Bears, theyre just like us. And Im not referring to a subset of hairy humans, but to some furry critters in Wisconsin whose diets contain a staggering amount of. Historically, very bright clouds have occasionally been seen on Neptune, but usually at latitudes closer to the poles, around 15 to 60 degrees north or south. A Massive New Storm System Just Appeared Over Neptune. Do not be alarmed, but a bright storm system three quarters the width of our entire planet has emerged over Neptunes equator, in a region where no bright clouds have ever been witnessed before. The extremely surprising observation was made by astronomers Ned Molter and Imke de Pater of the University of California Berkeley, during a test run observing Neptune at twilight at the W. M. Keck Observatory at Maunakea, Hawaii. The storm, which spans roughly 5,6. Free Games Freedom Fighters 2 Download Full Version there. June 2. 6th and July 2nd, according to a press release issued by Keck this week. Historically, very bright clouds have occasionally been seen on Neptune, but usually at latitudes closer to the poles, around 1. Pater said in a statement. Never before has a cloud been seen at, or so close to the equator, nor has one ever been this bright. A distant ice giant thats only been visited by a single spacecraft, Voyager 2, the inner workings of Neptune remain largely mysterious to planetary scientists, although theyve witnessed some impressive meteorological action in its azure skies over the years. The Hubble Space Telescope saw a similar bright cloud complex in 1. Voyager 2 in 1. 98. In 2. 01. 5, a new dark vortex cropped up in Neptunes southern hemisphere. Giant Jenga Game As Seen On Ellen' title='Giant Jenga Game As Seen On Ellen' />Tabtight professional, free when you need it, VPN service. Scientists have been attempting to track the anti cyclone ever since, snagging some beautiful images with Hubble last year. As UC Berkeleys Mike Wong explained in a talk I attended at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting last December, dark spots often have these bright companion features which absorb strongly in the part of the spectrum associated with methane. When I spoke with Wong after his talk, he told me his team was trying to figure out why the dark vortex was drifting to the south. His research group was also exploring models to elucidate what actually makes dark spots dark. The most exciting possibility is that this could indeed be associated with a dark vortex, Wong said when I emailed him about the latest Neptune observations. We cant resolve enough detail to know, but this could be some type of wave activity associated with dark vortices. It would be great to image something like this with an extremely large telescope. Neptune orbiterDe Pater and Molter also suspect the bright clouds chilling near Neptunes equator could be related to gases rising up and condensing out of a deeply rooted dark vortex system. The clouds might also be an enormous convective system, similar to those seen on planets like Saturn. We were very surprised to learn that the storm was consistent with being right at the equatorits difficult to understand how a deep vortex could be sustained there, since the Coriolis force is zero, Molter said in an email to Gizmodo. It could be that the underlying vortex is a few degrees north or south of the equator, or that this cloud lacks an underlying vortex and will quickly shear apart. De Pater and Molter plan to continue investigating the colossal cloud complextheyre hoping to secure more observing time at Keck this fall. Neptune is the windiest planet in the Solar System, and studying its complex weather can shed light on the inner workings of ice giants, a club that it shares with just one other planetary oddball, Uranus. Unlike gas giants, which are composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, ice giants contain a larger share of heavier elements like oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. They may even harbor hidden liquid water oceans. Discoveries like this one underline just how little we know about the atmospheres of the ice giants, Molter said. The article has been updated with comments from Molter and Wong. These Bears Eat as Much Junk Food as You Do. Bears, theyre just like us. And Im not referring to a subset of hairy humans, but to some furry critters in Wisconsin whose diets contain a staggering amount of junk food. Seriously Theres a reason for their sugary diet. This population of bears in Wisconsin lives by the lawhunters can feed them bait for up to six months out of the year. Bait, which includes junk food, lures the black bears in, making them easier to capture. Scientists in the area have been studying a population of bears to see just how much bait theyre actually eating, and it turns out, a lot. Hunters bait might be helping the bear populations out in an unnatural way. Why junk food, you might be askingOne of the restrictions about baiting in Wisconsin is you cant use animals or animal byproductsno meat, study author Dr. Becky Kirby, who led the research while at the University of Wisconsin, Madison told Gizmodo. That means these sources are high sugar, high fat foods that people and bears both like. Cookies, donuts, cake frosting, peanut butter, its all across the board. Heres a random bear eating actual trash The team of researchers reconstructed the diets of over a hundred bears killed by hunters in Northwest Wisconsin from 2. Through a morbid combination of procedures requiring chloroform, spatulas, scissors and chemistry equipment, they analyzed specific chemical dietary markers for animal meat, natural plant life, and bait. They found that around 4. The team published their study recently in the Journal of Wildlife Management. The junk food loving bear situation comes in part from the specifics of Wisconsins hunting laws. The baiting season can last six months, which is longer than other statesbaiting season is only a few weeks in neighboring Minnesota. For bears surviving to the following year, bait might just become an integral part of the diet. Here is another bear, eating trash Is this bad Parkers team didnt really look at how the bears were doing physiologicallybut there are lots of bears in Wisconsin, and lots of bait. Obviously, this studys results are specific to Wisconsin, and are limited by the fact that it only included hunted bears. Moreover, who cares about a hairy army of junk food loving bears stumbling around the woods of northern Wisconsin Mainly, the research highlights the degree to which humans cause some wildlife populations to rely on them for food. If killing and scavenging is the bear equivalent to cooking meals, and eating bait is ordering delivery, then bears are ordering in every night of the week, and on some days theyre even ordering lunch. This is normal for some humans, but obviously not for bears, and could have important implications for the way states operate their bating seasons and manage their bear populations. Heres a third bear, also eating trash It does make you wonder, though, what the bears favorite snacks are. Wisconsin happens to have some very good cheese covered popcorn. Journal of Wildlife Management.