World

Dec. 7, 1941 … ‘A Date Which Will Live In Infamy’

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President Franklin Roosevelt in a speech to Congress in 1941 said the bombing of Pearl Harbor was ‘a date which will live in infamy’. Shortly after, Germany also declared war on the United States. In the months that followed, the slogan ‘Remember Pearl Harbor’ swept the United States. Courtesy/timeanddate.com

Staff Report

Today marks the anniversary of that Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941, when the American Army and Navy base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy.

The attack came as a surprise to the American Army and Navy and lead to great losses of life and equipment. Read More

AGU: Cluster Of Alaskan Islands Could Be Single, Interconnected Giant Volcano

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An aerial oblique photo of the volcanoes in the Islands of Four Mountains, Alaska, July 2014. In the center is the summit of Mount Tana. Behind Tana are from left, Herbert, Cleveland, and Carlisle Volcanoes. Courtesy/John Lyons/USGS

AGU News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A small group of volcanic islands in Alaska’s Aleutian chain might be part of a single, undiscovered giant volcano, say scientists presenting the findings Monday, Dec. 7 at AGU’s Fall Meeting 2020.

If the researchers’ suspicions are correct, the newfound volcanic caldera would belong to the same category of volcanoes as the Read More

Adam Strain Of Los Alamos On The Job In Indian Ocean

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On the job is Machinery Repairman 1st Class Adam Strain of Los Alamos communicating with members of the damage control team Nov. 25 during a general quarters drill aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59), in the Indian Ocean. Princeton is part of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the Western Indian Ocean and three critical chokepoints to the free flow of global commerce. Strain is the son of Julie Bennett of Los Alamos Read More

Stony Brook University: Rare Cretaceous-Age Fossil Discovery Opens New Chapter In Story Of Bird Evolution

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Illustration depicting Falcatakely amidst nonavian dinosaurs and other creatures during the Late Cretaceous in Madagascar. Courtesy/Mark Witton

STONY BROOK News:

STONY BROOK, NY — A newly discovered, crow-sized bird fossil that would have sliced its way through the air wielding a large, blade-like beak, offers new insight into the evolution of face and beak shape in the Mesozoic forerunners of modern birds.

An international team of researchers led by Alan H. Turner, PhD, of Stony Brook University and Patrick O’Connor, PhD, of Ohio University, detail the findings in a paper published in Read More

NOAA Strategy Targets Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease

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A diseased brain coral in Looe Key, Fla. The disease is leaving a white band of recently dead skeleton in contrast to the healthy, yellow/brown tissue. Courtesy/Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

NOAA News:

NOAA unveiled a new strategy Tuesday for the response to stony coral tissue loss disease, a disease that is spreading throughout the Atlantic and Caribbean region and may pose a threat to the Indo-Pacific region.  

The high-level strategy provides a framework and focus for ongoing efforts to slow the spread and to prevent and prepare for potential spread into the Indo-Pacific Read More

Shift In Atmospheric Rivers May Affect Antarctic Sea Ice

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Peterman Island, Graham Land, Antarctica. A new study finds that atmospheric rivers in the Southern Hemisphere have been gradually shifting toward the South Pole for the past 40 years, a trend which could lead to increased rates of ice melt in Antarctica. Courtesy/McKay Savage, CC-BY-2.0

AGU News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Weather systems responsible for transporting moisture from the tropics to temperate regions in the Southern Hemisphere have been gradually shifting toward the South Pole for the past 40 years, a trend which could lead to increased rates of ice melt in Antarctica, according to Read More

Children’s Books Needed Immediately For African Library Project Upcoming Shipment To Kenya

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Children gather with their books and ipad they received from the African Library Project. Courtesy photo

Children reading books in a doorway they received from the African Library Project. Courtesy photo

By SHARON ALLEN
African Library Project

Due to the pandemic and on site school attendance being in a state of flux, thrift shops being closed and families staying home, book collecting in Los Alamos has come to a standstill.

But books are still being shipped for the African Library Project and the need for good condition, used children’s books couldn’t be greater.

Acceptable books are from Read More

Teaching During A Pandemic: A Heroic Feat…

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By KAYLI ORTIZ
New Mexico Teacher

In the spring, teachers had a “superhero” moment. When the world as we knew it was flipped on its head, there was unprecedented clarity on how central teachers and public education are to our children’s welfare, our economy, and our very routines.

When Shonda Rhimes, the creator of “Grey’s Anatomy”, tweeted, “Been homeschooling a 6-year old and 8-year old for one hour and 11 minutes. Teachers deserve to make a billion dollars a year. Or a week,” the tweet got over 588K likes and 102K retweets. It seemed many could relate.

That moment was fleeting. For the past few Read More

Stratodynamics And University Of Kentucky To Conduct Test Flights At Spaceport America In New Mexico

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The HiDRON at an altitude of 27km. Note the earth’s curvature is exaggerated by the use of a wide-angle lens. Courtesy/Stratodynamics

Spaceport America News:

Stratodynamics Inc. and research collaborators from the University of Kentucky will conduct a multi-flight campaign along with engineers from autopilot developer UAVOS starting early December at Spaceport America.

The two-week campaign is the culmination of an experimental NASA Flight Opportunities project to validate a new method of real time, forward sensing turbulence detection developed by the University and NASA Langley. Read More

Today Marks 2020’s Second Friday The 13th

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Gioachino Rossini, a 19th century Italian composer. Folklorists say there’s no written evidence that Friday the 13th was considered unlucky before the 19th century. The earliest known documented reference in English appears to be in Henry Sutherland Edwards’ 1869 biography of Rossini.Courtesy/earthsky.org

By BRUCE MCCLURE
www.earthsky.org

Today presents the second of two Friday the 13ths in 2020.

The last time we had only one Friday the 13th in a calendar year was in May 2016 and the next time won’t be until August 2021.

Any calendar year has a minimum of one Friday the 13th, Read More