All posts tagged: eclipses

Analysis-US and Iran Slide Towards Conflict as Military Buildup Eclipses Talks

Analysis-US and Iran Slide Towards Conflict as Military Buildup Eclipses Talks

Published by Sam Flores

By Samia Nakhoul, Parisa Hafezi and John Irish DUBAI, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Iran and the United States are sliding rapidly towards military conflict as hopes ⁠fade for ⁠a diplomatic solution to their standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme, officials on both ⁠sides and diplomats across the Gulf and Europe say. Iran’s Gulf neighbours and its enemy Israel now consider a conflict to be more likely than a settlement, these sources say, with Washington building ​up one of its biggest military deployments in the region since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Israel’s government believes Tehran and Washington are at an impasse and is making preparations for possible joint military action with the United States, though no decision has been made yet on whether to carry ‌out such an operation, said a source familiar with the planning. It ‌would be the second time the U.S. and Israel have attacked Iran in less than a year, following U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against military and nuclear facilities last June. Regional officials say oil-producing Gulf countries are preparing for …

Spruce trees stumped (sigh) when it comes to predicting eclipses

Spruce trees stumped (sigh) when it comes to predicting eclipses

Published by skeptic

Feedback is New Scientist’s popular sideways look at the latest science and technology news. You can submit items you believe may amuse readers to Feedback by emailing feedback@newscientist.com   Astreenomers Feedback is shocked – shocked – to learn that a grove of trees in northern Italy did not, in fact, predict a solar eclipse. Now, we know what will be going through most readers’ heads at this point: “Are you saying somebody thought trees really could predict a solar eclipse?” To which the answer is “surprisingly, yes”. The partial solar eclipse in question occurred on 25 October 2022. Ahead of this, botanists led by Alessandro Chiolerio had inserted electrodes into Norway spruce trees to monitor their bioelectrical activity. In April 2025, they reported their findings: “Trees anticipated the eclipse, synchronizing their bioelectrical behaviour hours in advance. Older trees displayed greater anticipatory behaviour with early time-asymmetry and entropy increases.” With graceful inevitability, here comes the debunking, published in Trends in Plant Science on 6 February and flagged to us by reporter Matthew Sparkes (who should get …

Cristiano Ronaldo’s staggering net worth completely eclipses David Beckham’s

Cristiano Ronaldo’s staggering net worth completely eclipses David Beckham’s

Published by Daniella Wilson

Cristiano Ronaldo made history last year when the Portuguese footballer became the first-ever football star to become a billionaire while still playing. Although sports stars are famed for their millions, very few cross the threshold into billionaire status during their careers, with the only two others being golfing legend Tiger Woods and boxing giant Floyd Mayweather. According to figures from Celebrity Net Worth, Cristiano is worth $1.2 billion, which is more than double that of the likes of Sir David Beckham, who is estimated to be worth $550 million.  The sportsman has already splashed the cash, presenting his fiancée, Georgina Rodriguez, with an enormous engagement ring, the diamond of which stretches all the way to the model’s knuckles! The stunning diamond is 30 carats, whereas normal celebrity engagement rings are only four carats, and the public might opt for a one-carat ring. Maxwell Stone, a diamond expert from UK retailer Steven Stone, previously told HELLO! that the ring could be worth an estimated $6.5 million. How did Cristiano make his money? A lot of the …

Proposed new mission will create artificial solar eclipses in space

Proposed new mission will create artificial solar eclipses in space

Published by skeptic

When a solar storm strikes Earth, it can disrupt technology that’s vital for our daily lives. Solar storms occur when magnetic fields and electrically charged particles collide with the Earth’s magnetic field. This type of event falls into the category known as “space weather”. The Earth is currently experiencing one of the most intense solar storms of the past two decades, reminding us of the need for ways to understand these events. An international team of researchers (including us) is working on a spacecraft mission that would enable researchers to study the conditions that create solar storms, leading to improved forecasts of space weather. The proposed mission, known as Mesom (Moon-enabled Sun Occultation Mission), aims to create total solar eclipses in space. This would allow researchers to view the Sun’s atmosphere in more detail than ever before. The need for a better understanding of solar storms is evident from looking at past disruptions. In 1989, for example, the Canadian province of Quebec was forced into a nine-hour electricity blackout by a coronal mass ejection (CME) …