This week brought a mix of celestial spectacles, concerning trends on Earth, and fascinating discoveries from the past. Let’s break down some highlights:
Cosmic Chaos & Curiosity:
- A “Cannibal” Solar Storm is Coming: Brace yourself for a dazzling light show! Two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are heading our way, with one likely to engulf the other. This collision will create a massive wave of plasma that could trigger geomagnetic storms and brilliant auroras visible from higher latitudes around Earth.
- New Comet on Display: A comet named C/2025 V1 (Borisov), while not interstellar like its famous predecessor, 3I/ATLAS, is generating excitement nonetheless. This icy wanderer boasts a distinct “vanishing tail” and high eccentricity, making it a compelling object for astronomers to study. While some have floated the possibility that 3I/ATLAS might be an alien probe – speculation even embraced by famed alien hunter Avi Loeb – experts are far more likely to describe C/2025 V1 as an ordinary (albeit intriguing) comet from our solar system’s Oort cloud.
- Our Universe May Be Cooling Down: Two space telescopes, Euclid and Herschel, have revealed a surprising trend: star formation is slowing down across the cosmos. This suggests that the universe, after reaching its peak of stellar activity about 10 billion years ago, is gradually becoming more tranquil, eventually leading to a “totally quenched” state (but don’t worry, that’s billions of years away).
Earthly Concerns:
- Canada Loses Measles Elimination Status: Measles outbreaks are on the rise globally due to declining vaccination rates. Canada is now the latest country to lose its measles elimination status after persistent cases throughout the past year. This alarming trend underscores the importance of widespread vaccination to prevent this highly contagious and potentially deadly disease from spreading unchecked.
- COP30 Begins Amidst Climate Uncertainty: The UN’s COP30 climate summit commenced in Brazil with a sobering backdrop: global warming is projected to exceed the 1.5-degree Celsius target set by the Paris Agreement. While delegates aim to translate pledges into concrete actions, concerns remain high regarding the commitment and presence of key players like China, India, and the United States.
Archaeological Discoveries & More:
- Mysterious Andean Holes Explained (Maybe): Those enigmatic holes on Peru’s Serpent Mountain could be more mundane than extraterrestrial rituals – archaeologists suggest they may have served as accounting tools for ancient trade markets along routes across the Andes.
- A Second Entrance to Egypt’s Pyramid of Menkaure?: Non-invasive tests hint at potential voids in the eastern side of this ancient pyramid, possibly pointing to a second entrance to the tomb.
Beyond these highlights, live science covered an array of fascinating stories, from a new antibiotic discovery and a bizarre robotic chair concept to updates on a delayed rocket launch and the capture of the last escaped lab monkey.
