Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Environment
Air pollution takes a toll on solar energy
Dust and other tiny air pollutants can reduce solar energy output by as much as 25 percent in parts of the world.
- Climate
Rising temperatures threaten heat-tolerant aardvarks
Aardvarks may get a roundabout hit from climate change — less food.
- Earth
North America’s largest recorded earthquake helped confirm plate tectonics
Henry Fountain’s 'The Great Quake' mixes drama and science to tell the story of the 1964 Alaska earthquake.
- Oceans
How deep water surfaces around Antarctica
New 3-D maps trace the pathway that deep water takes to the surface of the Southern Ocean.
- Archaeology
Ancient mud documents the legacy of Rome’s lead pipes
Researchers used lead levels in Rome’s ancient harbors to track lead pipe use and urbanization.
- Astronomy
On a mountain in Wyoming, the eclipse brings wonder — and, hopefully, answers
Astronomy writer Lisa Grossman joined scientists on a mountain in Wyoming who were measuring the corona using four different instruments to try to figure out why it’s so hot.
- Astronomy
Does the corona look different when solar activity is high versus when it’s low?
Carbondale, Ill., will get two eclipses in a row, seven years apart — making it the perfect spot to watch the solar cycle in action.
- Astronomy
Why are the loops in the sun’s atmosphere so neat and tidy?
Observations during the total solar eclipse may explain why the sun’s atmosphere is so organized despite arising from a tangled magnetic field.
- Animals
Giant larvaceans could be ferrying ocean plastic to the seafloor
Giant larvaceans could mistakenly capture microplastics, in addition to food, in their mucus houses and transfer them to the seafloor in their feces.
- Astronomy
What can the eclipse tell us about the corona’s magnetic field?
The corona’s plasma jumps and dances thanks to the magnetic field, but scientists have never measured the field directly.
- Earth
Seismologists get to the bottom of how deep Earth’s continents go
Scientists may have finally pinpointed the bottoms of the continents.
- Astronomy
What can we learn about Mercury’s surface during the eclipse?
Instruments aboard twin research jets will take advantage of the total solar eclipse to make the first thermal map of Mercury.
