Auroras — dazzling phenomena that paint the night sky with a myriad of colors — have fascinated humans for thousands of years. Occurring in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, they are known as the aurora borealis and australis, or northern and southern lights, respectively. At the start of 2024, auroras entered a super season, […]
Nature’s light show: Breaking down the 2024 aurora super season Read More »
Born on March 14, 1879, Albert Einstein entered a world similar to, but also irreconcilable with, the one from which he would eventually leave. His birthplace, Ulm, had recently entered the German Empire following decades of petty territorial conflict and an optimistic peace had settled over the region. From an early age, Einstein pondered the
Relativity: How one man eclipsed physics Read More »
Roughly 3 in 4 autistic adults report having difficulty when visiting a healthcare provider. One Northeastern club is looking to change that. At this year’s Husky Health Innovation Challenge, or HHIC, students generated digital solutions to healthcare communication issues faced by those on the autism spectrum, ranging from role-playing apps to wearable technology that tracks
Stars flicker faintly as the dark horizon reddens. Howling, freezing winds and desolate craters starkly contrast the lush tropical rainforests and coral gardens 10,000 feet below. As the blinding light finally emerges over a sea of swirling clouds, a bright reflection appears from the sparse, reddish slopes. It is a silver plant, radiating under the
Mirror of the sun: The Hawaiian silversword Read More »
At first glance, graphs are collections of nodes, or vertices, connected by lines, or edges. Although visually simplistic, they are surprisingly useful as tools, especially in machine learning. As Frank Harary, a founder of The Journal of Graph Theory, once wrote, “It has become fashionable to mention that there are applications of graph theory to
Connecting the dots: A look into applications of graph theory Read More »
Yolanda Quispe, a park ranger at the Quelccaya glacier in Peru, is greatly saddened at the dismal state of what was once the world’s largest tropical ice cap, she told The Guardian journalists who joined her in the park. Located at the heart of the Peruvian Andes, the climate crisis has had a direct impact
Life without the ice cap Read More »
For centuries, humanity has used windmills to convert wind energy into usable electricity. As the modern world faces an unprecedented climate crisis, scientists and engineers have endeavored to make windmills more efficient, and most windmills are now tall structures with massive spinning blades. Although this design structure allows for an abundance of sustainably produced energy,
Swords in the sky: The effect of windmills on winged species Read More »
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21… The famed, infinite Fibonacci sequence forms its pattern using a “one step forward, two steps back” approach. It generates each subsequent nth term by adding the two preceding numbers. A mathematical concept rarely elicits excitement; however, Fibonacci’s sequence can help explain how nature creates order and
One step forward, two steps back: A glimpse into the Fibonacci sequence Read More »
A creature more ancient than dinosaurs by over 200 million years, the Atlantic horseshoe crab is an organism treasured by conservationists, biomedical researchers, and even Northeastern’s very own “Dang, I love fossils” club. With five pairs of claws and able to grow up to two feet long, the horseshoe crab is an incredibly useful animal
Baby-blue blood: Nature’s antidote Read More »