Science News related to Nature – Key to Children’s Health, Life Around the Galaxy’s Smallest Stars, Exoplanet Exploration, Climate Change, Metal-Rich Asteroids, Planet Orbiting 3 Stars
Note: I do not write/own any of the science news bits (and cover picture) given here. The links on each of the news bits will redirect to the news source. The content given under each headline is a basic gist and not the full story.
1. Science Backs Nature as Key to Children’s Health
Source: Washington State University
29 Sept 2021
The presence of green spaces near homes and schools is strongly associated with improved physical activity and mental health outcomes in kids, according to a massive review of data from nearly 300 studies.
2. Investigating The Potential for Life Around the Galaxy’s Smallest Stars
Source: University of California – Riverside
29 Sept 2021
When the world’s most powerful telescope launches into space this year, scientists will learn whether Earth-sized planets in our ‘solar neighborhood’ have a key prerequisite for life — an atmosphere. These planets orbit an M-dwarf, the smallest and most common type of star in the galaxy. Scientists do not currently know how common it is for Earth-like planets around this type of star to have characteristics that would make them habitable.
Original written by: Jules Bernstein
3. ‘Planet Confusion’ Could Slow Earth-Like Exoplanet Exploration
Source: Cornell University
30 Sept 2021
By using Earth’s own solar system as a model of an unexplored star system, researchers calculated that even with direct-imaging techniques and the increased capabilities of future, high-powered telescopes, exoplanets as different as Uranus and Earth could be mistaken for one another.
Original written by: Erin Philipson
4. Earth Is Dimming Due to Climate Change
Source: American Geophysical Union
30 Sept 2021
Warming ocean waters have caused a drop in the brightness of the Earth, according to a new study. Researchers used decades of measurements of earthshine — the light reflected from Earth that illuminates the surface of the Moon — as well as satellite measurements to find that there has been a significant drop in Earth’s reflectance, or albedo, over the past two decades.
5. Mysterious Metal-Rich Near-Earth Asteroids
Source: University of Arizona
1 Oct 2021
New research investigated two metal-rich asteroids in our own cosmic backyard to learn more about their origins, compositions, and relationships with meteorites found on Earth. These metal-rich NEAs were thought to be created when the cores of developing planets were catastrophically destroyed early in the solar system’s history, but little more is known about them.
6. Astronomers May Have Discovered the First Planet to Orbit 3 Stars
Source: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
1 Oct 2021
In a distant star system — a mere 1,300 light-years away from Earth — UNLV researchers may have identified the first known planet to orbit three stars. Unlike our solar system, which consists of a solitary star, it is believed that half of all star systems, like GW Ori where astronomers observed the novel phenomenon, consist of two or more stars that are gravitationally bound to each other.
Original written by: Natalie Bruzda
That’s all the science news for this week! Maybe you can help me provide news better. Leave a comment below if you have any suggestions or send me a message via the contact form! Have fun!
