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Earth

Modern research techniques allow us to not only study the surface of Earth and the heavens above it but also what lies in its depths. Jules Verne wrote about an area alive with mystery and wonder over 146 years ago; modern science indicates that the center of the Earth is a young dynamo powered by the complex interplay of heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics. By accumulating data gathered by bouncing waves off the Earths core, a team of French researchers have put forth a new theory as to why one hemisphere of the core appears different from the other.

via Earths core has its own pole and its at the equator.

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A new discovery reveals the least inhabited place on Earth.

The seafloor sediments in the middle of the South Pacific have fewer living cells than anywhere else measured, a new study found.

Oceanographer Steven D’Hondt of the University of Rhode Island and colleagues took a boat out to the middle of the ocean and collected cores, or cylindrical samples of sediment, from the bottom of the sea about 2.5 to 3.7 miles (4 to 6 km) deep.

They found about 1,000 living cells in each cubic centimeter of sediment — a tally that is roughly 1,000 times less than in other seafloor sediments.

“People were previously just taking cores in parts of the ocean fairly close to shore and assuming their results were typical of the ocean as a whole,” D’Hondt told LiveScience.

[From Fox News]

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The 2008 “Leap Second” on New Years

Wait a second. The start of next year will be delayed by circumstances beyond everyone’s control. Time will stand still for one second on New Year’s Eve, as we ring in the New Year on that Wednesday night. As a result, you’ll have an extra second to celebrate because a “Leap Second” will be added [...]

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A Plasma Cloak Surrounds the Earth

A detailed analysis of the measurements of five different satellites has revealed the existence of warm cloak of plasma around Earth. This newfound feature is part of the magnetosphere, a shield of magnetic fields and electrically charged particles that surround and protect Earth from the onslaught of the solar wind. The northern and southern polar [...]

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Sun Flares

“The sun’s activity ebbs and flows on a roughly 11-year cycle. It can range from very quiet to violent space storms that knock out power grids on Earth and disrupt radio and satellite communications. The last peak was in 2000, and scientists have in recent months figured the low point was occurring. Fresh sunspots during [...]

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Sun Energy

“How much energy comes to earth from the sun? Yearly, the earth receives 6,000 times more sunlight energy than humans consume.” [link]

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Oxygen

“In Earth’s crust, oxygen is more abundant than any other element. Oxygen was discovered in 1774 by the British chemist Joseph Priestly and, independently, by the Swedish Chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele; it was shown to be and elemental gas by the French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier in his classic experiments on combustion. The element”s name [...]

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International Space Station

“The space station is located in orbit around the Earth at an altitude of approximately 360 km (220 miles), a type of orbit usually termed low Earth orbit (The actual height varies over time by several kilometres due to atmospheric drag and reboosts [3]). It orbits Earth in a period of about 92 minutes; by [...]

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