
Jul 15, 2024
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81
Offering a foretaste of what's to come once it is fully commissioned, ESA's EarthCARE satellite has returned the first images from its broadband radiometer instrument. These initial images offer a tantalizing glimpse into ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 5, 2024
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39
When astronauts land on Mars someday, they might have to live in lava caves or lava tubes to survive the harsh radiation that rains down on the Martian surface every second. But which caves could offer them the best chance ...
Space Exploration
Jul 1, 2024
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2
The space environment is harsh and full of extreme radiation. Scientists designing spacecraft and satellites need materials that can withstand these conditions.
General Physics
Jun 24, 2024
0
174
Abrupt shifts within complex systems such as the Earth's climate system are extremely hard to predict. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) have ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 17, 2024
0
57
In addition to producing auroras, a recent extreme storm provided more detail on how much radiation future astronauts could encounter on the Red Planet.
Space Exploration
Jun 10, 2024
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45
In May, powerful solar storms delivered stunning auroras to latitudes that rarely experience them. Light shows were seen as far south as Florida and Texas, while more northerly areas of the United States were treated to spectacular ...
Astronomy
Jun 4, 2024
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28
Skoltech scientists have proposed a fast, scalable, wasteless chemical treatment technique for endowing carbon nanotube films with all the right properties to improve the performance of solar panels, touchscreens, and more.
Nanomaterials
May 31, 2024
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80
Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total spectrum of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is filtered through the atmosphere, and the solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon. Near the poles in summer, the days are longer and the nights are shorter or non-existent. In the winter at the poles the nights are longer and for some periods of time, sunlight may not occur at all. When the direct radiation is not blocked by clouds, it is experienced as sunshine, a combination of bright light and heat. Radiant heat directly produced by the radiation of the sun is different from the increase in atmospheric temperature due to the radiative heating of the atmosphere by the sun's radiation. Sunlight may be recorded using a sunshine recorder, pyranometer or pyrheliometer. Sunlight takes about 8.3 minutes to reach the Earth. The World Meteorological Organization defines sunshine as direct irradiance from the Sun measured on the ground of at least 120 watts per square metre.
Direct sunlight has a luminous efficacy of about 93 lumens per watt of radiant flux, which includes infrared, visible, and ultra-violet light. Bright sunlight provides luminance of approximately 100,000 candela per square meter at the Earth's surface.
Sunlight is a key factor in photosynthesis, a process crucially important for life on Earth.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA