Upcoming Shift in Lunar Cycle May Cause Major Flooding
A shift in the moon’s orbit may lead to massive flooding in the future. What’s really going on with the moon’s upcoming wobble?
In a new report from the NASA Sea Level Change Science Team at the University of Hawaii, scientists warn that an upcoming natural phenomenon in the moon’s orbit, combined with rising sea levels, could cause record flooding along coastal regions. NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement, “[l]ow lying areas near sea level are increasingly at risk and suffering due to the increased flooding and it will only get worse.”
The moon affects tides on Earth every day, so why is the cause for alarm now?
Astronomer and Gaia News contributor Marc Dantonio said, “Every 18.6 years, the moon reaches a point where it’s the highest in its declination, and that’s the point where it’s going to also be above the Earth’s equator. When the moon is actually also at a point where it’s closest to the Earth because of the elliptical orbit, if all those things correspond and combine to be at one point like this, then that’s where the researchers at the University of Hawaii says that we’re looking at potential flooding.”
Watch more:
About the Author
Will NASA's New Telescope Discover ET Life?
The spectacular first images from the James Webb Space Telescope are finally here and they do not disappoint.
After years of planning, construction, delays, and a cost of about $10 billion, we finally have the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope. Launched in December of 2021, the JWST is the largest and most powerful space telescope ever to be put in space.
Astronomers have waited a lifetime to see with such amazing clarity deep into space. JWST does this by operating in the infrared spectrum; it “sees” light that is outside the visible spectrum of our naked eye and previous telescopes like Hubble.
NASA released photos of the first five targets noting, “These first images from the world’s largest and most powerful space telescope demonstrate Webb at its full power, ready to begin its mission to unfold the infrared universe.”
We caught up with astronomer and Gaia News contributor Marc D’Antonio on the road in Arizona, to break down the images.
“I saw these images and the release of all five different images represent a different aspect of what this telescope can do — absolutely astonishing to me — from galaxies to gas clouds, this telescope hands down, has the ability to show us so much that we don’t understand.”
