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Normally new rivers, seas and mountains are born in slow motion. The Afar Triangle near the Horn of Africa is another story. A new ocean is forming there with staggering speed -- at least by geological standards. Africa will eventually lose its horn. Geologist Dereje Ayalew and his colleagues from Addis Ababa University were amazed -- and frightened. They had only just stepped out of their helicopter onto the desert plains of central Ethiopia when the ground began to shake under their feet. The pilot shouted for the scientists to get back to the helicopter. And then it happened: the...

Scientists: Fissure Could Become New Ocean By ANTHONY MITCHELL, Associated Press Writer Sat Dec 10,12:45 AM ET ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Ethiopian, American and European researchers have observed a fissure in a desert in the remote northeast that could be the "birth of a new ocean basin," scientists said Friday. Researchers from Britain, France, Italy and the U.S. have been observing the 37-mile long fissure since it split open in September in the Afar desert and estimate it will take a million years to fully form into an ocean, said Dereje Ayalew, who leads the team of 18 scientists studying...

A rift that opened in Africa after a massive earthquake last September could be the beginning of a new Ocean, scientists say. The crack in the ground appeared along a fault line in the Afar desert in Ethiopia. The crack is heading for the Red Sea. If it makes it that far, it would carve a new ocean that would separate Eritrea and part of Ethiopia (both of which lie on the Arabian plate) from the rest of the continent, creating a new island.Satellite data collected since the quake shows that the rift is widening at an unprecedented rate, according...

The Manda-Hararo rift in the Afar region of Ethiopia. Credit: DavidMPyle / CC BY-SA 4.0 =================================================================== A steady underground pulse has been discovered beneath East Africa, where researchers believe a new ocean is gradually forming. The rhythmic movement was detected in the Afar region of Ethiopia, a geological hotspot where three giant sections of the Earth’s crust—the Arabian, Nubian, and Somalian plates—are slowly pulling apart. The site, known as the Afar Triple Junction, is one of few places on Earth where the process of continental breakup can be observed on land. As the plates drift in different directions, the ground...

Screenshot of fireball via Collin Rugg on X This isn’t something you see every day! Residents in the southeastern part of the United States spotted a massive fireball streak through the skies on Thursday afternoon. The American Meteor Society reported receiving over 140 reports from residents of Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina who had spotted a fireball. Residents in Georgia reported feeling an earthquake as the fireball crossed the sky. The National Weather Service assured residents in Georgia that the earthquake they felt was “the result of the sonic boom from the meteor or space junk.” WATCH:...

A meteorite, complete with shock wave, light trail, and flight noises (rumbles, light a train or close airplane) struck the ground northeast of Atlanta this afternoon, 26 June 2025. Impact was visible from dash cameras in vehicles on I85 near the South Carolina border. Meteor is any solid object hitting the atmosphere but burning up before it hits the ground. A meteorite is a rocky solid that survives its flight through the atmosphere and hits the ground as a solid. Damage is unknown, some reports claim a house was struck.

Astronomers are making a surprising breakthrough in the study of Venus, as new simulations suggest there may be a hidden family of asteroids quietly orbiting the Sun alongside the planet. This discovery, detailed in a recent study by Valerio Carruba and his team at São Paulo State University, is like uncovering an entire continent that was previously unknown. The research, published on the preprint server arXiv, uncovers important insights about the dynamics of Venus’ orbit and could have significant implications for our understanding of the solar system. Venus has long been one of the most mysterious planets in our solar...

Exoplanet TWA 7 b (Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, A.M. Lagrange, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)). In a groundbreaking first, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured its first direct image of a distant exoplanet unrecognized from past astronomical surveys. The milestone achievement was made possible with help from a special coronagraph aboard Webb’s MIRI instrument that allows Webb to capture imagery under conditions that mimic those which occur naturally during an eclipse. The discovery made in research lead by researcher Anne-Marie Lagrange with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Paris Observatory, in collaboration with Grenoble Alpes University....

After spending decades listening for radio signals, Optical SETI has made a remarkable discovery! Repeating optical signals have been detected coming, not from one star, but three! Natural explanations have come up blank, and Aliens are actually being discussed! SETI breakthrough! NASA scientist discovers three repeating ET signals coming from nearby stars! | 19:57 The Angry Astronaut | 195K subscribers | 11,074 views | June 24, 2025

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay A University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) scientist has proposed a “three-dimensional time” theory that replaces the traditional model of one dimension of time and three physical dimensions as the primary fabric of everything. Unlike previously proposed, purely mathematical ‘3D time’ constructs where space emerges as a secondary manifestation, Professor Gunther Kletetschka at the UAF Geophysical Institute says his theory of everything, which could unify quantum physics and gravity, is testable and verifiable. “Earlier 3D time proposals were primarily mathematical constructs without these concrete experimental connections,” Professor Kletetschka explained. “My work transforms the concept from...

The first few images from the Rubin Observatory have dropped, and there are more coming later today. A mosaic of 678 images taken over seven hours of observation shows the Trifid (top right in pink) and Lagoon (center) Nebulae. Image Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has officially unveiled its first images, and truly, it is going to be as revolutionary as people expect it to be. Thanks to its incredible eye on the cosmos, which is the largest digital camera in the world, the images are absolutely breathtaking – and we can’t even share...

NEW YORK (AP) — The largest digital camera ever built released its first shots of the universe Monday — including colorful nebulas, stars and galaxies.The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, located on a mountaintop in Chile, was built to take a deeper look at the night sky, covering hidden corners. Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy, it will survey the southern sky for the next 10 years.The observatory’s first look features the vibrant Trifid and Lagoon nebulas located thousands of light-years from Earth. A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles. A gaggle of galaxies known...

Time, not space plus time, might be the single fundamental property in which all physical phenomena occur, according to a new theory by a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist. The theory also argues that time comes in three dimensions rather than just the single one we experience as continual forward progression. Space emerges as a secondary manifestation. "These three time dimensions are the primary fabric of everything, like the canvas of a painting," said associate research professor Gunther Kletetschka at the UAF Geophysical Institute. "Space still exists with its three dimensions, but it's more like the paint on the canvas...

Explanation: Sure, that figure-8 shaped curve you get when you mark the position of the Sun in Earth's sky at the same time each day over one year is called an analemma. On the left, Earth's figure-8 analemma was traced by combining wide-angle digital images recorded during the year from December 2011 through December 2012. But the shape of an analemma depends on the eccentricity of a planet's orbit and the tilt of its axis of rotation, so analemma curves can look different for different worlds. Take Mars for example. The Red Planet's axial tilt is similar to Earth's, but...

Near-Term goals for the exploration of Venus include improved remote-sensing from orbital probes. This will tell us more about the gravity and topography of Venus. Improved radar imaging and infrared imaging will fill in more blanks. The team also promoted the idea of a sustained aerial platform, a deep probe, and a short duration lander. Multiple probes/dropsondes are also part of the plan. Dropsondes are small devices that are released into the atmosphere to measure winds, temperature, and humidity. They’re used on Earth to understand the weather, and extreme phenomena like hurricanes, and can fulfill the same purpose at Venus....

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden carried out nuclear fission reactions in 100 different types of exotic nuclei of elements like platinum, mercury, and lead in a bid to understand the reaction better.In addition to helping us generate cleaner energy in the future, the research also sheds light on how elements are formed in the universe, according to a press release by the institute.Nuclear fission is poised for a comeback after countries worldwide seek newer ways to fuel their energy demands. While wind and solar power plants are being readied at a frantic pace to meet net-zero targets,...

Hallur Antoniussen took this picture in May with the caption: "Not everyday you see a black iceberg." Photo by Hallur Antoniussen /Facebook Article content A rare black iceberg photographed off the coast of Labrador has been making the rounds of social media on this planet, but its unusual colour could be the result of it carrying material from another world. Article content The picture first surfaced last month after a fish harvester from Carbonear, N.L., took a photo of it while fishing for shrimp last month. Article content Article content Hallur Antoniussen, 64, was working aboard the Saputi, a factory...

University of Seville professor José María Martín-Olalla has published a new solution to a 120-year-old problem regarding matter states at absolute zero that disproves a previous solution offered by famed scientist Albert Einstein. The controversy originally arose in 1905 when Walther Nernst proposed a new approach to the properties of matter as entropy causes them to approach absolute zero (minus 273 degrees Celsius). Dubbed Nerst’s theorem, the concept argued that absolute zero must be inaccessible, or one could theoretically construct an engine that uses absolute zero as a coolant to convert all heat energy into work. This idea goes directly...

If we looked at the Sun during an eclipse through a green filter, this is what it would look like. (ESA/Proba-3/ASPIICS/WOW algorithm) A solar eclipse is a marvel. This quirk of the complex interplay between Earth, the Moon, and the Sun doesn't just remind us of the wonders of the cosmos – it gives us a window into the Sun we rarely get to see. More specifically, with the Moon blotting out the main disk of the Sun, we can see details and features in the solar atmosphere, or corona, that are usually obscured from view. Now, a new satellite...

Analysis of swabs from China's Tiangong Space Station has revealed a new strain of bacteria sporting new adaptations for surviving outer space. Scientists have discovered a new microbe never-before-seen on Earth inside China's Tiangong space station. The new strain of bacteria, named Niallia tiangongensis after the space station, is a variant of a soil-dwelling terrestrial microbe that can cause sepsis, and was found inside one of the station's cabins. Now, a new analysis of the strain has revealed that the bacterium isn't only one of a kind, but has also picked up some key adaptations that could be helpful in...