Unfortunately, that probably won’t happen – The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – It’s Sunday in the campground just 13 miles north of the White House and summer is right around the corner after a few glorious spring days just over the District of Columbia line in Maryland. We had a…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – Hey, I’m as big a science geek and science fiction fan as anyone else. The announcement by NASA of a plan to go back to the moon and on to Mars should be a moment for excitement and an occasion for national and human pride. So why…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — The continent of Antarctica on Earth’s South Pole is losing its ice cover so fast that NASA and the European Space Agency just sent out an email blast about a new study showing that the impact is already contributing to an increase in rising global sea levels in…
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — As we wait for a massive storm that could dump seven inches of rain here to make it over from New Orleans, this is a good time to talk about the upcoming hurricane season of 2018 and the latest science news about global warming and climate change. Climate…
By Patrick Lynch – In spite of restrictions by the Trump administration not to talk about global warming or using the terminology of “climate change,” the scientists and public relations folks at NASA have come up with a way to continue the research and show us the results. NASA research shows that permafrost — permanently frozen…
By Glynn Wilson – Why is the Arctic warming faster than the rest of the planet? Does mineral dust warm or cool the atmosphere? These are actual questions just out from NASA about an ongoing research program. While the Trump administration has banished the use of the term climate change or global warming from the…
By Glynn Wilson — WASHINGTON, D.C. — It’s hard to get any official sources in the nation’s capital to talk openly about the reality of climate change due to global warming from the burning of fossil fuels. With the climate change denier in chief in the Oval Office ordering federal agencies to wipe science information…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — NASA’s Cassini spacecraft made its final plunge into the atmosphere of Saturn on Friday, ending its 13-year tour of the ringed planet. “This is the final chapter of an amazing mission, but it’s also a new beginning,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.…
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is on final approach to Saturn, following confirmation by mission navigators that it is on course to dive into the planet’s atmosphere on Friday, Sept. 15. Cassini is ending its 13-year tour of the Saturn system with an intentional plunge into the planet to ensure Saturn’s moons – in particular Enceladus, with…
A new movie reminds us of past racial injustice as a new administration tries to roll back the clock – By Bill Moyers – As the Senate hearings for Jeff Sessions’ nomination as attorney general ran into their second day, I kept thinking about the movie Hidden Figures, which my wife Judith and I saw…
By Glynn Wilson – An airborne experiment to improve scientists’ understanding of the sources of two powerful greenhouse gases and how they cycle into and out of the atmosphere is being launched this month by NASA. Atmospheric Carbon and Transport–America, or ACT-America, will measure concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane alongside related weather systems. The…
By Glynn Wilson – Scientists have confirmed that Juno, a craft the size of a football field launched to explore some key secrets of space, successfully entered the volatile atmosphere in an orbit around Jupiter Monday night about the time most Fourth of July fireworks shows in the United States were climaxing. After a five-year…
By Glynn Wilson – As Americans party by the water, gorge on barbecue and take in the fireworks shows on the Fourth of July 2016, space scientists from Florida to California will be consuming coffee and staring at computer screens waiting to see if the Juno probe will successfully enter the volotile atmosphere of Jupiter.…
By Glynn Wilson – Scientists have located 39 new major sources of toxic sulfur dioxide emissions previously unreported by existing methods, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature Geosciences. A known health hazard and contributor to acid rain, sulfur dioxide (SO2) is one of six air pollutants regulated by the U.S.…
By Glynn Wilson – We are closer than ever to answering the question: Are we alone in the universe? If there are other planets out there that could support life like Earth, NASA’s Kepler space telescope may find them first. Due to the most recent analysis of data from Kepler, launched in March 2009 and…
This Earth Day, April 22, NASA is inviting people around the world to share what they are doing to celebrate and improve the home planet on social media, while the space agency shares aspects of a “day in the life” of NASA’s Earth science research. The Earth Day #24Seven campaign will give the world a…
By Glynn Wilson – A significant group of climate scientists issued a dramatic editorial statement in the journal Nature Climate Change this week on the effects of human induced global warming from the burning of fossil fuels. They make the argument that we are making a mistake to only think about the effects of global…
Earth’s 2015 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern record keeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses released on Wednesday by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Globally-averaged temperatures in 2015 shattered the previous mark set in 2014 by 0.23 degrees Fahrenheit (0.13 Celsius). Only once before, in 1998, has the new…
By Renee Lewis – The weather effects of El Niño, already blamed in large part for unusual winter floods, tornadoes and other extreme weather in the U.S., the U.K. and other countries during 2015, is far from over. Scientists predict El Niño’s worst effects will be felt in 2016. “El Niño 2015 has already created…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – Seas around the world have risen an average of nearly 3 inches since 1992, with some locations rising more than 9 inches due to natural variation, according to the latest satellite measurements from NASA. An intensive research effort now underway, aided by NASA observations and analysis, points to…
