http://phys.org/space-news/ en-us Phys.Org provides the latest news on earth science, astronomy and space exploration. (Phys.org) —On most days, relentless rivers of clouds wash over Alaska, obscuring most of the state's 6,640 miles (10,690 kilometers) of coastline and 586,000 square miles (1,518,000 square kilometers) of land. The south coast of Alaska even has the dubious distinction of being the cloudiest region of the United States, with some locations averaging more than 340 cloudy days per year. http://phys.org/news290931894.html Space & Earth Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:25:00 EST news290931894 Storage and treatment of liquid drilling wastes, air emissions of methane, water withdrawals for drilling, and site construction are among the biggest problems facing shale gas drilling. http://phys.org/news290928587.html Space & Earth Thu, 20 Jun 2013 06:50:01 EST news290928587 (Phys.org) —ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer has gathered the most detailed observations ever of the dust around the huge black hole at the centre of an active galaxy. Rather than finding all of the dust in a doughnut-shaped torus around the black hole, astronomers find that much of it is located above and below the torus. These observations show that dust is being pushed away from the black hole as a cool wind—a surprising finding. http://phys.org/news290928922.html Space & Earth Thu, 20 Jun 2013 06:35:34 EST news290928922 Singapore urged people to remain indoors amid unprecedented levels of air pollution Thursday as a smoky haze wrought by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia worsened dramatically. Nearby Malaysia closed 200 schools and banned open burning in some areas. http://phys.org/news290923930.html Space & Earth Thu, 20 Jun 2013 05:30:02 EST news290923930 The Philippines financial capital banned disposable plastic shopping bags and styrofoam food containers on Thursday, as part of escalating efforts across the nation's capital to curb rubbish that exacerbates deadly flooding. http://phys.org/news290922727.html Space & Earth Thu, 20 Jun 2013 05:10:01 EST news290922727 Astronauts struck floating martial arts poses, twirled gyroscopes and manipulated wobbling globes of water during a lecture Thursday from China's orbiting space station that's part of efforts to popularize the space program among young people. http://phys.org/news290921121.html Space & Earth Thu, 20 Jun 2013 04:27:23 EST news290921121 In the first effort to estimate the overall impact of a city's urban forest on concentrations of fine particulate pollution (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns, or PM2.5), a U.S. Forest Service and Davey Institute study found that urban trees and forests are saving an average of one life every year per city. In New York City, trees save an average of eight lives every year. http://phys.org/news290884481.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:15:01 EST news290884481 Many of West Africa's largest cities continue to lag in their provision of piped water to residents. Filling the service gap are plastic water sachets, which have become an important source of drinking water for the region. This industry provides many jobs and improves access to clean drinking water, yet unintended social and environmental consequences associated with the widespread use of sachet water continues to stir controversy. http://phys.org/news290884447.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:14:16 EST news290884447 (Phys.org) —A billion-pixel view from the surface of Mars, from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, offers armchair explorers a way to examine one part of the Red Planet in great detail. http://phys.org/news290883807.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:03:33 EST news290883807 President Barack Obama on Wednesday pledged that the United States "will do more" to tackle the threat of climate change and said the world must do likewise before it is too late. http://phys.org/news290872203.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:00:01 EST news290872203 Taking part in the largest U.S. air quality field project in decades, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is working with partners to study pollution in the Southeast. The study looks at the impact of chemical reactions occurring between human-related pollution and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from vegetation. http://phys.org/news290871742.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:42:29 EST news290871742 Using data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission, scientists believe they have solved a mystery from one of the solar system's coldest regions—a permanently shadowed crater on the moon. They have explained how energetic particles penetrating lunar soil can create molecular hydrogen from water ice. The finding provides insight into how radiation can change the chemistry of water ice throughout the solar system. http://phys.org/news290871564.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:39:30 EST news290871564 Differences between Martian meteorites and rocks examined by a NASA rover can be explained if Mars had an oxygen-rich atmosphere 4000 million years ago—well before the rise of atmospheric oxygen on Earth 2500 million years ago. http://phys.org/news290859438.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:00:08 EST news290859438 August, 2011, saw the dazzling appearance of the closest and brightest Type Ia supernova since Type Ia's were established as "standard candles" for measuring the expansion of the universe. The brilliant visitor, labeled SN 2011fe, was caught by the Palomar Transient Factory less than 12 hours after it exploded in the Pinwheel Galaxy in the Big Dipper. http://phys.org/news290854941.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:10:01 EST news290854941 Indonesia plans to use weather changing technology to try to unleash torrents of rain and extinguish raging fires on Sumatra island that have cloaked neighbouring Singapore in thick haze, an official said Wednesday. http://phys.org/news290849187.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:40:06 EST news290849187 Climate records captured in Siberian caves suggest 1.5 degrees of warming is enough to trigger thawing of permafrost, according to a paper to be given at the Geological Society of London on 27 June. http://phys.org/news290848936.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:22:22 EST news290848936 Images taken from space have indicated that some of the world's unmonitored volcanoes may not be as peaceful as we might like to think. Satellite radar has shown that the surfaces of a number of volcanoes within the East African Rift are deforming – inflating and deflating. http://phys.org/news290847844.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:04:21 EST news290847844 Air pollution is related to forest decline and also appears to attack the protecting wax on tree leaves and needles. Bonn University scientists have now discovered a responsible mechanism: particulate matter salt compounds that become deliquescent because of humidity and form a wick-like structure that removes water from leaves and promotes dehydration. These results are published in Environmental Pollution. http://phys.org/news290845185.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:19:53 EST news290845185 Singapore's smog problem from forest fires in Indonesia worsened Wednesday as air pollutant levels reached a 16-year high. http://phys.org/news290836065.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:20:01 EST news290836065 Strapped in an orange suit in his spaceship, Yuri Gagarin smiles as the rockets roar and chirpily tells mission control: "Let's go!" http://phys.org/news290836764.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:10:02 EST news290836764 The World Bank on Wednesday warned that severe hardships from global warming could be felt within a generation, with a new study detailing devastating impacts in Africa and Asia. http://phys.org/news290836713.html Space & Earth Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:58:40 EST news290836713 (Phys.org) —On July 19, 2013, NASA's Cassini spacecraft will be turned to image Saturn and its entire ring system during a total eclipse of the sun, as it has done twice before during its previous 9 years in orbit. But this time, the images that will be collected have been specifically designed for something very special. They will capture, in natural color, a glimpse of our own planet next to Saturn and its rings, during an event that will be the first time Earthlings know in advance their picture will be taken from a billion miles away. http://phys.org/news290791668.html Space & Earth Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:28:00 EST news290791668 Scientists are expecting a very large "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico and a smaller than average hypoxic level in the Chesapeake Bay this year, based on several NOAA-supported forecast models. http://phys.org/news290789359.html Space & Earth Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:49:26 EST news290789359 NASA announced Tuesday a Grand Challenge focused on finding all asteroid threats to human populations and knowing what to do about them. http://phys.org/news290784921.html Space & Earth Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:35:40 EST news290784921 The best advice for visitors to Britain—pack an umbrella—is more vital than ever. http://phys.org/news290781293.html Space & Earth Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:35:13 EST news290781293 (Phys.org) —As the closest planet to Earth, Venus is a relatively easy object to observe. However, many mysteries remain, not least the super-rotation of Venus' atmosphere, which enables high altitude winds to circle the planet in only four days. Now images of cloud features sent back by ESA's Venus Express orbiter have revealed that these remarkably rapid winds are becoming even faster. http://phys.org/news290776169.html Space & Earth Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:10:03 EST news290776169 Researchers conclude in a new report that a global push for small hydropower projects, supported by various nations and also the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, may cause unanticipated and potentially significant losses of habitat and biodiversity. http://phys.org/news290775800.html Space & Earth Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:03:30 EST news290775800 Earthquake researchers have now identified a 30 kilometers long and ten kilometers deep area along the North Anatolian fault zone just south of Istanbul that could be the starting point for a strong earthquake. The group of seismologists including Professor Marco Bohnhoff of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences reported in the current online issue of the scientific journal Nature Communications, that this potential earthquake source is only 15 to 20 kilometers from the historic city center of Istanbul. http://phys.org/news290774770.html Space & Earth Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:46:18 EST news290774770 Astrophysicists from the Complutense University of Madrid have confirmed that Crantor, a large asteroid with a diameter of 70 km has an orbit similar to that of Uranus and takes the same amount of time to orbit the Sun. Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that this and a further two objects of the group of the Centaurs are co-orbital with Uranus. http://phys.org/news290764261.html Space & Earth Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:51:45 EST news290764261 Singaporeans rolled back military training, kept cough-stricken children indoors and considered wearing protective masks to work after a smoky haze triggered by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia caused air pollution to briefly hit its worst level in nearly 16 years. http://phys.org/news290764152.html Space & Earth Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:49:26 EST news290764152