TopNews

A juvenile gray whale was found washed ashore last month near the Alameda Creek Trail in Coyote Hills Regional Park. The whale was quite malnourished when it was found and struck by a ship. Necropsy was done and its results unveils that it was struck by a ship.

The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito has released the report, which includes detail that the 21-foot female whale was having injuries of shallow propeller strike on its dorsal area. The real reason behind the death of whale was not known as of Tuesday afternoon. But there were a few factors that have added to her death.

On Wednesday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service refused to include Sierra Nevada red fox in the Endangered Species Act. One of the main reasons behind not including it in the list is a research carried out in Central Oregon that showed a significant extension of its range.

The research is taking place and has confirmed that the Sierra Nevada red fox is present in the Oregon Cascades, especially in the Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington, and Three Sisters Wilderness Areas.

The researchers continue to take samples from different areas. The study findings have led the fox to be added as a Strategy Species in the 2015 draft update of the Oregon Conservation Strategy. Over the two year project, more than 700 photos of Sierra Nevada red fox were taken.

Annual Draconid meteor shower is all set for a great night show staring at nightfall on October 8 and 9. Draconid meteors which were formerly known as Giacobinids were named after the constellation Draco the Dragon.

As per experts, the 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is the comet the causes the Draconid meteor showers. The comet orbits the sun after every six and a half years, and the Draconid meteor shower happens whenever the Earth comes in contact with the dirt and fragments from the 21P/Giacobini-Zinner route.

Unlike other comets, 21P/Giacobini-Zinner creates roughly 10 to 20 showers in an hour’s duration. However, in 2011, stargazers in Europe reported almost 660 meteors per hour.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced a new manager for its Space Launch System (SLS) program, which is designed to revive America's space travel and carry astronauts to Mars.

Honeycutt has been deputy SLS manager since 2013, and will be replacing Todd May, who was named as deputy director of Marshall in August. “John is an accomplished manager, and I'm pleased he is assuming this new leadership role in the development of SLS as we continue taking great steps forward in the continuous human exploration of space and on our journey to Mars”, William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.

American space agency NASA has successfully launched a sounding rocket from its Wallops Flight Facility. The launch on Wednesday evening was the first from the site since explosion of an Antares rocket last year.

As per NASA officials, the recent launch mission is designed to test new technology with the aim of making future space missions cost-effective and safer.

The agency officials said in a statement that the suborbital Black Brant IX sounding rocket flight will test the performance of the Black Brant motor in a two-stage configuration.

Experts have raised concerns by unveiling that extreme wildfires are taking place in the Western United States. The blazes are more violent and taking place at more frequent levels in recent years than they have in the past. New research has blamed global warming for the same.

Researchers from the University of Wyoming has warned that the world has reached at such a level that even a slightest increase in average temperature can lead to dramatic increase in wildlife activity.

The researchers also said that global warming may be bringing alterations and ushering in an era of high-elevation wildfires that have not been seen in over 1,000 years. Owing to climate change, more than 50,000 wildfires have taken place.