YOUR WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE:
Meteor wows Norway after blazing through night sky.
Footage shows powerful flashes of light over Norway, followed by what witnesses described as loud bangs on Sunday. Norwegian police say they received a flurry of emergency calls but there were no reports of injuries or damage. A team of experts are hunting for the meteorite, which they believe landed in a forest near the capital, Oslo. A meteor is a space rock that burns brightly after entering Earth’s atmosphere at high speed. It becomes known as a meteorite if it survives its passage to the ground.
Russian module mishap destabilises International Space Station.
The International Space Station (ISS) was destabilised after engines of a newly arrived Russian module inadvertently fired up, an investigation is now under way. US and Russian officials stressed that the seven crew members aboard the space station were never in any danger. The malfunction happened three hours after the Nauka module docked with the ISS on Thursday, following an eight-day flight from Earth. Nasa officials said Nauka’s jets started firing uncommanded at 12:34 EDT (16:45 GMT) “moving the station 45 degrees out of attitude”.
UK already undergoing disruptive climate change.
The UK is already undergoing disruptive climate change with increased rainfall, sunshine and temperatures, according to scientists. The year 2020 was the third warmest, fifth wettest and eighth sunniest on record, scientists said in the latest UK climate report. No other year is in the top 10 on all three criteria. The experts said that, in the space of 30 years, the UK has become .9C warmer and 6% wetter.
Tidal turbine starts generating electricity off Orkney.
The Orbital O2 has the capacity to meet the annual electricity demand of 2,000 homes for the next 15 years. The 680-tonne turbine is now anchored in the Fall of Warness where a subsea cable connects the 2MW offshore unit to the local onshore electricity network. Orbital Marine Power said its first commercial turbine, which will be powered by the fast-flowing waters, is a “major milestone”. It is also providing power to an onshore electrolyser to generate green hydrogen.
What causes flash flooding?
Parts of London and the south of England were left flooding after heavy rains early July. Flash floods usually occur during heavy rainfall – when the amount of water is too much for drains and sewers to handle. Roads can become unpassable – with vehicles abandoned – and homes and shops damaged by floodwater. Floods affect key public infrastructure including transport networks and hospitals. In London, some hospitals had to ask patients to stay away after they lost power.
The new surgical tool inspired by a wasp.
Scientists in the Netherlands have mimicked the way parasitoid wasps lay eggs to design a new tool for keyhole surgery. Currently tools used in these procedures are prone to clogging because they use suction. The new device avoids this by using friction. The team, at Delft University of Technology, have a working prototype and hope the tool will be ready within a few years.
