Satellites are burning up in the upper atmosphere – and we still don’t know what impact this will have on the Earth’s climate: Paul Fleet / shutterstock Elon Musk’s SpaceX has announced it will dispose of 100 Starlink satellites over the next six months, after it discovered a design flaw that may cause them to …
Clouds of quartz detected high in a distant planet’s atmosphere – here’s what this tells us about other worlds: Artists impression of what WASP-17b could look like, based on data gathered by Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and other ground- and space-based telescopes, including the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) Quartz, …
Countries agreed to ban ozone-depleting chemicals in the 1980s – but we found five CFCs increasing to record levels in the atmosphere: Despite a global ban in place since 2010, atmospheric concentrations of five ozone-depleting chemicals have reached a record high. Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, are entirely man-made gases used in a variety of applications, including …
What makes a national atmosphere? An expert explains the mood surrounding the Queen’s death: Loredana Sangiuliano / Shutterstock A national mood, ambience, community spirit, a feeling in the air. There are many ways people might describe the collective sense of an intangible something that occurs around major events. My research explores what makes a national …
Methane in the atmosphere is at an all-time high – here’s what it means for climate change: Sunrise over a bog in Eastern Europe. Adamikarl/Shutterstock Methane recently reached 1,900 parts per billion (ppb) of Earth’s atmosphere according to measurements taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US. This compares with about …
Diversity in the workplace must be matched with an atmosphere of genuine inclusion: Shutterstock/Rawpixel.com The idea that greater diversity in the workplace is good for business seems to be gaining ground. In a recent major step in December 2021, BT announced plans for 25% of its workforce to be from “non-white backgrounds” by the end …
We can’t let markets decide the future of removing carbon from the atmosphere: Mike Pellinni / shutterstock Net zero emission pledges by countries and companies are everywhere at the moment. Most of these pledges rely on massive amounts of carbon removal, yet details on how this will transpire remain largely absent. The COP26 agreement suggests …
Repairing ozone layer is also reducing CO? in the atmosphere – new study: Studio23/Shutterstock Spring 2060. In dark glasses, a wide sunhat and with what little exposed skin left caked in sun cream, a child stares at the woodland across from their house. It looks scraggly and stunted, and with far fewer leaves than in …
The sun’s atmosphere is hundreds of times hotter than its surface – here’s why: Mongta Studio/Shutterstock The visible surface of the sun, or the photosphere, is around 6,000°C. But a few thousand kilometres above it – a small distance when we consider the size of the sun – the solar atmosphere, also called the corona, …
Dust in the atmosphere is a sign of trouble in South Africa’s maize fields: South Africa's dust sources are largely caused by the human response to drought conditions. GettyImages Satellites have been sentinels in space, examining the earth since the 1960s to detect changing weather patterns, land use, deforestation, melting ice caps and fire patterns. …
Billions of years ago, the rise of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere caused a worldwide deep freeze: Nostalgia for Infinity / shutterstock Around two and a half billion years ago the Earth was an alien world that would have been hostile to most of the complex life that surrounds us today. This was a planet where …
‘The atmosphere was strange’ How the opposition reported Birmingham City’s win over Leeds United: The winger pounced with seven minutes to go, smashing a rebound into the roof of the net after Whites goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald parried Jota's low drive into the crowded box. Leeds United's hopes of closing to within just two points of …