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The eaglets have landed for Big Bear couple Jackie and Shadow
It’s an Easter Sunday to remember for Big Bear bald eagles Jackie and Shadow, who welcomed a pair of eaglets this weekend in front of 2.5 million social media followers.
The first chick hatched late Saturday at 11:33 p.m. while the second emerged Sunday at 8:30 a.m., according to Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit group that oversees ...Read more
On NASA's moon mission, the biggest headache has been the toilet
As NASA’s Artemis II astronauts make their way to the moon this weekend, their test flight has gone surprisingly well without any major issues, save for one piece of technology giving the crew some grief: the toilet.
The Lockheed Martin-built Orion crew capsule that’s carrying the Artemis II crew to the moon is equipped with what’s known...Read more
NASA shoehorns in human science on Artemis II moon mission
While the primary goal of the Artemis II mission is the ensure the Orion spacecraft is safe for humans, NASA did find time to fit some science on board during the 10-day lunar fly-by.
“The most complex machine we’re flying is the human, and we have to understand the human as a system in order to be successful,” said Steven Platts, NASA’...Read more
Microplastics are everywhere -- even in the labs studying them. That's a problem for research
As the science of detecting microplastics matures, so too does consensus about their ubiquity. Everywhere researchers have looked to find them, there they've been: In human brains and lungs; in breast milk and semen; in alpine snow and deep-sea sediment; in corn plants and beer.
And that, say researchers, is the rub: Scientists are not just ...Read more
What does drought look like? How record-low snowpack is hitting southwestern Colorado
DENVER — Colorado is experiencing its lowest snowpack levels since record-keeping began statewide in 1941. Statewide snowpack, as of Thursday, was at 26% of the median — about a quarter of what the state typically has this time of year, according to data from the USDA National Water and Climate Center.
That means there is roughly 74% less ...Read more
From Artemis to ULA, Space Force has hands full with 6 different rockets this year
ORLANDO, Fla. — NASA’s Artemis II mission got the limelight this week, but U.S. Space Force has an arsenal of other space-bound hardware muscling onto Florida’s launch pads this year.
This year’s schedule from either Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station already features six different rockets. Vying for many of the ...Read more
ULA launches Atlas V on latest Amazon satellite mission
ORLANDO, Fla. — United Launch Alliance managed its second mission of the year early Saturday with one its few remaining Atlas V rockets on the latest trip to put up more Amazon satellites into orbit.
The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 at 1:46 a.m. with 29 more broadband satellites for ...Read more
Why does some rain fall harder than other rain?
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.
Why does some rain fall harder than other rain? – Naomi B., age 9, San Fancisco, California
There are some days when the rain falls peacefully and gently, nourishing the ...Read more
As Artemis II heads to moon, work gets going on Artemis III
The four astronauts of the Artemis II mission punched their moon ticket on Thursday afternoon — but back at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, teams are already refocusing on the launch of Artemis III next year.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen were given the...Read more
Toxic dust from California’s shrinking Salton Sea is harming children’s lung growth – our study tracked the impact in 700 kids
Southern California’s Salton Sea was once a resort playground, with sunny beaches, celebrities and people waterskiing on the vast inland lake in the 1950s and ’60s.
Today, those resorts are long gone, replaced by a drying and increasingly toxic landscape. As the lake shrinks, wind blowing across the exposed lake bed kicks up toxic...Read more
Baby mountain lion orphaned and left to starve in Southern California is rescued
LOS ANGELES — Crimson the baby mountain lion had a rough start to life. He lost the toes on one of his hind feet and, at just 3 weeks old, was separated from his family and left alone in a den to starve.
But the Southern California cub experienced a positive turn of fate when state wildlife officials rescued him last week and transported him ...Read more
Owlchemy takes ‘Dimensional Double Shift’ to a new VR locale — Sporelando
Virtual reality was once touted as the next big frontier for gaming, promising to bring players into immersive worlds. Meta, Sony and Valve have worked to establish the medium, but its adoption hasn’t taken off like console or mobile gaming has.
Nevertheless, developers are forging ahead, and one of the more successful VR studios is ...Read more
Diablo Canyon, California's last nuclear power plant, wins final approval to keep operating
Federal regulators on Thursday renewed the license for California’s last nuclear power plant, ensuring Diablo Canyon will remain open until at least 2030 after years of debate over safety, climate goals and the state’s ability to keep the lights on.
The plant on the San Luis Obispo County coast, about 200 miles south of San Jose, provides ...Read more
New AI surveillance towers from General Dynamics deployed along US-Mexico border in San Diego
A new generation of AI surveillance towers from General Dynamics has been deployed along San Diego’s stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border.
General Dynamics uses Phoenix-based PureTech Systems’ AI software, trained on years of footage from earlier systems. Using a combination of cameras and radar, the towers can distinguish a human from a cow, ...Read more
After 1 day in orbit, Artemis II crew set to pull moonshot trigger
It had been 53 years, 3 months and 17 days since the Apollo 17 crew — the final moon landing mission — left lunar orbit, headed back to Earth and ended an era.
But a new era has finally begun with the Wednesday launch of the Artemis II mission from Kennedy Space Center, an event that will kickstart the agency’s plans to venture back to a ...Read more
A 'zero gravity indicator' designed by this California 8-year-old is en route to the moon
When Artemis II took off from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, it had one especially cute crew member aboard — "Rise," a stuffed toy created by an 8-year-old boy from California that will indicate for astronauts when they have reached weightlessness.
Lucas Ye, from Mountain View, won an international competition to design the toy, which...Read more
NASA's No. 1 priority: Artemis II toilet fixed before trip to moon
The four astronauts on the Artemis II mission around the moon got some relief overnight after troubleshooting a malfunctioning toilet on the Orion spacecraft.
It’s not as if there was a plumbing backup on the toilet that will make history as the first ever in deep space. Instead, the crew reported a blinking fault light.
“We had a ...Read more
Federal health and environmental agencies to study microplastics and pharmaceuticals in drinking water
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced new initiatives to tackle microplastics in the human body and drinking water Thursday.
Kennedy said the government will create a new $144 million program called STOMP, for the systematic targeting of ...Read more
Environmental groups sue over drilling carve-out for Gulf wildlife protections
Environmental groups have filed multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration over its decision earlier this week to broadly exempt the oil and gas industry from requirements that protect all endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico.
In one federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Washington, D.C., a coalition of four Gulf advocacy organizations ...Read more
Black bears are emerging from their California dens. Here's how to stay safe
Spring is here — and wildlife activity is heating up in California.
“The arrival of warmer weather means black bears will be emerging from winter dens and actively searching for food,” the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a Facebook post March 16. “This includes mother bears with new cubs of the year and quite often ...Read more
Popular Stories
- From Artemis to ULA, Space Force has hands full with 6 different rockets this year
- On NASA's moon mission, the biggest headache has been the toilet
- What does drought look like? How record-low snowpack is hitting southwestern Colorado
- NASA shoehorns in human science on Artemis II moon mission
- ULA launches Atlas V on latest Amazon satellite mission
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