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Today in science news, we witnessed some intriguing events. SpaceX rockets are creating short-lived holes in our world’s environment, new innovation for smart glasses that utilize finder was discovered, and we learned about the fascinating sleeping patterns of chinstrap penguins.
It seems like not a week goes by without another SpaceX launch, but this time, it’s not just about what goes up, but also what happens when it comes back down. Deorbiting SpaceX rockets appear to be creating brilliant blobs of light in the sky, causing temporary holes in the upper atmosphere. These “SpaceX auroras” might be causing unknown issues, according to researchers.
When we’re not observing environmental phenomena, the Earth has been making its own changes. A “baby volcano” has erupted off the coast of Japan in dramatic fashion, and a huge warm water blob in the Pacific has been causing unusual behavior in this year’s El Niño.
Regarding other interesting discoveries, there’s a mysterious object circling the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole that’s emitting powerful radiation at Earth every 76 minutes. The origins of this object may finally be about to be discovered.
Returning from space, the news from ancient Earth detailed a possible Arctic graveyard that could become the most northern Stone Age cemetery. In archaeological findings, a 2,000-year-old coin stash was unearthed in Pakistan, 73 pre-Incan mummies were discovered in Peru (some with “false heads”), and 7 Bronze Age swords were found in Germany. There was also a troubling story about the stolen remains of Aboriginal people and Tasmanian tigers, traced back to a grave-robbing Victorian biologist.
In health news, there’s a positive development for those who have lost their sense of smell due to COVID, as well as a curious respiratory illness in dogs. China is also facing its own respiratory outbreak, which is “anticipated” and not caused by a new virus. A large study has suggested the risk of blood clotting for people undergoing gender-affirming care with testosterone.
When it comes to technology, the latest innovations include Martian robo-chemists, remarkably “human-like” hands, and a pair of smart glasses that use sound rather than cameras to track the user’s movements. This innovation makes the glasses more accurate, cheaper to produce, and significantly boosts privacy.
In the animal kingdom, chinstrap penguins have unique sleeping habits. They sleep for a sensible 11 hours a day, but remain constantly vigilant against threats to their breeding nests from predatory skua birds and hostile neighbors.
