environment
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The Sun Just Spewed Material From Opposite Sides in Rare Phenomenon
No, you’re not seeing double. The Sun flung out two massive flares of radiation from opposite hemispheres at nearly the same exact moment, a sign that our host star is fast approaching a period of peak activity. In a rare moment captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory on Monday, two sunspots can be seen erupting…
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Sierra Space Built an Inflatable Space Module the Size of a House, Then Blew It Up
You can’t fly an inflatable module to space without bursting a few on Earth. Sierra Space watched its giant, 20-foot-tall space station module explode in dramatic fashion, but the company wasn’t too stressed about it. In fact, it marked a successful test on the road to building the first commercial space station in low Earth…
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Texas Is Considering a Controversial Land Swap Deal With SpaceX
In April 2023, SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket lifted off for the first time, sending chunks of debris thousands of feet across the South Texas landscape and sparking a fire in a nearby state park. It was an environmental nightmare; the launchpad is surrounded by a wildlife habitat that’s home to endangered species. Now, SpaceX is…
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There’s Been a Staggering Increase in People Killed by Fungi Every Year, Study Finds
The global burden and death toll of fungi has substantially climbed over the past decade, new research finds. The study estimates that fungal infections help kill nearly 4 million people annually—almost double the amount estimated by similar research in 2012. Co-infections like HIV and tuberculosis, a lack of speedy and reliable diagnostic testing, and growing…