NASA airplanes followed the eclipse's path over North America, flying along the path of totality for seven minutes. During those precious minutes, they glimpsed the outer of the sun and the planet Mercury.
North Carolina Science Now
Here are seven things you may not know about hurricane names
How are hurricanes named? Read about the history of hurricane naming protocol, and the current naming system.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. In addition to the National Hurricane Center's annual predictions before the season starts, and the very real and vitally important concerns about the storms themselves, there is always a question about how hurricanes are named. So, here are seven things you should know about Hurricane names.
How football TV’s first down line made its debut
The first down line that football fans see on-screen hasn't always been there. Here's how the innovative technology made its debut.
Did you miss the eclipse? Here are the next ones this century
Maybe you didn't hear about the August 21 solar eclipse in time to prepare. Maybe you were stuck inside the entire day. Maybe you just did’t care at the time—I won’t judge. The reality is there have been solar eclipses throughout history and there are more to come.
In babies, crucial neural connections happen before age three
Though we weren’t aware of it, our brain was growing explosively in the first few years of our lives. From birth to age three, babies gain more than a million neural connections every second. This crucial period of brain formation will affect how a person learns, communicates and behaves for the rest of their lives.
The brain is made up of neurons, specialized cells that send messages to the rest of the body. Every new experience and memory creates connections between neurons, or synapses. These connections enable basic brain functions.
Southwestern CC teams with NASA for balloon study
It’s going to start getting dark in Sylva, NC, just after noon on August 21, 2017.
That’s because Sylva lies directly in the path of a once-in-a-generation natural phenomenon that will blanket the area in daytime darkness. A total solar eclipse will track across the contiguous (lower 48) United States for the first time since 1979. The last time Jackson County fell in the path of what scientists call “totality” was in the year 1506; the next total solar eclipse won’t cast a shadow on Jackson County until 2153.
These lifestyle choices could help prevent Alzheimer's
It's a joke at times: People tend to become forgetful as they get older.
But there is nothing funny about Alzheimer’s disease, an age-related brain condition that gradually destroys a person’s memory and thinking skills. It eventually prevents a person from being able to do simple tasks. Alzheimer’s disease progresses slowly, and the patient’s mental decline usually occurs in three classified stages: an early, preclinical stage with no symptoms, a middle stage with mild cognitive impairment and a final stage of Alzhimer’s dementia.
National Hurricane Center Debuts New Look for Cone of Uncertainty
You know you’ve seen it. A hurricane is approaching and the National Hurricane Center issues a forecast cone in their report to indicate the possible path and impact area of the tropical cyclone.
Maybe you have wondered about this “cone of uncertainty.”
It turns out a lot of people have wondered about what exactly the cone means. The problem is that the public’s understanding of the its meaning is usually wrong. So forecasters are trying to improve the tool.
But first, just what is the cone?
Losing weight isn't about having a fast metabolism
Yes, I’m writing this blog because I am trying to lose some weight. It's not easy, as you have probably heard many people complain. And it’s likely that you have also heard people place the blame for this difficulty on a slow metabolism. I’m not exactly sure what that might mean, but, hey, the excuse made sense. That is, until I asked the researchers at Metabolon.
Bottom line: I lost my excuse.
Spotting a galaxy, and other discoveries that were total accidents
Astrophysicist Patrick Treuthardt wasn’t looking for a rare galaxy. But while gazing at a cluster of galaxies, he happened to notice a small, unobtrusive speck. The speck turned out to be PGC 10000714, an elliptical galaxy surrounded by two rings of stars. It’s one of the rarest types of galaxies in the universe and Treuthardt found it by chance.
A lot of major scientific discoveries can happen by accident, failure or just plain dumb luck.