Deborah Bloomfield

Imagine an astronaut lost on another world when their communication systems fail. In most cases, they won’t be able to use a compass for directions, since that depends on magnetic fields. In this event, the traveler may need to find their way home by the stars, but how easy will that be? In particular, will […]

On May 1, 1976, a traditional Polynesian canoe called Hōkūleʻa left Honolua Bay in Hawai’i and began the 3,800-kilometer (2,400-mile) journey to Tahiti. However, unlike all other modern expeditions, this voyage was to be completed without compasses, maps, satellite navigation, or any other wayfinding tools, relying instead on traditional knowledge about the stars, swells, and […]

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 satellite pair are in orbit, but commissioning so one can create solar eclipses for the other is still incomplete. However, three weeks after launch most of the planet is in the dark about how the mission is going. When the JWST launched in 2021 it was in a blaze […]

This year will see (kind of) another rare astronomical event taking place across the night sky. On December 30-31, we will have a rare Black Moon to see out 2024. What is a Black Moon? You’ve probably heard of a Blue Moon; it’s a far more well known phenomenon that is different from a Black […]

The sandy landscapes of southern Utah are home to a bizarre geological phenomenon. Brown-black balls ranging in size from a pea to a grapefruit litter the deserts of the Beehive State (and other parts of the southwestern United States), congregating in large formations that have stumped scientists for decades. These strange shapes, known by various […]

Researchers believe they may have solved the riddle of Stonehenge’s Altar Stone, suggesting that the enigmatic megalith was constructed as part of an attempt to protect the identity of Neolithic Britain during a period of increasing immigration from Europe. By building the monument using colossal stones from hundreds of kilometers away, the creators of the […]

AI has smashed records on a program designed to test “general intelligence”, achieving a score on a level with those of the average person.  Historically, researchers have looked to the Turing Test to measure machine intelligence. To pass, a machine must convince a human that it too is a person. By some accounts, technology has […]

Bird flu has killed 20 big cats at the Wild Felid Advocacy Center in Washington state. The devastation has claimed half of the animals in the sanctuary’s care. Otherwise known as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), bird flu is an infection caused by the Type A H5N1 virus that typically circulates among wild birds, but […]

The European Space Agency (ESA) and Telesat have achieved a world-first by connecting a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite to the ground using 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) technology. This marks a significant step towards establishing space-based communications that are as easy as using a smartphone. The development could revolutionize how emergency responses coordinate, provide better […]

While the average person has 32 teeth, some species of dolphin possess as many as 240. Why so many? Not all species are quite so lucky – Risso’s dolphins only have four to 14 in their lower jaw. However, scientists have suspected dolphins’ teeth are for more than just munching for some time. Now, new […]

Archaeologists have unearthed an incredible ceramic oil lamp from the Late Roman period. Although this isn’t a genie-containing situation, it is decorated with depictions of the Temple menorah, incense shovel, and lulav (date palm branch) used in Jewish religious rituals. The lamp was recovered as part of a dig at a site near the Mount […]

Cheetahs may hold the reputation for being the world’s fastest animal – and with a running speed of up to 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour), the feline is indeed the quickest animal on land. But that pales in comparison to the impressive diving speeds of the peregrine falcon, which, according to the […]

Parker Solar Probe has survived achieving the record-breaking closest pass to the Sun by a human-made spacecraft ever – and phoned home even earlier than expected, confirming it survived “touching the Sun” and reaching the pinnacle of its mission. The already record-breaking probe – the fastest human-made object in the cosmos – carried out its […]

Archaeologists have revealed evidence of a never-before-seen sacrifice of family members belonging to the ancient Andean Moche culture, revealing new insights into their social world, customs, burial practices, and the role of kinship. The Moche culture – who lived along Peru’s North Coast between 300 and 950 CE – is known to have created sophisticated […]

A duo of researchers at Caltech have attempted to quantify the speed of human thought, putting it at a somewhat perplexing 10 bits of information per second. To put that into perspective, one estimate of the slowest average download speed in the USA in 2024 clocked in at 93 megabits per second (Mbps), though the […]

The magnetic field – or magnetosphere – is a giant invisible shield that protects the planet, repelling solar wind and other forms of space weather that could threaten life on Earth. It is essential for the running of our global navigation systems (and those of ants, sharks and other animals), not to mention our ability […]

Though you might think that compasses will always point towards the geographic north pole, the magnetic and geographic poles do not always align. As well as a few temporary reversals, the Earth’s magnetic field – just like the Sun – can flip over long timescales. During the Brunhes–Matuyama reversal, the magnetic north could have been […]

The shortest distance between any two points is a perfectly straight line, and given the brilliant efficiency of the natural universe, it figures that linear flawlessness must be a feature of our reality. Look closely enough, however, and you’ll find that things aren’t that simple, as we are in fact surrounded by glorious imperfection. Of […]