A College Town Gets Ready for Its Moment Under No Sun
One of the best places to view August’s solar eclipse, Carbondale, home to Southern Illinois University, will host scientists and eclipse groupies.
Highlights
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CreditChris Buck for The New York Times -
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CreditJustin Schuetz Trilobites
This Beautiful Parasitic Bird Could Soon Turn Up in Your Yard
Scientists developed a model to predict the spread of pin-tailed whydahs, and found they could strain native bird species in California, Texas and elsewhere.
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CreditChristina Zdenek Trilobites
Drumming Cockatoos and the Rhythms of Love
Palm cockatoos are the only animals observed to use tools for rhythmic drumming, seemingly to attract mates, prompting speculation about the rise of human music.
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CreditTerry Kreeger Matter
Fire May Be the Only Remedy for a Plague Killing Deer and Elk
Deer and elk are dying from chronic wasting disease in growing numbers. Burning the land may be the only way to turn back the disease.
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Credit As Climate Changes, Southern States Will Suffer More Than Others
The most detailed economic study yet of global warming’s cost to the United States finds that the Southeast and Midwest will be hardest hit.
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CreditNASA Waves Above the Earth May Have Once Caused a ‘Nocturnal Sun’
Historical observations of bright nights that were almost like daytime have a new explanation in forces of the upper atmosphere.
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CreditJosh Miller A Sense of Duty to Teach Climate Change
The New York Times asked teachers how they are approaching the subject of climate change in their classrooms.
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CreditIllustration by Paul Sahre Greetings, E.T. (Please Don’t Murder Us.)
A new initiative to beam messages into space may be our best shot yet at learning whether we’re alone in the universe. There’s just one problem: What if we’re not?
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CreditCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization Carbon in Atmosphere Is Rising, Even as Emissions Stabilize
Scientists are concerned over the cause of the rapid rise, which may indicate the world’s natural sponges that absorb carbon dioxide have changed.
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Credit Solving the Scorching Mystery of the Sun’s Erupting Plasma Jets
After decades of study, scientists have developed a model to explain how violent solar spicules form.
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Credit High Above Mars, a NASA Orbiter Spies the Curiosity Rover
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been taking images of the rover about every three months to monitor the surrounding area for changes.
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Credit Why Do Bird Eggs Have Different Shapes? Look to the Wings
In the most comprehensive study of egg shapes to date, scientists say that the best predictor of long or pointy eggs is a bird’s flying ability.
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Credit Sun Showers and the Science Behind This Weather Paradox
Let’s take a moment to appreciate what causes the phenomenon of rain falling at the same time that the sun is shining.
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Credit Summer Solstice: A Great Moment to Ponder the Sun
The scientific start to summer in the Northern Hemisphere this week comes ahead of a total solar eclipse in August, when the moon will engulf the sun.
