A rare pygmy sperm whale washes up on Newfoundland’s shore and leaves its inky mark

A rare pygmy sperm whale washes up on Newfoundland’s shore and leaves its inky mark

This pygmy sperm whale washed ashore on the Avalon Peninsula, says Julie Huntington, offering scientists a glimpse into the life of the rarely seen creature. (Submitted by Julie Huntington/Lukas Ward) A dead pygmy sperm whale washed up on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula last week, and one conservationist says the creature was still able to mount a type … Read more

Megaconstellations of satellites are burning up in our atmosphere. That could have consequences

Megaconstellations of satellites are burning up in our atmosphere. That could have consequences

If, on a clear night, you were to gaze up into the blackness of the sky, you would expect to see nothing but the magnificent Milky Way stretching out above you, billions of stars twinkling in place. Instead, every few minutes or so, you will most likely also see an ersatz star breaking through an … Read more

Recent solar storm and eclipse are reminders we live in the sun’s embrace

Recent solar storm and eclipse are reminders we live in the sun’s embrace

The colourful auroras that treated skywatchers across the country last weekend and the total solar eclipse last month are reminders that the Earth is in direct line of fire from activities on the surface of the sun. The Space Weather division of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been issuing warnings for … Read more

Cruise ship sails into New York with dead endangered whale across its bow

Cruise ship sails into New York with dead endangered whale across its bow

A cruise ship sailed into a New York City port with a 13-metre dead whale across its bow, marine authorities said. The whale, identified as an endangered sei whale, was caught on the ship’s bow when it arrived at the Port of Brooklyn on Saturday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries spokesperson Andrea Gomez said. A … Read more

New satellite will track elusive methane pollution from oil and gas industry globally

New satellite will track elusive methane pollution from oil and gas industry globally

A privately funded satellite is set to push methane tracking into a new era, once it launches into space on Monday. A collaborative mission between Environmental Defense Fund, Google, the Government of New Zealand and several other partners, MethaneSAT will track methane emissions around the globe in attempts to identify and quantify sources spewing the climate-heating greenhouse gas.  For 20 … Read more

Dress code: How a Winnipeg codebreaker cracked one of the ‘world’s top unsolved messages’

Dress code: How a Winnipeg codebreaker cracked one of the ‘world’s top unsolved messages’

University of Manitoba research computer analyst Wayne Chan holds a copy of the Silk Dress cryptogram. (Trevor Brine/CBC) “Bismark Omit leafage buck bank.” That seemingly random string of words appears in something called the Silk Dress cryptogram, 23 handwritten lines on two sheets of crinkled paper that were discovered in a hidden pocket of a Victorian-era dress … Read more