Global Jellyfish Overpopulation by Rachel Hott

Today you look on the sandy beach and you see the shallows lined with small plastic bags. You take a closer look. What you’re seeing is not at all plastic bags but jellyfish! Scientists believe this is due to humans. See how this is caused, what you can do to help, and statistics. 

Why is this happening?

Jellyfish are starting to move inland, scientists believe this to be caused by global warming and fishing. Both of these causes are due to humans. This could later create our downfall. Jellyfish are starting to rule the world.

Global warming 

You have probably heard about global warming, maybe from a friend,a teacher, or a documentary. It’s a huge topic and it affects the world, its fauna and flaura, terrain, and us in many different ways, like the jellyfish invaders.

So how could this be our fault? Of course we are the leading source to most of global warming, but why does it cause the jellyfish overpopulation? Well most jellyfish cannot survive in temperatures below around 21°F, but they tend to prefer temps about 40°F.  Because of global warming, the rising temperatures allow the jellyfish to move inland without dying. This results in more painful or possibly lethal stings to some beachgoers. A recent article from 2019 by The Washington Post exhibits that about 150 million people were stung that year. This results in more jellyfish washing up on the coast or just close to shallow waters. Just remember your actions can affect millions.

What can we do to fix this?

1. Decrease greenhouse gasses 

Greenhouse gasses are the number one leading cause of global warming. Greenhouse gasses trap heat in the atmosphere of the earth causing global warming. This gas is mostly caused by burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are used for things like electricity. One of the best things you can do is try to reduce electricity in your home, pass the news on, and try to find a renewable energy source.

2. Stop Overfishing

Fishing doesn’t help. Many fish are pulled out of the water daily due to the demand. This means that of course the jellyfish are coming. What can you do to help this? Stop eating fish!

FAQs

• How many people are stung a year by jellyfish?

About 150 million are stung yearly.

• How many jellyfish stings are lethal yearly?

50-100 at minimum.

• How does this affect local swimmers? 

Definitely. Some beaches are closing up and if you are at a beach, still you might get stung.

• Are there any animals that eat jellyfish?

Yes, living things such as anemones, sea turtles, birds, and more.

James Webb Telescope Moves To Europe by Kale Cunningham

In September 2021  the James Webb Telescope left America and went on a cruise to Europe. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) recently said that after many years James Webb is ready to see the universe and has met all the requirements needed to launch.   

Way Overdue

NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) were supposed to launch the probe in 2007, but due to technical difficulties, it was constantly delayed. NASA and ESA decided that it would be made in America and launched in Europe. The space agency CSA (Canadian Space Agency) also decided to be a part of the mission by shipping supplies. Overall, the mission was just slowed down. NASA and ESA had other things to work on. NASA had to make the Curiosity Mars rover which cut their budget. ESA had to train astronauts to work on the ISS (International Space Station). NASA now says that they're going to launch it before the year is over. 

An Important Cargo 

James Webb is delicate. So NASA had to be very careful transporting it. NASA had to lift the spacecraft up and fold it like paper. Then put it in a cargo box and ship it on a boat to Europe. ESA will launch it in French Guiana. The current launch date is December 18, 2021. It will then see farther back into the universe than we have ever seen.   

Observing Galaxies by Kale Cunningham

How do Humans see what they see trillions of miles away?

Galaxies are seen in clear view light years away. How? 

The answer is technology, we have been able to observe stars from our own eyes for as long as we can remember. But once the telescopes came in we were able to see farther out. And when we start sending robots into space to see the stars we started to try to answer questions that we are wondering. 

Basic Star Watching 

The first documented records of a star dates back around 1000 BCE (Before Common Era) in Mesopotamia. Then in ancient China they started to name the stars and record them. The Greeks studied them and made constellations out of them. In Rome the people also looked at the stars and named some of the original planets that we know of today. The names were: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. (Uranus and Neptune were not discovered yet). Just with basic star watching they were able to find 5 planets in our solar system and observe stars. 

Telescopes Are In

To this day it is still unknown who made the telescope. But the telescope was a big break in space observation. People could see planets and moons up close, and discover or predict better. Telescopes help astronomers like Giovanni Cassini, Galileo Galilei and Christiaan Huygens. As the more telescopes advanced the more we saw. In 1846 Neptune was found and then in 1781 Uranus was discovered. (Uranus was discovered after Neptune) 

In 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 into space revealing a whole new view to space. Bigger telescopes were made that could see billions of years back and scientists discovered that telescopes can see things that our eyes can’t. Radio telescopes were made that could detect radiation from the sun. X Ray and Gamma telescopes soon followed.                  

Space Telescopes 

Telescopes on Earth are helpful but still the atmosphere blocked our view, giving only 40% of what could be seen with visible light even with the most powerful ground based telescopes. So NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) And ESA (European Space Agency) decided to make a telescope out in space. The program was called the Great Observatories. The first space probe was named Hubble after a famous astronomer named Edwin Hubble. Hubble was made to go out in Earth's orbit and see all visible light. (The light we can identify with our own eyes) Hubble was launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery. After its release Hubble was able to start learning about Galaxies far from us. NASA and ESA launched 3 more space probes named Compton, Chandra and Spitzer. They were able to help us see a better lens in the Universe and helped us with unlocking hidden secrets. Some of the space probes still live today. 

Into The Future 

What's next? In December the James Webb Telescope will be launched by NASA. Also the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be launched in the mid 2020s by NASA. ESA, China, Russia, NASA and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) will all launch new telescopes into space in the 2030s. People want to see farther back in time and possibly see what started the Universe. And to see if we can find a possible Alien planet. 

Image Source: Getty Images

The Moon’s Hidden Secrets by Kale Cunningham

The Moon is no doubt a pretty sight and we seem to love it. It's the thing that gave hunters light during the dark nights, Something that man has walked on. 

But the moon has hidden secrets on its sacred surface… 

Ice and water are below the dusty surface. This discovery was made almost a year ago in October. After almost 12 whole years of searching NASA confirmed their discovery of water on the moon. The first clue was found in 2008 with India's Chandrayaan-1. Finding water molecules on the moon. Then NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) looked into the polar caps of the moon and found possible ice. Telescopes on Earth searched the moon, NASA flew airplanes with powerful scanners that could scan the moon, China sent a rover to the moon (but the mission was shut down after a few months).  Everyone wanted to find out the Moon’s hidden secrets. 

Why Does It Matter

NASA finds it helpful to have water on the moon because of their plan to return humans onto the moon by 2024. The Artemis program will help NASA and other small space agencies to test out new technologies for future missions to Mars. NASA is also looking to see if they can filter water on the moon so they can be sure to drink clean water on Mars. Also NASA will test the water on the moon to see if they can grow plants with the lunar soil.

Studying The Water

NASA plans to send a rover named VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) in 2023 to study the moon's polar caps. NASA, China and Russia will return samples to study the soil back on Earth. India and ESA (European Space Agency) will launch orbiters to the moon. Water will be an important part of living on the moon. We must understand what it is and how to use it correctly.

Image source: NASA 

Sources: NASA.gov and JPL.NASA.gov 

To learn more visit these articles:

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-sofia-discovers-water-on-sunlit-surface-of-moon

https://moon.nasa.gov/news/155/theres-water-on-the-moon/

Unlocking The Secrets Of The Tardigrade by Kale Cunningham

The Tardigrade is a strange animal of nature; it has the capability to survive the harshness of things on Earth. It is almost microscopic but can be seen with the human eye. Scientists still do not know what this weird “thing” is. Many people think of it as alien. It comes from another world and it does look a little creepy. But still it can live without food or water for a decade, survive in the vacuum of space without a spacesuit, get blasted with 10 times the radiation that a normal human can deal with and still live. It can deal with the coldest and hottest weather and still walk around like nothing happened. What makes it like this? No one really knows the Tardigrade’s secrets.  Scientists think that the Tardigrade skin cells are like a piece of armor. Unlocking the secrets could help humans explore space and the ocean or help rescue people from the harshest conditions by making a suit that works like a Tardigrade. But for now the Tardigrade’s secret is hidden from mankind.  

Image Source: EYE OF SCIENCE, SCIENCE SOURCE via National Geographic

Solar Conjunction Affects NASA’s Mars Missions by Kale Cunningham

A solar conjunction with Mars and Earth is where Mars will be on the exact opposite side of the sun as Earth. This happens every few years and is normal to see Mars disappear from the night sky. So why does this matter to NASA and the other space agencies? They have a mission orbiting Mars and they can’t send messages to the mission when the sun is blocking Mars. Or else some parts of the message may be destroyed leaving the spacecraft to try to figure out the code and destroy itself. The Solar conjunction will be from October 2-14 NASA has made their spacecrafts lay low until they can communicate again. 

Image Source: NASA JPL

Surprising Truth About Beautiful Seahorses by Chei Kang

Humans have created this world to benefit humans in various ways. But what did they sacrifice to do this?

As you may know, humans are destroying natural habitats and geographical features by the day. This is to create buildings and factories, mostly. One of the things that humans came up with to help with fishing is something called bottom trawling. This is when people in boats use huge nets to grab sea creatures, and it is very effective at catching crabs and shrimp. But when they do this, they catch other things as well. Turtles get caught in these nets and can become injured, beautiful sea coral may get damaged and killed, and seahorses are being harmed as well. 

These sea creatures are amazing little animals that look truly majestic. 

And it’s not just their appearance that makes them special. With more than 25 different species and their size varying from under an inch to almost 15 inches (and their scientific name Hippocampus, meaning ‘Horse sea monster’), seahorses are very unique creatures. Additionally, their flexible tails can be used to grasp objects, such as Mysis Shrimp, their main diet. They are also among the rare group where the male gives birth to the babies.

Most seahorse types are endangered or critically endangered according to the IUCN Red List. (The Red List is a list of animals that are endangered or vulnerable to becoming extinct. This list also includes animals that are extinct already.) Bottom trawling makes it worse. By pulling a giant net across the floor of the sea, the whole ecosystem gets damaged. Seahorses are one of the many victims of this destructive method of catching fish. 

So what can we do to help? “If you can avoid eating anything connected with bottom trawling, you will have done a great service to the ocean,” says seahorse expert Amanda Vincent, on Call to Earth, a show by CNN.

Spreading awareness can also help. Talk to your friends about bottom trawling and how it is destroying the ocean. Tell your parents about it. Raise money for the ocean creatures. Your voice matters. Let’s help save this wonderful animal.

Image Source: https://www.newportaquarium.com/

Why Does NASA Want To Return Mars Samples To Earth? by Kale Cunningham

Why Does NASA Want To Return Mars Samples To Earth? 

 NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) plans to return samples from Mars back to Earth by 2031. , This is making many people say why? Mars is the closest planet to Earth that may have had a really good chance of life. NASA and other space agencies have sent missions to Mars to uncover the secret we have been asking for the last century: Is there life on Mars?

Robotic explorers/ How will they return samples?

NASA has sent many missions to Mars, almost all of them have shown water once flowed on Mars. Right now NASA has 4 active missions on the surface… Curiosity, Insight, Perseverance and Ingenuity. 

Curiosity has been exploring the planet since 2012 it has driven almost 16 miles (16.39 kKilometers) on the red planet and is still active. Curiosity has found many pieces of evidence indicating for life and water on the red planet. 

Perseverance is the newest rover on Mars. It landed on February 18th, 2021 Perseverance has a mission of taking Mars samples, putting them in tubes and dropping them on the ground. Later NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) will return the samples back to Earth by picking them up and launching them and then an orbiter will collect the samples and will start heading to Earth. Then drop the samples in a mini capsule that will return them safely to Earth.

What does NASA hope to find?

NASA hopes to find out if there is life in the samples simply Microbs. 

Or possibly water-like aliens like the Tardigrade that is not microscopic but is hard to see with from the Human eye.

For more information visit these sites: 

• https://www.nasa.gov/

• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - Robotic Space Exploration   

•  https://www.esa.int/ 

Source: Collected Images NASA