Category: Cosmos
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Ocean. Rogue waves. Darkness.
Rogue waves are extremely high ocean waves that exceed the significant wave height by more than a factor of 2. Extreme waves are also very rare; less than one in 100,000 waves exceeds the rogue wave criterion. While their existence was long disputed throughout the 1990s, thousands of rogue waves have been recorded on oil…
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Reach the clouds.
Colossal clouds cloak the surface of Venus, making it difficult for researchers to probe its secrets. One way astronomers have peered through the haze is with the European Space Agency’s Venus Express satellite, which orbited the veiled planet from 2006 until 2014. Data collected by the craft revealed how features on the surface, like mountains,…
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Ancient cities, long gone. Microbes. Architects.
When snorkelers discovered what appeared to be ancient stonework off the coast of the Greek island of Zakynthos in 2013, archaeologists sent to the site thought the odd rocks might be the ruins of an ancient city. But among the columns, bagel-shaped rings and paving stone‒like rocks, they found no telltale pottery shards or other…
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Information. Decay. Entropy. Clues…
Information may seem ethereal, given how easily we forget phone numbers and birthdays. But scientists say it is physical, and if a new study is correct, that goes for quantum systems, too. Although pages of text or strings of bits seem easily erased with the press of a button, the act of destroying information has…
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The many, the few, the Truth… [Twitter and correct information spreading]
In the maelstrom of information, opinion and conjecture that is Twitter, the voice of truth and reason does occasionally prevail, according to a new study. Tweets from "official accounts" can slow the spread of rumors on Twitter and correct misinformation that's taken on a life of its own. The research team from the Emerging Capacities…
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