Although the ability to sense magnetic fields has been a long-established fact for a multitude of animal species, experiments searching for magnetoreceptive capabilities in humans have come up empty-handed. A new study may change our view on this seeming disability, having found evidence that our brains register changes in theread more
Scientists have known since the early nineteenth century that the Earth’s magnetic north pole wanders slowly over time, a phenomenon that cartographers have kept track of to ensure the accuracy of navigational charts and any other fields that might be affected by this magnetic meandering. Over the centuries, this drift has been slow, but in recent years the movement of magnetic north has accelerated for reasons that aren’t completely understood, and this rapid movement has prompted researchers to update the map of the planet’s magnetic field a year ahead of schedule.
read more
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service are predicting that the northern polar vortex is likely to split once again later this month, into not just two, but three separate vortices that are expected to bring unseasonably cold and stormy weather to parts of Europe and North America.
The polar vortex is a low-pressure area of air that resides over both of Earth’s poles, with the vortex at each pole spinning in a counter-clockwise direction, and bordered around their edges by the jet stream. Occasionally, the Northern Hemisphere’s vortex splits into a number of separate gyres that drift south, bringing colder Arctic air along with them.
read more
Earlier this year, China and Russia conducted a series of experiments that caused a disturbance high in the atmosphere, aimed at testing ionospheric manipulation technologies for military purposes, according to scientists involved in the experiments. Such experiments advance the understanding of how the ionosphere works, and might allow researchers to learn how to manipulate this crucial layer of the atmosphere to both help facilitate — and possibly disrupt — radio communications.
read more