Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. To receive it in your inbox, Register for free here.
CNN
—
I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights from home this month, when the largest solar storm to reach Earth in two decades made the auroras visible at latitudes much further south than usual.
Even though I lived on the bright streets of central London, my smartphone camera captured a green haze and a sheet of pulsing purple and pink light. Capturing this moment was an unforgettable experience and one that, in my opinion, would involve an expensive trip to the northernmost regions of our planet.
Storms that create spectacular auroras like the ones I witnessed come from the sun’s dynamic magnetic field, an astrophysical puzzle that scientists are poised to solve this week.
NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory
Scientists at NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory used computer models to generate a four-day time-lapse view of the changing magnetic field of the sun. Field lines are more concentrated in more magnetically intense regions.
Understanding how the sun’s magnetic field works will help scientists improve prediction of space weather, which dazzles observers of the night sky but can disrupt GPS and communications satellites.
The Sun’s looping magnetic field lines, which form a tangle of structures more complex than those on Earth, are difficult to study directly. To understand what is happening, scientists create mathematical models.
A new model, which took more than a decade to develop and required a NASA supercomputer to perform detailed calculations, has revealed that the sun’s magnetic field is generated much closer to the surface than previously thought. thought before.
The team believes their model is more accurate because it takes into account a unique solar characteristic.
A single gold earring found in the ruins of a 2,000-year-old building in the Pyrenees is a clue to how a devastating fire may have started. The inferno consumed the wooden structure, located in an Iron Age village called Tossal de Baltarga, and killed six animals locked in a stable.
Archaeologists believe the fire was deliberate. If it had been accidental, the building owners would likely have released the cattle and returned after the fire was out to retrieve their hidden gold, which was hidden in a jar.
The arsonists could be an invading army led by Hannibal, the Carthaginian general who led troops against the Roman Republic, according to the new study.
The fate of the people who used the building is unknown, but excavations have revealed revealing details of the lives of an Iberian people called the Cerretani.
André Pattenden/English Heritage
The moon is visible above the megaliths that make up Stonehenge, located on Salisbury Plain in the county of Wiltshire in England.
Stonehenge’s builders placed the enormous stones that make up the prehistoric monument according to sunrise and sunset, the longest and shortest days of the year, revealing an intimate understanding of the sun that is still palpable today. ‘today.
But does the 4,500-year-old site in southwest England – and potentially other megalithic monuments around the world – also align with the Moon?
The idea that Stonehenge had a connection to the Moon gained ground in the 1960s. However, the concept had not been systematically explored – until now.
This summer, archaeologists are using the lunar shutdown, a little-known phenomenon that occurs every 18.6 years, to investigate.
Space scientists have observed the edge of a black hole for the first time – an area known as the “dipping region”.
Andrew Mummery, lead author of new study on black holes and a researcher at the University of Oxford, likened it to the “waterfall edge” at the end of a river, where material orbiting nearby stars plunges into the abyss.
In the diving region, matter can no longer remain in orbit and rushes into the black hole. But unlike the event horizon or black hole surface, light can still escape at this point.
The results of the study, predicted by Albert Einstein, could help astronomers better understand the formation and evolution of black holes.
Philippe Clément/Arterra/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
The Eurasian jay may be capable of a human-like feat of memory, new research suggests.
Corvids – the group of birds that includes crows, crows and jays – are known to be intelligent. A species of corvid may even be capable of what researchers call “mental time travel.”
This type of memory allows the mind to remember seemingly unimportant information that you have not consciously memorized – for example, remembering what you ate for lunch yesterday.
Researchers working with Eurasian jays trained to find food hidden under cups say these birds may be able to demonstrate memory.
In the experiment, which involved decorated cups, the jays were able to remember what a particular cup looked like, even after the cups were rearranged and after some time.
And in other corvid news, ravens can count up to four, according to the latest research.
Immerse yourself in these breathtaking stories.
— Thomas Midgley Jr. was a gifted American inventor who made a lasting mark on history. However, his ingenious solutions created even bigger problems.
— Microplastics have been discovered in human testes, highlighting the urgent need for additional research to understand the role plastics may play in infertility.
— An Austrian winemaker has discovered hundreds of mammoth bones in his cellar, a discovery one expert called an “archaeological sensation.”
Don’t go there just yet: NASA has announced the latest news on the much-delayed Boeing Starliner crewed mission.
Do you like what you read? Oh, but there’s more. register here to get the next edition of Wonder Theory delivered to your inbox, brought to you by the editors of CNN Space and Science Ashley Strickland And Katie Hunt. They marvel at the planets beyond our solar system and at the discoveries of the ancient world.