https://kidzsearch.com/news A place where kids can share and discuss cool things with others. Mon, 23 Feb 2026 06:35:36 PST en https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/alysa-liu-caps-incredible-comeback-with-two-olympic-golds/ https://www.dogonews.com/2026/2/23/alysa-liu-caps-incredible-comeback-with-two-olympic-golds Mon, 23 Feb 2026 07:35:36 PST kidzsearch Science / Tech 1 1 0 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/alysa-liu-caps-incredible-comeback-with-two-olympic-golds/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/listen-to-the-crackle-of-mini-lightning-on-mars/ https://www.snexplores.org/article/listen-crackle-mars-lightning



When the wind blows on Mars, electricity crackles through the air. And for the first time, scientists have detected this. 



NASAs Perseverance rover aka Percy captured the data. Its microphone recorded sounds and electrical interference from dozens of electrical discharges. They had been sparked by colliding dust grains.



Researchers shared their discovery November 26 in Nature.



The electric jolts were fairly small. Each was only about as strong as the shock from touching a doorknob on a dry, winter day. Still, they could pose a risk to future astronauts and electronics. They also could make it harder to search for Martian life.



Its like mini-lightning, explains Baptiste Chide. This planetary scientist works at the University of Toulouse in France. These discharges are centimeter-scale electric arcs, he says. Each one that his team detected produces a crack and a shock wave.



There are thousands of kilometers (miles) of dust-storm fronts on Mars that can make these jolts, Chide says. So we think there are plenty of these small discharges happening.



Snap, crackle, pop



When airborne particles slide against or bump into each other, their surfaces can become charged. (This is similar to what happens when you rub two balloons together.) On Earth, countless such interactions occur within sandstorms and volcanic ash plumes. Particle collisions build up electrical fields that eventually discharge as arcs of electricity.



The phenomenon is called triboelectricity (TRY-boh-ee-lek-TRIS-ih-tee).



Lets learn about static electricity



For decades, lab tests and computer models had hinted at triboelectricity flashes within dust storms and dust devils on Mars. But none had confirmed it.



Chide and his colleagues previously recorded the sounds of a Martian dust devil. In them, they heard a loud clicking. At the time, they thought it was the sound of dust grains striking the microphone. But one day, Chide heard other scientists at a conference discuss Martian triboelectricity. That led to a shocking realization: Those clicks might have been zaps.



To find out, his team modeled the electrical interference that the rovers microphone would pick up from a nearby discharge. Then they compared that to the actual interference the mic had picked up.




A Martian zap



In this recording taken by NASAs Perseverance rover, you first hear the rumble of a gusting dust devil. Then, around 10 seconds in, you can hear the sputtering clicks generated by an electrical discharge.




The signatures matched perfectly.



Excited, the researchers reviewed 28 hours of recordings taken over two Martian years. A total of 55 discharges occurred within about two meters (6.5 feet) of the microphone. Most occurred at the windiest times. Sixteen showed up during dust devils.



The largest zap packed 40 millijoules of energy, the scientists estimate. Thats similar to the zap of an electrical bug swatter.



Theres no doubt in my mind that it was an electrical signal that they measured, says Joshua Mndez Harper. This electrical engineer at Portland State University in Oregon did not take part in the new work. But Mndez Harper wonders if the rover may have influenced those electrical signals. Triboelectricity likely happens on Mars anyway, he says. But it might behave differently around a metal spacecraft.





Zappy hazards



The jolts wont kill astronauts, Chide points out. But they could degrade spacesuits over time. Or they might disrupt spacecraft electronics and instruments.



Whats more, zaps could get in the way of searching for evidence of Martian life. The discharges may spark a reaction that creates oxidants. These types of chemicals can destroy organic molecules, Chide says. And they might be signs of life.



Percy is gathering rocks and soil for a future spacecraft to bring back to Earth. Those samples are likely protected. Some are nestled safely inside the rovers metal skeleton. Others have been left behind on the ground inside metal tubes that should shield them from electricity, Chide says. Still, any of them might have been zapped prior to collection.



This discovery calls for a next generation of instruments dedicated to measuring electric fields at the surface of Mars, Chide says. That could help scientists find out how much electricity is zipping through the Red Planets atmosphere. And that could reveal more about what its effects might be. 




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]]> Mon, 16 Feb 2026 19:30:00 PST kidzsearch Science / Tech -2 -1 1 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/listen-to-the-crackle-of-mini-lightning-on-mars/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/scientists-suggest-that-humans-may-have-a-new-sense/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/scientists-suggest-that-humans-may-have-a-new-sense/ Mon, 19 Jan 2026 18:26:51 PST kidzsearch Science / Tech -2 -1 1 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/scientists-suggest-that-humans-may-have-a-new-sense/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/indoor-smores-recipe/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/smore-cake/ Tue, 30 Dec 2025 22:30:04 PST kidzsearch Science / Tech -1 0 1 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/indoor-smores-recipe/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/8th-grader-creates-origami-that-can-hold-up-to-10-000-times-its-own-weight/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/8th-grader-creates-origami-that-can-hold-up-to-10000-times-its-own-weight/ Wed, 17 Dec 2025 19:17:57 PST kidzsearch Science / Tech -2 -1 1 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/8th-grader-creates-origami-that-can-hold-up-to-10-000-times-its-own-weight/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/a-paw-sitive-change--former-police-dog-now-protects-bees/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/a-paw-sitive-change-former-police-dog-now-protects-bees/ Tue, 09 Dec 2025 11:52:07 PST kidzsearch Science / Tech 0 0 0 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/a-paw-sitive-change--former-police-dog-now-protects-bees/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/christmas-gift-ideas-2025--part-2/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/christmas-gift-ideas-2025-%f0%9f%8e%84%f0%9f%8e%81-part-2/ Tue, 02 Dec 2025 03:57:40 PST kidzsearch Science / Tech 1 1 0 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/christmas-gift-ideas-2025--part-2/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/mensa-schoolgirl-with-dyslexia-believes-its-her-superpower/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/mensa-schoolgirl-with-dyslexia-believes-its-her-superpower/ Sat, 29 Nov 2025 19:18:35 PST kidzsearch Science / Tech -2 -1 1 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/mensa-schoolgirl-with-dyslexia-believes-its-her-superpower/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-michelin-guide/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-michelin-guide/ Mon, 17 Nov 2025 19:30:18 PST kidzsearch Science / Tech 0 0 0 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-michelin-guide/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/astronomy-group/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/astronomy-group-2/ Sun, 09 Nov 2025 17:33:43 PST kidzsearch Science / Tech 0 0 0 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/astronomy-group/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/a-passing-star-could-fling-earth-out-of-orbit--or-into-the-sun/ https://www.snexplores.org/article/passing-star-fling-earth-orbit-into-sun



Bad news, earthlings. Computer models of the solar systems future reveal a new risk facing us all. The gravitational tug of a passing star could cause another planet to smack into Earth. Or it might fling our planet into the sun. Or it could send Earth far away from the sun, where any inhabitants would freeze.



None of these things are probable, says Nathan Kaib with a laugh. This astronomer works at the Planetary Science Institute, based in Iowa. He teamed up for this research with astronomer Sean Raymond, at the University of Bordeaux in France.



Over the next 5 billion years, they calculate, Earths chance of an apocalypse caused by a passing star is only 0.2 percent. That figure is based on the number of stars passing near our solar system. Thats pretty slim odds of a drive-by star destroying or ejecting Earth within the lifespan of our sun.



Still, its a much greater risk than past studies had found. Those estimates hadnt accounted for the long-term influence of passing stars. 



Kaib and Raymond posted their findings to arXiv.org on May 7. Later this year, the journal Icarus will publish them, too.




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The role of our planetary neighbors



If another star gets too close to us, Mercury will be key to the risk of Earths demise.



The innermost planets orbit around the sun is fairly oval-shaped. And astronomers have long known that Jupiters gravity can stretch its orbit out even more. The new models show that passing stars heighten this danger.



In those models, Mercurys orbit becomes so elongated that the planet typically collides with the sun or Venus. The resulting chaos sometimes causes Venus or Mars to crash into Earth. Other times, Earth crashes into the sun. Or Venus and Mars can fling our world toward Jupiter. The giant planets gravity then ejects Earth from the solar system.



Its a little scary how vulnerable we may be to planetary chaos, says Renu Malhotra. A planetary scientist, she works at the University of Arizona in Tucson.



Poor Pluto faces a 4 percent risk of getting booted from the solar system or smashing into a giant planet during the next 5 billion years, thanks to passing stars. Here, Pluto is seen in an image taken by the New Horizons spacecraft.NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute



Malhotra thinks past encounters with other stars have already influenced the solar system. For instance, one would expect the giant planets to have nearly circular paths around the sun. Thats because the planets formed from a disk of gas and dust with a nearly circular orbit. But today, three of the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus have somewhat oval-shaped orbits. The gravity of passing stars may have tugged them onto these paths.



The most dangerous stars, Kaib says, are those that come closest less than 100 times as far from the sun as Earth is. Stars that move slowly are also risky. Especially ones that move less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) per second relative to the sun. That cosmic snails pace extends how long their gravity will be able to tug on the planets.



However bad things look for Earth, though, be glad you dont live on distant Pluto.



Without passing stars, Pluto was thought to have an even more stable orbit than Earth. But once you allow stars to alter the solar system and push things around, Kaib says, Pluto is in trouble. It can skirt by the giant planets. Then their gravity can kick it out of the solar system. Or Pluto can smash into one of them.



Over the next 5 billion years, the chance of such a fate befalling Pluto is about 4 percent. Thats 20 times greater than the risk facing Earth.



There is one upside to Pluto getting booted from the solar system, though. It might just end the long-standing debate over whether Pluto is really a planet.






]]> Mon, 16 Jun 2025 20:30:00 PDT kidzsearch Science / Tech -4 -1 3 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/a-passing-star-could-fling-earth-out-of-orbit--or-into-the-sun/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/scientists-say--quasi-satellite/ https://www.snexplores.org/article/scientists-say-quasi-satellite-definition-pronunciation







Quasi-satellite (noun, QWA-see-SAT-el-lite)



A quasi-satellite is a space object such as an asteroid that appears to orbit a planet like a true satellite. However, the object lies beyond the reach of much of that planet’s gravity.



The prefix quasi- means to resemble something. A quasi-satellite resembles a true satellite. But it’s not one.



Earth’s moon is a true satellite. The sun exerts more gravitational pull on the moon than Earth does. Even so, Earth controls much of the moon’s orbit. That control comes from the moon’s closeness to Earth. The moon orbits within the Earth’s Hill sphere the space around a planet where the planet’s gravity dominates. The Earth, meanwhile, orbits well within the sun’s Hill sphere.



A quasi-satellite orbits outside a planet’s Hill sphere. That doesn’t mean the planet’s gravity can’t affect the object. But it does mean that other gravitational influences intervene more frequently. For example, the gravitational pull from the sun dominates the orbit of Earths quasi-satellites. For that reason, quasi-satellite orbital paths change over time. They will most likely eventually fall out of orbit around their planet.





A quasi-satellite orbits the sun with its planet. The object circles the planet while orbiting the sun. If you were to watch from space, the object would appear to loop around Earth as both objects travel around the sun. Those loops around Earth are usually oval-shaped, not circular. This stretched-out orbit can take the object far from its planet.



Earth has several quasi-satellites. Cardea is one. This asteroid is less than 300 meters (985 feet) in diameter. Astronomers predict that in about 600 years, Cardea will likely be flung out of orbit. Kamooalewa is another example. Astronomers believe this small asteroid is a fragment of the moon. In May 2025, the China National Space Administration launched a mission to collect samples from the object.



In a sentence



One small quasi-satellite plays leap frog with the Earth as both travel around the sun.



Check out the full list of Scientists Say.




]]> Sun, 15 Jun 2025 20:30:00 PDT kidzsearch Science / Tech -3 0 3 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/scientists-say--quasi-satellite/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/runner-transforms-san-francisco-streets-into-stunning-gps-art/ https://www.dogonews.com/2025/5/14/runner-transforms-san-francisco-streets-into-stunning-gps-art Mon, 02 Jun 2025 17:15:40 PDT kidzsearch Science / Tech 1 1 0 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/runner-transforms-san-francisco-streets-into-stunning-gps-art/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/forget-8-glasses--heres-how-much-water-you-really-need/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/forget-8-glasses-heres-how-much-water-you-really-need/ Wed, 28 May 2025 18:38:03 PDT kidzsearch Science / Tech -2 -1 1 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/forget-8-glasses--heres-how-much-water-you-really-need/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/ai-decodes-first-full-passages-of-2-000-year-old-burned-herculaneum-scrolls/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/ai-decodes-first-full-passages-of-2000-year-old-burned-herculaneum-scrolls/ Sat, 17 May 2025 11:20:24 PDT kidzsearch Science / Tech -2 0 2 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/ai-decodes-first-full-passages-of-2-000-year-old-burned-herculaneum-scrolls/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/what-avatar--the-last-airbender-character-are-you/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/what-avatar-the-last-airbender-character-are-you/ Wed, 02 Apr 2025 12:51:42 PDT kidzsearch Science / Tech 1 1 0 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/what-avatar--the-last-airbender-character-are-you/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/if-you-won-a-million-dollars--what-would-you-do-with-it/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/if-you-won-a-million-dollars-what-would-you-do-with-it/ Mon, 17 Mar 2025 17:36:24 PDT kidzsearch Science / Tech -3 -1 2 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/if-you-won-a-million-dollars--what-would-you-do-with-it/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/if-you-could-live-in-any-time-period--which-one-would-you-choose/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/if-you-could-live-in-any-time-period-which-one-would-you-choose/ Wed, 26 Feb 2025 13:17:43 PST kidzsearch Science / Tech 0 0 0 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/if-you-could-live-in-any-time-period--which-one-would-you-choose/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/whats-one-thing-youd-change-about-the-world-if-you-could/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/whats-one-thing-youd-change-about-the-world-if-you-could/ Mon, 24 Feb 2025 06:56:31 PST kidzsearch Science / Tech -3 -1 2 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/whats-one-thing-youd-change-about-the-world-if-you-could/ https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/hair-reveal/ https://net.kidzsearch.com/hair-reveal/ Sun, 23 Feb 2025 18:49:32 PST kidzsearch Science / Tech -4 -2 2 https://kidzsearch.com/news/sciencetechnology/hair-reveal/