From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Jupiter’s infamous red spot, a massive storm larger than the Earth itself, has been speeding up its churning, according to new analysis, with its outer winds exceeding 644 kilometres per hour.
The change was noticed by looking at more than a decade of Hubble Space Telescope observations of the planet.
Hubble has regular “storm reports” for Jupiter, and scientists noticed that in a high-speed ring just within Jupiter’s red spot, the overage wind speed had increased by eight per cent from 2009 to 2020.
While it may not sound like a big change, it speaks to how prolonged observation of celestial bodies through tools such as the Hubble Space Telescope can allow us to understand their patterns better, and figure out how these enormous storms function.
Scientists observed that the inner ring of the vortex, which humans first noticed more than 150 years ago, is moving much slower than the outside, according to a news release.
Michael Wong of the University of California, Berkeley, led the investigation, and said in the release that it’s hard to know what the increase in speed means.
“That's hard to diagnose, since Hubble can't see the bottom of the storm very well. Anything below the cloud tops is invisible in the data," Wong explained. "But it's an interesting piece of data that can help us understand what's fuelling the Great Red Spot and how it's maintaining energy.”
The massive red spot has fascinated humans for over a century. We now know that the structure of the storm itself is layered, with high clouds at the centre, and was formed by material from the planet’s centre welling up. Scientists have observed that the shape of the spot has changed over the years, shrinking slightly and becoming more circular as opposed to oval.
The change in winds on Jupiter amounts to a difference of just 2.7 kilometres per hour, researchers say.
“We're talking about such a small change that if you didn’t have 11 years of Hubble data, we wouldn't know it happened,”Amy Simon, with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said in the release. "With Hubble we have the precision we need to spot a trend.”
The observations are so specific that researchers were able to note an abrupt change in winds in 2017 when there was another large storm near the red spot.
Whether Jupiter’s red spot will continue speeding up, and what exactly it means for the planet, is yet to be seen. But Hubble is keeping an eye out.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Careful attention to government statements and legislation is required to get a handle on the level of risk British Columbians’ information is under, as investigators probe multiple breaches under a continued barrage of attacks.
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
The Oscar-winning team behind the nearly US$6 billion blockbuster 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies is reuniting to produce two new films.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.