The through line for the western United States so far in the 2026 water year is simple: there's very little snow. With few exceptions, the mountains of the U.S. West have seen unusually little snow accumulation since October 2025, constituting a widespread snow drought. The lack of mountain snowpack has resource managers on alert going into the warmer months. Meager meltwater can affect hydropower production, agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, and wildland fire risk.

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I believe the global financial markets are now in what I would call a Wile E. Coyote moment frequently depicted in the old Warner Bros. animated series called "The Road Runner Show."  In this cartoon series a coyote while ...

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 Anyone who so much as drives between Australian cities these years will notice that an infestation of anti-renewable ideas has taken hold in pockets of the Australian bush. Alien hate and extremism has infected soils throughout our wide brown l...

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The unpiloted Roscosmos Progress 95 spacecraft is safely in orbit and headed to the International Space Station following its launch at 6:21 p.m. EDT (3:21 a.m. Baikonur time Sunday, April 26) on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

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Jed McKinney (University of Texas, Austin)

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Registration is now open for the Community Science (Ad ASTRA) Workshop to engage the community in defining future large, strategic astrophysics missions. The workshop will take place in Pasadena, CA on 1-3 September 2026. In-person attendance will be limited by venue capacity to approximately 250 people, but virtual participation will also be possible. The hotel room block is available.

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The 2026 Day of Action brought more than 130 space advocates from 34 states and the District of Columbia to the nation's capital to advocate for space....

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We have a unique opportunity to advocate that a CMB Probe mission be studied in preparation for the Astro2030 Decadal Survey through the ASTRA Initiative. See more details on the ASTRA webpage. NASA is requesting community input on which 4-6 missions (plus far-IR and X-ray flagships) should be studied. NASA plans to announce the selected missions at the January 2027 AAS meeting. In advance of that, there will be the AD ASTRA community workshop in Pasadena, CA, in early September. We need strong advocacy from all of you to emphasize the importance of a CMB mission to NASA.

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About 23 million people live in Taiwan, a Pacific island about the size of Maryland. Despite its size, the island produces a tremendous amount of agricultural goods per year--about $18 billion, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture.

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Caine's new book depicts a small community in the glacier-fed Peruvian Highlands as it navigates climate change and social pressures....

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An analysis of the latest President's Budget Request for NASA....

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At a recent Climate School event, speaker Memphis Washington discussed the Waterfront Alliance's climate resilience and environmental justice efforts in Coney Island....

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On every crewed mission, NASA packs pouches of a potentially life-saving liquid in its cargo, known as IV (or intravenous) fluid. A simple mix of sodium chloride and purified water, it can treat up to 30% of medical conditions in flight, resolving things like dehydration, burns, and more.

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From a lunar feature named after a loved one to a planet named after a god, traditions and rules guide how we name things in space....

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Chiang Mai, Thailand's second-largest city, lies within a network of narrow valleys in the country's northern highlands. Though the historic city is known for panoramic views of the surrounding mountains, clear skies have become less common. In recent decades, smoke has increasingly darkened the skies during the dry season, particularly in March and April.

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Earth (ESD)EarthExploreExplore Earth ScienceAgricultureAir QualityClimate ChangeFreshwaterLife on EarthSevere StormsSnow and IceThe Global OceanScience at WorkEarth Science at WorkTechnology and InnovationPowering BusinessMultimediaImage CollectionsV...

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Once again, we honor Earth Day by sharing some amazing photos celebrating the beauty and magic of our planet, as captured by the Columbia community....

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Beyond the border of Washington, D.C., numerous suburbs spread across Virginia and Maryland. Many are accessible from the Capital Beltway (I-495), the highway that encircles Washington. An astronaut on the International Space Station captured this photo of the beltway's northeast side where it passes through the historic city of Greenbelt, Maryland. 

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Three Climate School experts weigh in on the success of New York City's congestion pricing program....

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Today's story is the answer to the April 2026 puzzler.  

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Some readings and a podcast from the past few weeks- 

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I'll be at OU and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History on May 8 and 9.

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Cosmic Origins...Cosmic Origins CommunityAI/ML STIG Lecture Series, 27...AboutCommunityExecutive CommitteeScience GroupsNews & EventsCosmic PathfindersEarly Career WorkshopOpportunitiesMissionsStudiesNews & EventsResources  ...

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Think of law as software. State agency budgets and staff are hardware. We have been stripping the copper for the past forty years, making software updates questionably useful, without durable fixes to the hardware. For constitutional environmental rights to make a difference, state natural resource departments need to be adequately funded and staffed.

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Along the western coast of Southern Thailand, a series of bright tan beaches lines the Andaman Sea. These sandy expanses fill the gaps between the myriad other features touching the sea, from limestone karst towers to mangroves to built-up areas.

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