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Solar Radiation and Earth’s Atmosphere

September 1st, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in Geology.com

“The sun’s energy output declined to unusually low levels from 2007 to 2009, a particularly prolonged solar minimum during which there were virtually no sunspots or solar storms. During that same period of low solar activity, Earth’s thermosphere shrank more than at any time in the 43-year era of space exploration.”

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US Crude Oil Stocks Rising

August 12th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in Geology.com

“This Week in Petroleum” on the Energy Information Website has a graph that shows the continuing rise of United States crude oil stocks.

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Asteroid 1999 RQ36 on an Impact Course with Earth?

July 29th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in Geology.com

Asteroid 1999 RQ36, a 560 meter-wide space rock, has a slight chance of hitting the Earth in 2182. The impact calculations have some uncertainty because of tiny forces that act on the asteroid.

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Sediment Composition and Earthquake Strength

July 16th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in Geology.com

Researchers study fault surfaces along the plate boundary that produced the large Sumatran earthquakes of 2004 and 2005. The types of sediment or rock material present along a fault can significantly influence earthquake strength and the character of fault movement.

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Close-up Images of Metal Asteroid Lutetia

July 9th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in Geology.com

“The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft will fly within 1950 miles of asteroid Lutetia this Saturday, July 10 and record the first close-up image of a metal asteroid. Measurements to derive its mass, understand its crust, and detect the presence of an atmosphere will be taken.” From the NASA press release.

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Temperature Mystery: Saturn’s Moon Mimas

March 30th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in Geology.com

NASA researchers were surprised when they obtained the highest-resolution-yet temperature map of Saturn’s icy moon Mimas. The surface temperatures were nothing as expected – they called them “bizarre”.

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Learn About the San Andreas Fault

March 22nd, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in Geology.com

David Lynch has a new website about the San Andreas Fault.

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Pushing Back the Age of Dinosaurs

March 5th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in Geology.com

A new fossil discovery was made in Tanzania of a dinosaur-like creature that lived about 10 million years before the first dinosaur. Characteristics of this animal suggests that the first dinosaur might have lived earlier than previously believed.

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Pink Slips for Astronauts?

February 26th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in Geology.com

The space shuttle is being retired, manned missions to Moon and Mars could be cancelled, and there are proposals for private companies to take over space flights. NASA now needs to decide how many astronauts are needed.

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New York Towns Recognize Electromagnetic Pulse Threat

February 25th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in Geology.com

The New York Association of Towns has a membership of 900 towns located across New York State. They passed a unanimous resolution calling for increased preparation to protect against an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) event – a high-intensity burst of electromagnetic energy that can be produced by a solar storm or a human event such

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