Astro Blog

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/14/science/enceladus-moon-cyanide-life-saturn.html By Kenneth Chang , The New York Times.  Excerpt: Scientists have detected a poison among the spray of molecules emanating from a small moon of Saturn. That adds to existing intrigue about the possibility of life there. The poison is hydrogen cyanide, a colorless gas that is deadly to many Earth creatures. But it could have played a key role in chemical reactions that created the ingredients that set the stage for the advent of life. ...Mr. Peter and his collaborators, Tom Nordheim and Kevin Hand of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, reported their findings in a paper published on Thursday in the journal Nature Astronomy.... 

https://eos.org/research-spotlights/protecting-power-grids-from-space-weather By Rachel Fritts , Eos/AGU.  Excerpt: Activity from the Sun, such as  solar flares , can cause fluctuations in Earth’s geomagnetic field that send electrical currents flowing through power grids. These  geomagnetically induced currents  (GICs) can cause problems ranging from temporary voltage instability to widespread blackouts to reduced life spans for transformers. It is therefore important to develop effective mitigation strategies that protect against GIC-induced power disruptions while maintaining power to consumers. Suggested solutions have included installing equipment such as capacitors to block GICs and making changes to network configurations.  Mac Manus et al .  worked with the energy company Transpower New Zealand Ltd. to test four mitigation strategies that could be used throughout the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The team did this by ...modeling potential mitigation responses. ...Work