Science
First Place: $100,000 scholarship, Mary Masterman, 17, Oklahoma City, for developing an accurate spectrograph that identifies the specific characteristics-or "fingerprints"-of different kinds of molecules. Second Place: $75,000 scholarship, John Pardon, 17, Chapel Hill, N.C., for a project that… Read more
First Place: $100,000 scholarship, Shannon Lisa Babb, 18, of Highland, Utah, for an environmental science project identifying the human impact to water quality along the Spanish Fork River and its tributaries. Second Place: $75,000 scholarship, Yi Sun, 17, of San Jose, California, for a project… Read more
News Flash (August 24, 2006)—Pluto Demoted! Read About It Here. Pluto, named after the Roman and Greek god of the underworld, is the coldest, smallest, and outermost planet in our solar system. Pluto and its moon, Charon, are called “double planets” because Charon is so large it seems less of a moon than another planet. Pluto was… Read more
Venus is often called Earth's twin because the two planets are close in size, but that's the only similarity. The thick clouds that cover Venus create a greenhouse effect that keeps it sizzling at 864°F. Venus, named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty, is also known as the “morning star” and “evening star” since it is visible at… Read more
Uranus is a greenish-blue planet, twice as far from the Sun as its neighbor Saturn. Uranus wasn't discovered until 1781. Its discoveror, William Herschel, named it Georgium Sidus (the Georgian star) after the English king, George III. Later its name was changed to Uranus, after an ancient Greek sky god, since all the other planets had… Read more
Saturn, the second-largest planet, has majestic rings surrounding it. Named for the Roman god of farming, Saturn was the farthest planet known by the ancients. Saturn's seven rings are flat and lie inside one another. They are made of billions of ice particles.Size: About 10 times larger than Earth in diameterDiameter: 74,978 miles (120,… Read more
Neptune, named for an ancient Roman sea god, is a stormy blue planet about 30 times farther from the Sun than Earth. Neptune was discovered when astronomers realized that something was exerting a gravitational pull on Uranus, and that it was possible that an unknown planet might be responsible. Through mathematical calculations,… Read more
Because of its blood-red color (which comes from iron-rich dust), this planet was named for Mars, the Roman god of war. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, situated between Earth and Jupiter. Three-quarters red, Mars also has dark blotches on it and white areas at the poles—these are white polar ice caps.Size: About one-half the size… Read more
A belt of asteroids (fragments of rock and iron) between Mars and Jupiter separate the four inner planets from the five outer planets. Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, was named for the most important Roman god because of its size. About 1,300 Earths would fit into it. Viewed through a large telescope, Jupiter is… Read more
Earth is not perfectly round; it bulges at the equator and is flatter at the poles. From space the planet looks blue with white swirls, created by water and clouds.Size: Four planets in our solar system are larger and four are smaller than EarthDiameter: 7,926.2 miles (12,756 km)Surface: Earth is made up of water (70%), air, and solid… Read more
Bald Eagle Related Links Endangered and Threatened SpeciesWhy Do Animals Become EndangeredNumber of Species of AnimalsExternal Resources U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceU.S. Department of the InteriorAmerica's national bird shed an unwelcome title in June 2007: endangered. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced that the… Read more
The following inventors—seven are living and eight are received posthumous recognition—were honored because their accomplishments have improved human lives. LED, the solar cell, and acoustics technology are among the inventions of those acknowledged in 2008. Louis Stevens pioneered the development of magnetic disk storage… Read more
Maurice Hilleman pioneered the development of many vaccines Related Links The 2006 Class of InducteesThe National Inventors Hall of FameA Guide to Inventions and DiscoveriesPaul Baran Digital packet switchingEmmett Chappelle Bioluminescence techniquesDavid Cushman CaptoprilDonald Davies Digital packet switchingJohn Franz Roundup… Read more
Information about the virus, precautions to take, and educational activities for your children if their schools are closed In April 2009, an outbreak of H1N1 (swine flu) broke out in many countries across the globe. On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that a global pandemic of novel influenza A (… Read more
From a new lab on the International Space Station to the Large Hadron Collider by Mark Hughes Related Links 2007 Year in Review New Planets and a Larger Solar System Encyclopedia: Leopard Famous Planes New Lab on ISS In… Read more
From a leopard species discovered to the Airbus A380
by Liz Olson and Beth Rowen
Related Links
2007 Year in Review
New Planets and a Larger Solar System
Encyclopedia: Leopard
Famous Planes
Leopard Species Discovered
Imagine spending your entire life being confused with an entirely different species. Thatâs… Read more
Potatoes as a global food by Elizabeth Olson Related Links Global Food Crisis Top Ten Greenest Buildings in the U.S. Earth Day A Warming Ocean Cleanest U.S. Cities for Ozone Air Pollution With much of the developing world plagued by a global food crisis… Read more
According to the Blacksmith Institute, "this report gives an overview of the range of pollution threats humans face throughout the world." Each problem listed below exists in more than one location around the world, so they are truly global issues. Lead-Acid Battery Recycling: Lead… Read more
According to the Blacksmith Institute, "this report gives an overview of the range of pollution threats humans face throughout the world." Each problem listed below exists in more than one location around the world, so they are truly global issues. Artisanal Gold Mining: Mercury Pollution Artisanal mining… Read more
In 2006 and 2007, Blacksmith Institute and Green Cross Switzerland released lists of the "World's Worst Polluted Places." For 2008, they have updated their methodology to focus on the World's Worst Pollution Problems. According to the Blacksmith Institute, "this report gives an overview of the range of pollution… Read more
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