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☆ White Gladis, the killer whale who could be behind orcas attacking boats, was pregnant when she started the 'uprising'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Scientists believe the orca White Gladis was pregnant when she started ramming into boats in 2020. White Gladis later gave birth to her calf in 2021, following a 16-18 month pregnancy. White Gladis is just one among many orcas in this apparent uprising. White Gladis first started ramming boats in the summer of 2020 and later gave birth to her calf in 2021, according to LiveScience. Many orca experts that Insider has spoken to maintain that White Gladis' behavior isn't rooted in trauma or revenge.

Persons: White Gladis, —, she's, Mónica González, Alfredo López Fernandez, LiveScience, Forbes, White, Renaud de Stephanis, Deborah Giles Organizations: Service, University of Aveiro, Orca Working, Orca, BBC Locations: Spain, Portugal

☆ The sun's activity could peak 2 years early, frying satellites and causing radio blackouts by the end of this year, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Jessica Orwig | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The sun is becoming more active and may reach peak activity sooner than expected. We're currently approaching solar maximum, when the sun reaches peak activity, which experts have previously predicted should happen in 2025. NASAFor example, already this year a powerful solar flare caused widespread radio blackouts that disrupted high-frequency radio signals in North America, Central America, and South America. In the past, powerful solar storms have surged the Quebec power grid, causing blackouts that lasted up to eight hours. Why experts think solar maximum will hit soonWhen the sun's magnetic field is weak, its surface gets a lot more interesting to look at.

Persons: —, We're, Alex James, that's, NASA Goddard, Joy Ng Organizations: Service, University of College London, NASA, YouTube, Dynamics, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, CME Locations: North America, Central America, South America, Quebec, Arizona

☆ 'Mythbusters' video shows what a deep-sea implosion does to a faux human in a scuba suit
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A clip from an old episode of the TV show "Mythbusters" has resurfaced on Twitter. Account @ChudsOfTikTok posted the clip as a comparison of what happened on the Titan submersible. But what is shown in the video clip is under extremely different circumstances from the lost sub. But if something goes wrong with the suit's pressurization, it could be catastrophic for the diver. Then they put the mannequin in an old diving suit and sunk it 300 feet underwater, where the pressure is about nine times great than at sea level.

Persons: —, doesn't, Jessi Combs, Kari Byron, Tory Belleci, Grant Imahara, ChudsofTikTok Organizations: Titan, Service, Newsweek

☆ How deep is the ocean? Deeper than the highest point on Earth's surface, by more than a mile
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The ocean is significantly deeper than the highest point on Earth's surface. If you took the highest point on land and submerged it, you would still have more than a mile between you and the deepest point in the ocean. The Challenger Deep is the deepest point on Earth. In 1960, oceanographer Jacques Piccard and Lt. Don Walsh descended to the lowest point on Earth, Challenger Deep, at a record 25,979 feet below the surface. Scientists have sent half a dozen unmanned submersibles to explore Challenger Deep including Kaiko, which collected over 350 species on the seafloor between 1995 and 2003.

Persons: Cuvier, Robert Smits, Herbert Nitsch, Nitsch, We've, Ralph White, Mariana Trench, Trench, Jacques Piccard, Don Walsh, Victor Vescovo, Vescovo Organizations: Service, USS Triton Locations: California, Austrian, Mariana, Everest

☆ Astronomers discover the fastest runaway stars in our galaxy racing away at over 5 million mph
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Astronomers found two renegades, runaway white dwarf stars on an escape route out of our galaxy. These runaway stars are on a one-way ticket out of our galaxy. Runaway stars racing away at breakneck speedsIn the new study, astronomers using data from the European Space Agency's Gaia survey identified two runaway stars with the fastest radial velocities ever seen. Two white dwarf stars orbiting each other can trigger an especially enormous explosion called a D^6 supernova. The first explosion kicks off when one of the white dwarf stars accumulates too much helium gas, which triggers a thermonuclear explosion, reported Starr.

Persons: —, Parker, Juan Ruiz Paramo, Tod Strohmayer, Dana Berry, Chandra X, Michelle Starr, Starr Organizations: renegades, Service, Probe, Parker, NASA, Ray, Science, Astrophysics

☆ 5 planets will align this week. Here's when, where, and how to see the alignment of Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter, Uranus, and Mercury.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Chris Panella | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter, Uranus, and Mercury will align for a planetary parade later this week. There, you'll see a bright object near the horizon, Jupiter. After that, you're next best bet is to spot Mercury. Neptune will be about halfway between Jupiter and Saturn, and Uranus will be halfway between Jupiter and Mercury. So, if you've been following, the planets will march across the sky, from lowest to highest, in the following order: Mercury, Uranus, Jupiter, Neptune, and last but not least, Saturn.

Persons: —, you've, StarWalk Organizations: Service, Mercury, Sky Locations: Jupiter

☆ Watch scientists collect samples from an actively erupting volcano in Hawaii
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Soon after, geologists flew down to the crater floor to collect samples of the fresh lava. Watch as the scientists walk within inches of the lava lake as it erupts red-hot lava fountains. USGSBut fountains of red-hot lava and a giant lava lake didn't deter these scientists. Gotta cool down those lava samples before you bring them on an aircraft with you. USGSHere's an even closer look at some of those samples:These lava samples were collected from the crater ridge.

Persons: —, Kīlauea Organizations: Service, Geological Survey Locations: Hawaii

☆ A brilliant cosmic burst 100 times as bright as our galaxy came from 2 black holes circling each other, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Chris Panella | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Huge cosmic bursts are coming from two black holes circling each other in a distant galaxy. In this case, the flare came from a binary system consisting of two black holes trapped in a rapid dance. A cosmic burst 100 times brighter than our galaxyThe recorded burst, which astronomers observed in February 2022, occurred when the smaller black hole crashed into a disk of gas surrounding the larger black hole, the study's scientists said. Up to this point, its presence was only predicted through observations of its gravitational influence on the larger black hole. An illustration of the binary black hole system, OJ 287, showing the massive black hole surrounded by an accretion disk.

Persons: —, Mauri Valtonen, Valtonen, Swift, Cruz, they've Organizations: Service, Royal Astronomical Society, ESO, ESA, Hubble, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, NASA, OJ, University of Turku Locations: OJ287

☆ Only 5 feet down under, a dinosaur graveyard turned up in Australia. It's sparking a paleontological revolution in the country.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Australia has become a new hot spot for paleontologists to dig for dinosaurs, the NYT reported. It all started in the early 2000s when a farmer found a dinosaur graveyard 5 feet under his land. Before the turn of the century, Australia was not a place you went digging for dinosaurs. Only half a dozen dinosaurs have been discovered in Australia compared to the 81 that have turned up in the US. Since the early 2000s, paleontologists have gone on to make even more grand discoveries.

Persons: —, David Elliott, Elliott, Scott Hocknull Organizations: Service, New York Times, Queensland Museum Locations: Australia

☆ NASA scientist says there could be microbial life hiding in dark craters on the moon's south pole
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A NASA planetary scientist said conditions on the lunar south pole could be ripe for microbial life. The lunar south pole has craters of ice and possible microbial lifeThe lunar south pole has had lots of attention in recent years because it's where NASA hopes to land its Artemis III astronauts in 2025. NASANo human has ever set foot on the lunar south pole. A map of "cold traps" inside shadowy lunar craters at the moon's south pole (left) and north pole (right). Even if microbes don't exist on the moon right now, they almost certainly will if humans start walking around on its surface.

Persons: —, there's, Prabal Saxena, Space.com, Saxena, he's, Leonard David, radiodurans, Tardigrades, We're Organizations: NASA, Service, Goddard Spaceflight Center, Artemis, International Space

☆ New James Webb Space Telescope image shows 45,000 galaxies in unprecedented detail
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The James Webb Space Telescope released a recent image that contains 45,000 galaxies. Scientists have been studying GOODS for years with various instruments, including the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and Spitzer Space Telescope, to name just a few. James Webb Space Telescope discovers 100s of new galaxiesThe James Webb Space Telescope is studying the hearts of galaxies, like this one, to better understand star formation. With hundreds more galaxies to study in unprecedented detail, thanks to JWST, astronomers are learning that galaxies in our early universe were more turbulent than previously thought. In particular, by studying the light signatures of these young galaxies, astronomers spotted something they didn't expect: strong emission lines.

Persons: James Webb, —, Chandra X, Kevin Hainline, James Webb Space, Webb, Lee, Schmidt JWST, Endsley, Joyce Kang Organizations: James Webb Space, Service, Astronomers, Hubble, Spitzer, Webb, University of Arizona, James Webb Space Telescope, ESA, NASA, CSA, JWST, Telescope Science Institute

☆ Having more pythons in Florida is actually increasing the rat population because they're killing the other predators, scientists warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It may be good news for the cotton rats, but it could spell serious danger for humans. But one thing they don't seem to have a taste for is cotton rats. So much so, scientists warn that cotton rats "now dominate the community" in parts of the Florida Everglades where pythons are prevalent, wildlife ecologist Robert McCleery told LiveScience. They found that death rates for cotton rats were about the same in both regions. Let's say a mosquito bites an infected cotton rat and then later feasts on your blood — you could become infected.

Persons: —, Robert McCleery, LiveScience, McCleery, Rhona Wise, It's Organizations: Service, Getty, Geological Survey Locations: Florida, Fort Lauderdale , Florida, they're, Asia

☆ 5 common survival myths that could get you killed in the wilderness
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Gene Kim | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

There are a lot of survival myths out there that could get you hurt, or even worse, killed. Getting outdoors this summer is great for your mental and physical health, but spending time in the wilderness can come with risks. Don't try to pick up or track snake either, if it bites you. Myth 3: If you're lost in the wild find a food supply immediately. So if you're trying to gain a sense of direction in the woods, don't use moss as your guiding north star.

Persons: —, Panish Shea, Boyle, Mayo, that's, you've, Moss, Clint Emerson, Emerson Organizations: Service, US Centers for Disease Control, National Park Service, NPS

☆ New image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows thousands upon thousands of stars in a galaxy 17 million light years away
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The James Webb Space Telescope snapped a new image of a galaxy 17 million light-years away. And that's exactly what you're seeing here, in this new image from Webb of the galaxy NGC 5068. In fact, NGC 5068 is just one in a series of other galaxies Webb is observing for a project to help us better understand star formation. SchmidtThe James Webb Space Telescope has the advantage of seeing in the infrared. "By observing the formation of stars in nearby galaxies, astronomers hope to kick-start major scientific advances with some of the first available data from Webb," NASA said.

Persons: James Webb, —, Webb, Lee, That's, Schmidt Organizations: Service, Telescope, Local, NASA, ESA, CSA, Harvard Smithsonian, James Webb Space, JWST Locations: Webb

☆ The alien-hunting team at SETI has a new test for humanity to decipher messages sent from an alien race
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

SETI sent a message from Mars to Earth to simulate how aliens' attempts at communication may play out. The mysterious message is posted online for anyone to study and attempt to decode. This is a test conducted by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute to determine how well humanity could decipher a real message sent by aliens. But it seems that at least one group is fast-tracking their way to solving the mysterious message. But de Paulis told Wired that "if we ever received an extraterrestrial signal, scientists won't know where the noise ends and where the actual message begins.

Persons: it'll, —, Daniela de Paulis, De Paulis, Neill Sanders, Go, Sanders, de Paulis Organizations: Service, Extraterrestrial Intelligence, SETI, European Space Agency, Allen, Green Bank, Medicina, Wired, CNN Locations: California, West Virginia, Bologna, Italy, British

☆ Stephen Hawking's famous theory of how black holes die could mean our entire universe is doomed to evaporate, a new study found
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Stephen Hawking famously predicted in 1974 that black holes die by evaporation. A new study suggests this Hawking radiation that kills black holes could also kill everything else. And up to this point, black holes were the only places experts had looked for it. "And, after a very long period, that would lead to everything in the universe eventually evaporating, just like black holes." It takes black holes longer than the age of the universe to evaporate, researchers have estimated.

Persons: Stephen Hawking, —, Stephen Hawking's, Heino Falcke, Walter van Suijlekom Organizations: Service, Radboud University

☆ Retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly describes his UFO experience. 'It turns out it was Bart Simpson, a balloon.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly spent over 8,100 consecutive hours in space. But his UFO experience actually happened on Earth while he was flying off Virginia Beach. But retired astronaut Scott Kelly is here to tell us that many UFO sightings are probably just our eyes playing tricks on us. Kelly was part of a panel that convened on Wednesday at NASA headquarters to discuss UFOs, what NASA now refers to as unidentified aerial phenomenon. Recalling the thousands of hours he spent in space, Kelly said on Wednesday, "Oftentimes, in space, I would see things and I was like, 'That's really not behaving like it should.'

Persons: Scott Kelly, —, Kelly, Bart Simpson, Mark Vande Hei, KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV, David Spergel Organizations: NASA, Service, Virginia Beach, Space, Getty Locations: Virginia, RIO

☆ This is your daily reminder that orcas are just giant dolphins
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Orcas, aka killer whales, are actually dolphins. Orcas are the largest member of the Delphinidae family, which includes dolphins and other species. Like dolphins, orcas are highly intelligent and social animals as well as the sea's apex predators. Killer whales, aka orcas, are actually dolphins. Put another way, all dolphins are whales but not all whales are dolphins.

☆ Watch the moment a cosmonaut tossed a bag of parts into space but NASA said the space litter is harmless
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Jessica Orwig | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Technically, it's space littering. About 6.5 hours into the spacewalk, Prokopyev tossed an 11-pound bag of leftover equipment into space. Basically, space littering is like if someone came along after the electrician, burned the bag, and discarded the ashes. —International Space Station (@Space_Station) May 4, 2023We're not saying that space junk, in general, isn't a problem. In fact, multiple times a year the space station fires its booster to push itself out of the path of incoming orbital debris — and for good reason.

☆ How to watch today's hybrid solar eclipse — the rarest type of eclipse — even if you don't live near Australia where it's happening
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Chris Panella | Jessica Orwig | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A rare hybrid solar eclipse will occur over the South Pacific today and won't happen again until 2031. Hybrid solar eclipses are the rarest type of eclipse and look different depending on your location. During a hybrid eclipse observers can see both a total and annular eclipse. kdshutterman / Getty ImagesA hybrid solar eclipse is a rare type of eclipse that changes depending on where you're watching it. The last time a hybrid solar eclipse occured was 2013 over some regions in the northern Atlantic Ocean and Africa.

☆ An ominous-looking shelf cloud descended over Chicago, EarthCam footage shows, bringing severe winds up to 60 mph
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Chris Panella | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An imposing, ominous shelf cloud was spotted in the skies above Chicago. Video shows the cloud moving through the city, bringing strong winds up to 60 mph with it. If you see one of these apocalyptic-looking shelf clouds coming toward you, it's important to seek shelter, Wysocki said. The National Weather Service of Chicago said the area was experiencing severe weather threats throughout this morning, with strong winds and rains. Derek Van Dam, a CNN meteorologist, tweeted that the "powerful" shelf cloud brought wind gusts of up to 60 mph to Chicago.

☆ The solar system was hit with a gamma-ray burst so bright, it blinded scientists' equipment in space
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Chris Panella | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Our solar system was hit by a gamma-ray burst so bright, it blinded space equipment and telescopes. A gamma-ray burst that recently hit our solar system was so bright, it temporarily blinded gamma-ray instruments in space, according to a NASA release. Scientists say the gamma-ray burst (GRB), the most powerful type of explosion in the universe, was 70 times brighter than any previously recorded event. What is a gamma-ray burst? Because it blinded space instruments, they couldn't accurately record it, so scientists weren't sure how bright the burst was when it first reached our planet.

That caused the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, to make a rare appearance in skies across the US. The colorful lights were seen as far south as Arizona, much further than what was forecast. They normally occur in the Arctic, but powerful eruptions on the sun caused them to stretch as far south as Phoenix, Arizona before sunrise on Friday, according to images shared by photographers and skywatchers on social media. "Most people when they're seeing that far south... they're seeing it on the horizon," Young said. NWS La CrosseAnchorage, AlaskaAuroras in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 24, 2023.

☆ The Northern Lights could dazzle the skies from Washington to New York on Friday, blown by winds from a giant 'hole' on the sun
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Chris Panella | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Northern Lights could appear in the skies over some northern US states on Friday. The lights could be dazzling thanks to solar winds blowing from a giant coronal hole on the sun. NOAA/Space Weather Prediction CenterThese solar winds are coming from a giant coronal hole on the sun. As that giant hole spread across the corona, it blasted strong, high-speed solar winds into space, in the direction of Earth. They have previously driven the aurora lights as far south as New York and Idaho.

The sun is sporting a giant coronal hole that could fit 20-30 Earths across, back-to-back. Coronal holes blast rapid solar winds into space that travel 500-800 kilometers per second. Coronal holes are cooler in temperature, so they don't glow as bright and therefore look black against the rest of the sun. In this case, the solar winds from this coronal hole are scheduled to reach Earth by the end of this week. But coronal holes — even large ones like this — are far less violent.

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