Did a Volcanic Eruption Lead to Napoleon’s Defeat at Waterloo?
A British scientist thinks a volcanic eruption may have led to Napoleon Bonaparte’s crushing defeat at Waterloo, in what is now Belgium, on June 18, 1815. Historians say heavy rains fell on Napoleon’s troops the night before the big battle, causing the ground to become very muddy and soggy. With these miserable conditions, Napoleon’s artillery […]
Plenty of Advanced Warning for Supervolcano Eruption
There have been reports in the media that a couple of supervolcanoes, such as Yellowstone in the US and Taupo in New Zealand, that are saying are on the verge of eruption. The United State Geological Survey (USGS) says, however, that such an eruption at Yellowstone is very unlikely in the next thousand or even 10,000 years. […]
Hot Monster Planet; No Fountain of Youth; Sunscreen Snow on Exoplanet
Hot Monster Planet Found Orbiting Small Star British astronomers say they discovered a “monster” planet orbiting a tiny star, but, according to planet formation theory, the planet should not even exist. The theory suggests a planet of its size could not be formed around such a small star. Located about 600 light years from Earth, […]
October 2017 Science Images
Zika Kills Cells Crucial to Brain Development; Did Volcanoes Cause Mars to Tilt?
Study: Zika Virus Infects and Kills Fetal Cerebral Cortex Cells This birth defect can cause babies to be born with an unusually small head and inhibited brain development. The scientists, who made their findings based on experiments performed with lab-grown human stem cells, discovered that the Zika virus is attracted to and infects the cells […]
Science Images of the Month – August 2015
Giant Magma Reservoir Found Beneath Yellowstone Supervolcano
Yellowstone National Park’s many geothermal features, including its estimated 10,000 hot springs and geysers, draw millions of visitors each year. There’s good reason why the approximately 8,983 square km park has such a high level of geothermal activity. You see, the park sits atop one of the world’s largest active volcanic systems. According to the […]
Volcanic Activity Linked to A Warm and Wet Ancient Mars
Exploratory missions to Mars, such as NASA’s Curiosity Rover, have provided more and more evidence that Mars at one time was warm enough for water to flow on its surface. Now a new study published in the journal “Nature Geoscience” has found that those ancient, warm periods on the Red Planet probably took place in […]
Science Images for September, 2014
New Research Provides Insight into When a Volcano Will Erupt
New research by scientists from at the University of California-Davis and Oregon State University may make it easier to predict when a volcano is ready to erupt. A new study published recently in the journal Nature says that before an eruption, the volcanic magma – or the molten/semi molten rock under the volcano – must […]