Sunday's science stories
Before and after: The destruction left in the wake of Cyclone Idai
The aftermath of Cyclone Idai in southern Africa has left hundreds of homes and buildings with serious structural devastation and flooded streets. DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-3 satellite collected imagery on Friday of Beira, Mozambique, reveals the extent of the destruction.
Details: This weekend, charity confederation Oxfam intends to start distributing aid, including water purification tabs and hygiene kits, as hundreds of thousands of survivors in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe run the risk of waterborne illness including cholera and diarrhea. Teams with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) are also responding to the damage with medical supplies, water and sanitation support.
NASA satellites capture massive "fireball" exploding over the Bering Sea
Images were released this week of a "fireball" that exploded nearly 16 miles over the Bering Sea on Dec. 18, 2018, captured by 2 powerful NASA instruments aboard the Terra Satellite.
Details: The fireball — indeed, the scientific name of these radiant meteors — released an estimated 173 kilotons of energy — roughly 10 times the energy of an atomic bomb, however given its altitude and remote destination, posed no peril on Earth. This was the strongest meteor observed from Earth since 2013.