The night sky changes before our eyes
Meet Katie Hunt, replacing Ashley Strickland, in this week’s CNN Science Bulletin.
It’s easy to think of the night sky as a constant source of wonder that has changed little since the dawn of humankind.
But our vision of the cosmos is changing due to the proliferation of satellites, like those launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. In less than a decade, 1 out of 15 points of light in the night sky will actually be a moving satellite – a big problem when you consider that you can only see about 4,000 stars with the naked eye.
This satellite pollution could hamper our ability to detect – and possibly deflect – asteroids.
Curiosities
If you’ve ever poured a beer into a clear glass and left it out in the sun, it can taste off-putting. This is because when beer hops are exposed to strong light, a photooxidation reaction occurs, creating the compound 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol. This is a chemical compound similar to the stinky odor produced by skunks.
Dark-tinted glass can help prevent this process, which brewers have dubbed “skunking.”
Dig it
While some similar ancient jar sites were discovered by the British in the 1920s, an excavation that took place in 2020 uncovered four previously unknown sites.
Similar jars have been found in Laos, a country in Southeast Asia, and researchers have been lucky enough to find jars still intact, with artifacts like beads and human remains inside.
However, these more recent findings were blank, making it difficult to determine what culture and when they came from. Researchers hope to find unopened jars that will shed light on their mysterious origins.
mission critical
Indigenous communities around the world have used fires for thousands of years to clear the land of additional debris.
Fighting fire with fire may seem counterintuitive, but this practice eliminates dry vegetation that can easily ignite and create intense flames that are harder to fight. It also makes forests more resilient, making future wildfires less likely.
A long time ago
I’m a cat person, but I’m not immune to a pair of puppy eyes staring at me with emotion. Nor, it seems, our Stone Age ancestors.
Turns out humans selectively bred dogs to have such irresistible eyes, and they started in regards to 33,000 years ago.
Once upon a planet
Don’t miss these cool reads:
Comments are closed.