Stars dim as the sky gets brighter, a result of expanding cities and bright LEDs. Simple low-tech changes can help preserve dark night skies.
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UV Radiation Contributed to Earth’s Biggest Mass Extinction
To find the first direct evidence of heightened UV radiation during the end-Permian mass extinction, researchers turned to chemical evidence preserved in pollen grains.
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Biden Calls Climate Change “Existential Threat”
Wildfires, flooding, and green energy also appeared—briefly—in the president’s second State of the Union address.
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Wind Could Power Future Settlements on Mars
Using a sophisticated global climate model adapted to Mars, space scientists explore the hidden potential of wind energy on the Red Planet.
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Small Shrubs May Have Played a Large Role in Decarbonizing the Ancient Atmosphere
Vascular plants may have contributed to shaping Earth’s atmosphere long before trees evolved.
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Agriculture at the Center of the Aztec Horizon Calendar
Horizon calendars were a key part of time measurement for pre-Hispanic cultures in the Basin of Mexico. A new study suggests that calendars were used to manage the agricultural cycle.
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Sedimentos lacustres registran el legado del carbón de Carolina del Norte
Los lagos contaminados con cenizas de carbón se encuentran en áreas residenciales y recreativas, provocando preocupaciones por la salud de los residentes locales y los ecosistemas.
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Roughed-Up Hillsides Reveal Tree-Toppling Winds
Researchers are reading pockmarks in the forest floor to study the uprooting of trees in southern Indiana and estimate how fast winds howled through the forest in the past.
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Some Corals Are More Heat Resistant Than Thought
The vast genetic diversity of corals means there are some that may survive warming waters. Now scientists just need to find them.
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Centuries-Old Archive Reveals Far-Flung Impacts of Major Eruptions
Weather records preserved by staff and students at Williams College reveal cool spells in New England after volcanic blasts in Indonesia and South Asia.