August 2 - An Ocean for Ariel? How to Help Monarchs

[EarthSkyNewsLogo]( August 2 An Ocean for Ariel? How to Help Monarchs by: [FaceBookShare]( [TwitterShare]( [color-instagram-96.png]( [color-link-96.png]( [Edit Block](#) [Duplicate Block](#) [Delete Block](#) This is a moon of the planet Uranus – named Ariel – as seen by the one and only spacecraft ever to have visited Uranus, [Voyager 2]( in 1986. Now, a new study suggests Ariel might be one of several moons of the giant worlds in the outer solar system with a subsurface ocean. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/ Kevin M. Gill. [Does Uranus’ moon Ariel have a hidden ocean?]( The Webb space telescope has new observations of Ariel – a moon of the planet Uranus – suggesting that Ariel might harbor an ice-covered, subsurface ocean. Icy ocean worlds in our outer solar system are a big deal. Scientists are so fascinated by them that they're sending a space mission to another potential ocean moon, Jupiter’s moon Europa. Why? Because ocean moons might be homes for life! [Does Uranus' moon Ariel have an ocean, too?]( [Sun news: The M flares and auroras keep coming]( Sun activity is still high! We had another 24 hours with [15 M flares]( including an M7.4 (almost an [X flare](. Plus ... more sun-stuff from yesterday’s large flare is headed our way, adding to the chance for geomagnetic storming and auroras here at Earth. [Read the sun news](. [Help monarch butterflies by planting milkweed]( The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hasn't yet added monarch butterflies to its endangered species list. But the International Union for Conservation and Nature have put monarchs on their Red List of endangered species. Monarch caterpillars feed only on milkweed. And researchers with Chicago's Field Museum said on Tuesday that [even a small urban milkweed patch can help monarchs](. [Want to find the Andromeda galaxy? Here are 2 ways]( Take a night to drive to a [dark sky]( and find the glorious [Andromeda galaxy](. It’s the great spiral galaxy next door to the [Milky Way]( and the most distant object you can see with your eyes alone. It’s best seen in late evening at this time of year, and will be rising earlier as northern summer edges into fall. [See 2 star-hops to the Andromeda galaxy here](. [EarthSky is a clear voice for science on YouTube ...]( LIVE LATER TODAY ... EarthSky's Deborah Byrd and heliophysicist C. Alex Young will be talking about Earth's new, 3rd Van Allen Belt. Join us at 3 p.m. (20 UTC) Friday afternoon. And coming up LIVE ON MONDAY ... a Q and A on the upcoming Perseid meteor shower. That'll be at 12:15 p.m. central ([17:15 UTC]( on Monday, August 5. If you haven’t yet joined our growing YouTube community, we invite you to [subscribe to our channel today]( [LIVE LATER TODAY: Earth's new Van Allen belt]( Earth typically has 2 Van Allen belts. They are 2 donut-shaped belts of charged particles, encircling Earth. But scientists have just realized Earth now has a 3rd, temporary Van Allen belt, caused by the big solar storm of May, 2024. When were the Van Allen belts first discovered? How long have we known that Earth could have a temporary 3rd belt, in addition to the 2 stable ones? What ARE the Van Allen belts, anyway? Will the new belt increase risk for the [Artemis 2]( astronauts, headed for the moon? Join EarthSky's Deborah Byrd and heliophysicist C. Alex Young of Goddard Spaceflight Center LIVE at 3 p.m. central (20 UTC) on Friday, August 2, as they talk about [the 3rd Van Allen Belt, and more](. Image via NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio. [What's the FLAVOR of our galaxy?]( In 2009, astronomers analyzing a gas cloud near the center of our [Milky Way galaxy]( discovered ethyl formate. On Earth, ethyl formate smells like rum and is responsible for the flavor of raspberries. The Torani syrup company took inspiration from this discovery for their 2024 flavor of the year: 'galaxy'. [Watch as Kelly Kizer Whitt taste-tests the flavor of our galaxy.]( [Submit your photo to EarthSky here!]( Subscribe & Support Did a friend forward EarthSkyNews to you? [Click here to get your own subscription](. Want to help support EarthSky? Forward this email to a friend. Share our content via your social media. Consider a [donation](. Or go [shopping at the EarthSky Store](. Thank you for your support! by: [Like us on Facebook]( [Follow us on Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Website]( [Edit Block](#) [Duplicate Block](#) [Delete Block](#) [update your profile]( | [unsubscribe](