A Japanese Poet Witnessed a Solar Storm in 1204 - Science Just Proved It

In 1204, a Japanese poet named Fujiwara no Teika sat down and wrote something strange in his diary. Not about love. Not about war. Not about the changing seasons his usual subjects. He wrote about the sky. "Tonight, the sky was red like blood. Not a cloud in sight. The redness…

Scientists Discover Signs of Alien Life in Venus's Atmosphere: "For Years We Missed Something Important"

The sky of Venus may contain traces of alien life, according to scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the search for extraterrestrial life, the second planet from our Sun has long been ignored. Why? The surface of Venus reaches temperatures exceeding 426 deg…

Which Nighttime Star is Brightest?

The brightest nighttime star is Sirius, often called the Dog Star because it’s the alpha star in Canis Major (the Great Dog). Visible in the Northern Hemisphere during winter, Sirius glows at magnitude –1.46, nearly twice as bright as the next brightest star in the sky.

When is The Next Great American Eclipse?

The continental U.S. will see a brief total solar eclipse in 2044, but it touches only three states. The next truly Great American Eclipse will happen on August 12, 2045 . It will offer up to 6 minutes and 6 seconds of totality and cross 15 states, from California to Florida.

Which Eclipse In our Lifetimes Has The Longest Totality?

The total solar eclipse on August 2, 2027 , will have the longest totality in our lifetimes: 6 minutes and 23 seconds. That record won’t be broken until June 3, 2114 , when totality reaches 6 minutes and 32 seconds.

How Fast Does Earth Travel In Its Orbit?

Earth travels around the Sun in an elliptical orbit. It moves fastest at perihelion (closest to the Sun, around January 4) and slowest at aphelion (farthest from the Sun, around July 4). At perihelion, Earth’s orbital speed is 67,750 mph (109,033 km/h). At aphelion, it’s 65,500 …

Why Do Stars Explode?

Stars explode through two main processes. The most common, a type II supernova , happens when a massive star runs out of nuclear fuel in its core. Gravity then wins over the outward push of radiation, the core collapses, and a huge burst of energy blasts the star’s outer layers i…

The Texas radio station that burned Beatles records in 1966 was struck by lightning the next day.

After John Lennon said the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus,” some US radio stations staged angry protests. KLUE in Longview, Texas, piled Beatles albums into a bonfire on August 19, 1966. The very next day, a lightning bolt struck the station’s 500-foot transmitter tower, …

No one knows who named the Earth.

Every other planet in our solar system has a named mythological origin Mars, Venus, Jupiter. But “Earth” comes from the Old English eorþe , meaning ground or soil. It’s one of humanity’s oldest words, used for thousands of years before anyone realized it was also a planet. Unlike …