Technologies

Antarctica Logs ‘Record-Smashing’ Low for Sea Ice, Says NASA

The bad news keeps coming as scientists monitor the levels of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice.

NASA may be famous for its space exploits, but it’s just as concerned with what’s happening on our own planet as it is with what’s going on out yonder. Researchers from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center are tracking sea ice levels on both ends of the globe. A report released this week shows some grim data.

Satellite observations show that Arctic sea ice most likely reached its annual minimum extent on Sept. 19, logging the sixth-lowest year based on records dating back to 1979. The news from the other pole was even more bleak.

«Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest maximum extent on record on Sept. 10 at a time when the ice cover should have been growing at a much faster pace during the darkest and coldest months,» said NASA in a statement. In short, both regions are lacking ice.

Top-down view of the Artic in white with Greenland marked. Yellow line shows media ice edge from 1981-2010. The current white ice area is notably smaller.

Sea ice is disappearing in the face of a warming world. Loss of sea ice affects the people who live in the Arctic as well as the animals and ecosystems at the polar regions. But it also plays a role in the global climate. Read a deep dive on the climate consequences of a «sea ice free» Arctic.

«While bright sea ice reflects most of the sun’s energy back to space, open ocean water absorbs 90% of it,» said NASA. «With greater areas of the ocean exposed to solar energy, more heat can be absorbed, which warms the ocean waters and further delays sea ice growth.»

Satellite data collected between March and September shows that Arctic ice cover shrank from 5.64 million square miles (14.62 million square kilometers) to 1.63 million square miles (4.23 million square kilometers). To put that in perspective, NASA said the lost sea ice could cover the entire continental US. Research points to a long-term decline in Arctic sea ice, with spring melting starting earlier and autumn freeze-up starting later. The ice has also become thinner over time.

NASA released a video with a visualization of the sea ice changes:

In Antarctica, satellite data shows that sea ice reached its lowest winter maximum extent on Sept. 10 with a coverage area of 6.5 million square miles (16.96 million square kilometers). That’s 398,000 square miles (1.03 million square kilometers) less than the previous record low, set in 1986. «It’s a record-smashing sea ice low in the Antarctic,» said NSIDC scientistWalt Meier.

Top-down view of Antarctica in white indicates the extent of sea ice on Sept. 10, 2023, the lowest maximum on satellite record.

NASA called out some potential factors for the lack of Antarctic sea ice, including warming ocean temperatures and the recurring natural weather pattern of El Niño. El Niño delivers higher than normal surface temperatures in parts of the Pacific Ocean. Earlier this month, NASA declared summer 2023 as the hottest on record, pointing to climate change and El Niño as culprits.

Human-caused climate change is fueled by greenhouse gas emissions. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions traces the majority of these emissions — largely from the burning of fossil fuels for energy — to China, the US and the European Union. The highest per capita emissions come from the US and Russia.

The NSIDC notes that this year’s Antarctic and Arctic sea ice numbers are still preliminary and may be adjusted based on continued observations. Researchers are working on a full analysis while comparing this year’s data with historical records.

What’s key is this likely isn’t an anomaly. Meier said the Arctic changes represent a «fundamental, decades-long response to warming temperatures.»

Technologies

Porsche Has Released Its First All-Electric Macan GTS. How Fast Does It Go?

The electric Porsche Macan GTS delivers plenty of speed and classic GTS attitude to rival the Tesla Model Y Performance.

Technologies

November Nights Will Dazzle with Three Meteor Showers. Here’s How to Watch Like a Pro

You won’t need binoculars or a telescope, but you will need to get away from urban and suburban lights.

Get ready for an active November, skygazers. The month features three annual meteor showers — the Northern Taurids, the Southern Taurids, and the Leonids — two of which are already active. Northern Taurids started on Oct. 20, and Southern Taurids — one of the longest meteor showers of the year — began on Sept. 20. Leonids are expected to start on Nov. 6.

Even though two of these meteor showers are already in progress, the best parts of each are still to come. All three showers peak during November. And while these showers aren’t as prolific as the biggest ones, including August’s Perseids and January’s Quadrantids, you can still marvel at meteors with a bit of luck and some tips we’ll provide.

Not everyone understands what a meteor shower actually is, but it’s fairly simple. Shooting stars are a common occurrence in space around planet Earth. According to NASA, 48.5 tons of meteoritic material hit Earth’s atmosphere every year. Sometimes, enough of that material comes from the same spot, and we humans refer to those as meteor showers.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Southern Taurids: The longest one

The Southern Taurids shower lasts for two months, making it one of the longest meteor showers of the year.

Southern Taurids is scheduled to peak on the evening of Nov. 4 into Nov. 5, and should spawn upwards of five meteors per hour during that peak. Southern Taurids is known for its increased chance of fireballs, which are meteors that are brighter than most. According to some reports, these fireballs can be brighter than the planet Venus when they streak across the night sky.

All meteor showers are named for the constellations where they appear to originate, a spot known as the radiant. For the Southern Taurids, the radiant is in the Taurus constellation near the Pleiades star cluster, so that is where you’ll want to look for them. Taurus will be visible in the eastern sky shortly after sunset and end its evening in the western sky as the sun rises.

Northern Taurids: Peaks later than its sibling

The Northern Taurids meteor shower is set to peak on Nov. 11 and 12. It’s identical to the Southern Taurids, only with a later peak date. The origin point will be the Taurus constellation, producing an average of five meteors per hour with an increased chance of fireballs.

Leonids: The most active

Of the three November meteor showers, Leonids should be the most active. It is fed by the Tempel-Tuttle Comet, which can produce some dense debris clouds, resulting in very strong showers. Leonids is set to peak on Nov. 16-17.

Some sources say as many as 15 visible meteors per hour is possible, while NASA estimates a more conservative three per hour under dark skies. It’s impossible to know for sure how active this shower will be until the peak occurs..

As the name implies, Leonids will appear out of the Leo constellation. Leo is visible in the eastern sky between midnight and 1 a.m. local time.

Per the American Meteor Society, Leonids has produced some intense meteor showers as recently as 2002, but isn’t scheduled to do so again until 2031, 2064, and 2099 as the comet returns to the solar system. During these rare meteor storms, NASA says that it’s possible to see upwards of 1,000 meteors per hour.

Tips for watching meteor showers

Here are some tips and tricks that will help increase your odds of spotting a meteor in November.

Get away from light pollution

This is the most important guideline to follow. Simply put, city lights make meteors harder to see.

«Light pollution will definitely hamper your viewing of meteors,» Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, told CNET. «The more light pollution you are under, the fewer meteors you’ll see.»

Nichols says that unfavorable conditions can reduce the number of meteors you see by upwards of 75%.

Head to the countryside and find a spot that is as dark as possible. (There are other sources of light pollution that humans can’t do anything about, like the moon.)

The Southern Taurids peaks during November’s full moon, which is also a supermoon, meaning it shares the maximum amount of light pollution you can get from the moon. If you’re going to skip any of these showers, the Southern Taurids is probably the best choice. The other two showers will have much more favorable celestial conditions.

Don’t take any equipment

Meteor showers typically have an origin point, but you won’t need binoculars or telescopes.

«You want to just use your eyes,» said Nichols. «Binoculars or telescopes both look at ever-smaller pieces of sky, and you want to be able to look around at the entire sky.»

Meteors are very fast, and a magnification device may obstruct your ability to see the whole path. Nichols says that Taurids meteors tend to travel at 17 to 18 miles per second while Orionids may travel as fast as 41 miles per second.

Also, meteors don’t last for a long time.

«Look for short-lived, quick streaks of light,» Nichols says. «Meteors tend to last a fraction of a second to maybe a few seconds for the longer-lived ones.»

Nichols also notes that much of the material falling to Earth’s surface is «only about the size of a grain of sand.» As such, the streak humans often see isn’t the meteor itself, but rather the «glowing, superheated air that surrounds that bit of comet material» as it plummets toward Earth.

Dress for the occasion

Unless you live in the Deep South, it’s likely to be cold outside in November. Dressing for the occasion means you’ll be able to stay out longer, even if it’s chilly.

«When you go outside, dress warmly in layers, even if it’s not terribly cold where you are,» says Nichols. «You’ll be out there for a while, and at night, you may easily get chilled, especially if it’s damp out.»

Nichols recommends bringing an extra chair to put your feet on to keep them off the cold ground, especially if it’s wet, and also recommends against drinking alcohol, which causes blood vessels to dilate, causing the body to lose heat faster.

Patience is a virtue

The phrase «it’s a marathon, not a sprint» is about as apropos as it gets for meteor watching. Showers are unpredictable, and every number you’ve seen in this article or elsewhere online is essentially an estimate. You’ll want to make sure to give yourself as much time as you can to get settled.

«Give your eyes at least 20-30 minutes to adjust to the darkness,» Nichols advises. «You may not see meteors right away. And when you do, they’ll be sporadic.»

If it were easy to spot meteors, then it wouldn’t be special. You can help yourself by reducing your phone screen brightness to its lowest setting to preserve your night vision, and by using flashlights, not big camping lanterns.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Nov. 2

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 2.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? A few clues are tricky. Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.