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Read about the importance of International Observe the Moon Night and how you can celebrate it on September 14, 2024!

Beginning in 2010, NASA began International Observe the Moon Night based on two events occurring simultaneously in 2009 during the International Year of Astronomy celebration: “We’re at the Moon!”, which was sponsored by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) teams, and “National Observe the Moon Night”, which was hosted in the United States.

This year’s International Observe the Moon Night is occurring on September 14 with the goal of sharing the incredible science and wonder of the Moon, including its observational and scientific history, why it’s so important to study, and how we’re studying it. For example, evidence has suggested that ancient humans as far back as 20,000 years ago used the Moon as a timekeeping device due to the changing phases of the Moon over the course of a month. Additionally, when observing the Moon with either the naked eye or a telescope, the Moon’s surface exhibits both bright and dark colors, which are the Moon’s lava plains and highlands, respectively.

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Do cities get more rainfall than rural areas?

How does an urban environment influence its rainfall? This is what a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated what is known as the urban precipitation anomaly, which is when urban environments potentially cause increases in rainfall compared to rural environments due to increased surface temperatures. This study holds the potential to help researchers, climate scientists, and the public better understand the impact that urban environments have on the climate, specifically as climate change continues to ravage the planet.

For the study, the researchers analyzed urban precipitation anomalies across 1.056 cities around the world with the goal of ascertaining the scope of these anomalies based on location and present climates and developing more accurate climatology datasets and greater resilience among cities. In the end, the researchers found that 60 percent of cities around the world have increased levels of urban precipitation anomalies, with the most extreme anomalies occurring in Africa where the surface temperatures are already high, with one factor being tall buildings result in wind being funneled into city centers.

Continue reading “Global Study Reveals Urban Areas Receive Significantly More Rainfall Than Rural Neighbors” »

By tapping into a decades-old mathematical principle, researchers are hoping that Kolmogorov-Arnold networks will facilitate scientific discovery.

September’s full Harvest Moon will drift into Earth’s shadow for a partial eclipse on Sept. 17. It is also the second of four consecutive supermoons this year, making our natural satellite look bigger and brighter than usual.

An up-and-coming startup in the world of AI chips might be giving Nvidia a run for its money.

Life insurers and those offering income protection and permanent disability insurance will be banned from using genetic testing to refuse cover, or hike up charges, for a range of insurance products.

The federal government announced on Tuesday it would ban the practice that saw consumers discriminated against if they disclosed the results of genetic tests that predict their likelihood of an inherited disease.

It comes after consultation to address genetic discrimination in life insurance earlier this year. More than 1,000 submissions were received with 97 per cent supporting a total ban.

NASA’s Valkyrie robot is an intimidating figure. It is currently being put through its paces at the Karda laboratory in Australia so researchers can work out what it would take to get a humanoid robot onto offshore energy facilities or into space. New Scientist‘s James Woodford took the controls to see what the $2 million-plus device is capable of.