What better way to start the weekend than with a smorgasbord of positive news?
Perseids Peaking Now
The year’s most highly anticipated meteor shower is finally here: the Perseids, in all their dazzling, prolific glory. The spectacle - which NASA says is considered “the best meteor shower of the year” - begins in mid-July and ends in early September. This year, the Perseids are expected to peak on the night of August 11 and into the early morning hours of August 12, according to the American Meteor Society. The Perseids occur when Earth passes through the debris field of the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. “You’ll start seeing meteors from the shower around 11 p.m. local time, and the rates will increase until dawn,” says NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office. “If you miss the night of the 11th, you will also be able to see quite a few on the night of the 12th between those times.”
That's Not All: Astronomers say a "once-in-a-lifetime" view of an astronomical explosion is expected any time shortly.
1-in-100-Million
In late July, 25-year-old Atlantic Lobster Company owner Joseph Kramer headed out on his boat with his father and girlfriend. As he checked the contents of his 20 or so traps off the coast of New Castle, New Hampshire, he was shocked to find a mesmerizingly bright-colored lobster inside the very last one. At first, Kramer figured he’d caught a one-in-two-million blue lobster, but he soon found out the bright crustacean at hand was even rarer: He’d captured a 1-in-100-million “cotton candy” lobster. Unfortunately, cotton candy lobsters’ rare hue gives them a disadvantage in nature. Their colour makes it hard to camouflage, and thus easier for them to be spotted by predators. Now, the rare cotton candy lobster will be safe from predators as it resides at its new home at the Seacoast Science Center.
US Zero Emission Train
The zero-emission, hydrogen-powered hybrid FLIRT H2 train broke a Guinness World Record earlier this year for the longest distance traveled by a train of its kind on a single charge - 1,741 km (1,082 miles). And now, it’s made its arrival in San Bernardino, California. While it will be used on a 9-mile stretch as a pilot case, the state plans to use them all across its Metrolink system if it goes well. And with only water vapor for emissions, passengers will enjoy a cleaner, planet- and people-friendly commute starting later this year.
Tribrid Trains: Europe’s first trains to use batteries as a main source of power have arrived. Hitachi Rail announced that 20 tribrid trains - nicknamed 'Blues' - are now running on rail lines across Italy.
Student Innovation
Across the United States, universities have seen a dramatic increase in student-led initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of their campuses. In addition, professors are successfully incorporating real-life climate innovation projects into their curriculum. At Dickinson College, statisticians have analyzed which buildings are more energy efficient, psychology majors have incorporated dining hall designs to cut down on food waste, and physics students have engineered solar thermal boxes to boost renewable biogas production on campus farms. At SUNY New Paltz, an Ethical Fashion class focusing on the harm caused by the global fashion industry led to the installation of microplastic filters on campus washing machines. By providing opportunities for students to witness the impact of their ideas and innovations on the ground, colleges can empower them to continue innovating regenerative solutions beyond their time at university.
Student Prank: Many students play pranks on teachers, but a group of US teenagers went a step further by attempting to sell their school.
Methane Munchers
Many people know that protecting and restoring forest ecosystems is critical for reversing the collapse of nature and mitigating global heating. However, a new study suggests that trees could play an even more important role than previously thought. Microbes on the upper bark of trees - particularly in tropical forests - have the potential to draw down methane at a similar rate that soil sequesters carbon. Although it has a shorter atmospheric lifespan than carbon dioxide, methane is about eighty times more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO2 (in the first twenty years after it’s released), trapping more heat per molecule.
Oldest Solar Calendar
Markings on a stone pillar at a 12,000 year-old archaeological site in Turkey likely represent the world’s oldest solar calendar, created as a memorial to a devastating comet strike, experts suggest. The markings at Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey – an ancient complex of temple-like enclosures adorned with intricately carved symbols – could record an astronomical event that triggered a key shift in human civilisation, researchers say.
“Be the first to say hello.” Debra Fine
On This Day
10 August 1846: The Smithsonian Institution was founded in Washington, D.C., by the U.S. Congress with funds bequeathed by English scientist James Smithson.
Today's Articles
.
Mood Boosting Video
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Three Little Birds: Animated official music video.