The Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude into the sea in 1989

Fuel spill at same Alaska reef as Exxon Valdez

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 25, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

A tugboat struck the same reef as the Exxon Valdez tanker 20 years ago, spilling diesel into Alaska's Prince William Sound and creating a three-mile-long slick, the US Coast Guard said on Friday.


China defends role at Copenhagen

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 25, 2009 | popularity 2.3 / 5 (6) | comments 5

China has defended its role at this month's climate change talks in Copenhagen, saying Premier Wen Jiabao played a key part in sealing an accord, after critics blamed Beijing for blocking negotiations.


Iran to unveil new home-built satellite: report

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 24, 2009 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (10) | comments 5

Iran will unveil a new home-built satellite in February, a newspaper reported Thursday, amid Western concerns that Tehran is using its nuclear and space industries to develop atomic and ballistic weapons.


Keck Telescopes Take Deeper Look at Planetary Nurseries

Keck Telescopes Take Deeper Look at Planetary Nurseries

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (13) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory have peered far into a young planetary system, giving an unprecedented view of dust and gas that might eventually form planets similar to Jupiter, ...


Mendenhall Glacier

Glacier melt adds ancient edibles to marine buffet

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (13) | comments 11

Glaciers along the Gulf of Alaska are enriching stream and near shore marine ecosystems from a surprising source - ancient carbon contained in glacial runoff, researchers from four universities and the U.S. ...


Sun and moon trigger deep tremors on San Andreas Fault

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 3.6 / 5 (5) | comments 1

The faint tug of the sun and moon on the San Andreas Fault stimulates tremors deep underground, suggesting that the rock 15 miles below is lubricated with highly pressurized water that allows the rock to slip with little ...


Scientists map speed of climate change

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 2.8 / 5 (31) | comments 39

New study finds that the average ecosystem will need to shift about a quarter mile per year to keep pace with global climate change.


The Formation of Blue Stragglers

Vampires and collisions rejuvenate stars

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (9) | comments 2

Stars in globular clusters are generally extremely old, with ages of 12-13 billion years. However, a small fraction of them appear to be significantly younger than the average population and, because they ...


UN climate official warns of Indian energy 'crisis'

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 3.1 / 5 (9) | comments 4

India's reliance on coal means the country is heading for an energy crisis unless it diversifies its sources of power, the chairman of the UN's top climate change panel predicted on Wednesday.


Filipino troops try to keep volcano evacuees safe (AP)

Filipino troops try to keep volcano evacuees safe

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

(AP) -- Police and soldiers donned Santa hats and red clown noses and belted out songs in crammed evacuation centers in hopes of keeping 47,000 displaced residents from sneaking back to their homes on the ...


Disproportionate effects of global warming and pollution on disadvantaged communities

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 2.8 / 5 (13) | comments 20

Global warming, pollution, and the environmental consequences of energy production impose a greater burden on low-income, disadvantaged communities, and strategies to prevent these inequities are urgently needed. A provocative ...


Shallow Origins

Shallow Origins

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (13) | comments 3

In finding answers to the mystery of the origin of life, scientists may not have to dig too deep. New research is shedding light on shallower waters as a possible location for where life on Earth began.


Top-bottom: Soichi Noguchi, Timothy J. Creamer and Oleg Kotov wave before boarding a Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft

Astronauts dock at International Space Station

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

A Russian rocket carrying three astronauts from Japan, Russia and the United States docked at the International Space Station Wednesday, the Russian flight control centre said.


Volcanic Quakes Help Forecast Eruptions

Volcanic Quakes Help Forecast Eruptions

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 2.6 / 5 (5) | comments 2

Monitoring the earthquakes caused from magma movements inside an active volcano could help to improve the accuracy of forecasting an eruption.


The COROT satellite

Astronomers discover 'tilted planets'

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (16) | comments 4

(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Exeter, UK, research has added to a growing evidence that several giant planets have orbits so tilted that their orbits can be perpendicular or even backwards relative to their ...