Why a ‘V' and ‘X' can be seen on the moon overnight
These rare celestial events form when sunlight hits specific craters on the moon's surface at just the right angle.
The lunar V is created by light illuminating the Ukert crater, while the lunar X is formed from the Bianchini, La Caille, and Purbach craters.
Observation of the lunar X and V requires a telescope or binoculars, pointed at the moon's terminator, the line separating its light and dark sides.
The phenomenon is expected to appear from 4:41 am on 3 July, with clear skies anticipated over most of the British Isles.
A giant glowing X and V will appear on the Moon's surface tonight
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Teen vaping a gateway to smoking, study suggests
Children who vape are more likely to go on to be smokers, be diagnosed with asthma and have poor mental health, according to new of York experts partnered with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for the study, said to be the largest global review on vaping in young found "consistent evidence" that young people who vaped were three times more likely to become smokers, with an increased risk of respiratory illness and substance Su Golder, associate professor in health science at York, called for marketing restrictions, saying: "Anything that could reduce the uptake of vaping in young people would be welcomed." Experts analysed all available reviews on youth vaping, which included 56 reviews on 384 of these looked at the use of e-cigarettes among young people and later cigarette data suggested an increased risk among young people who vaped of developing asthma or asthma exacerbation, with other outcomes including pneumonia, bronchitis, lower total sperm counts, dizziness, headaches and was also a link identified between depression and suicidal thoughts among young Golder said the "consistency in the evidence is striking". She said: "Across multiple studies, young people who use e-cigarettes are more likely to smoke in the future."These findings support stronger public health measures to protect teens from the risks associated with vaping."Dr Golder suggested increased regulation of vaping, "particularly restrictions on marketing that's aimed at young people and not at the smoking sensation side of things".Commenting on the study, Jamie Strachan, operations director at vape retailer VPZ, said: "Vaping is intended solely for existing adult smokers as a less harmful alternative to combustible tobacco."It should never be marketed to, sold to, or used by children and non-smokers."Dr James Murphy from British American Tobacco said that "enforcing high standards and preventing under-age use is vital to achieving the UK's smoke-free goal". Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Common supplement taken by thousands could help protect women against Alzheimer's, research suggests
A supplement already taken by thousands and costing less than 10p a pill on the high street could help protect women against debilitating dementia, promising new research suggests. Scientists revealed today that taking omega fatty acids could help boost the low levels found in women with Alzheimer's disease. In the first-of-its-kind study, researchers examined how fat molecules that perform essential functions in the body play a different role in the disease according to sex. Researchers from King's College London and Queen Mary University found that women with Alzheimer's had significantly less unsaturated fats in their blood, compared to healthy women. Interestingly, there was no significant difference in the same blood fat composition in men with Alzheimer's compared to healthy controls. Given that lipids play a vital role in maintaining brain health and cognitive function, researchers believe their findings could indicate why more women are diagnosed with the devastating disease. Writing in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, senior author Dr Cristiana Legido-Quigley said: 'Women are disproportionately impacted by Alzheimer's and are more often diagnosed with the disease than men after the age of 80. 'One of the most surprising things we saw when looking at the different sexes was that there was no difference in these lipids in healthy and cognitively impaired men, but for women this picture was completely different.' She added that their findings show that lipid biologist is different between the sexes, opening up new avenues for research. In the current study, the researchers took blood plasma samples from 841 participants diagnosed with Alzheimer's, mild cognitive impairments, and cognitively healthy controls. The samples were then examined for markers of brain inflammation and damage. After analysing 700 individual lipids, scientists found that women with Alzheimer's had significantly more 'unhealthy' saturated lipids than women free from the disease. They also noted that they had significantly less healthy lipids attached with omega fatty acids. Whilst more clinical trials are needed to confirm a causal link, the researchers say their findings show there is a significant link between the disease and fatty acids. Dr Legido-Quigley added: 'Our study suggests that women should make sure they are getting omega fatty acids in their diet—through fatty fish or via supplements.' However she warned further studies are needed to determine whether increasing intake of omega fatty acids before symptoms of Alzheimer's appear can change the biological trajectory of the disease. Dr Asger Wretlind, first author of the study from KCL said: 'Although this still warrants further research, we were able to detect biological differences in lipids between the sexes in a large cohort, and show the importance of lipids containing omegas in the blood, which has not been done before. 'The results are very striking and now we are looking at how early in life this change occurs in women,' she added. Two in three people living with dementia in the UK are women. Whilst experts say this could be a result of women living longer, or other risk factors such as social isolation, education or hormonal changes as a result of the menopause, the findings suggest that lifestyle changes could play a crucial role in the development of the disease. Dr Julia Dudley, head of research at Alzheimer's UK, said: 'While this study shows that women with Alzheimer's had lower levels of some unsaturated fats compared with men, further work is needed. 'This includes understanding the mechanisms behind this difference and finding out if lifestyle changes, including diet could have a role.' The charity, which is funding the work, is also calling for further research to focus on a more ethnically diverse population to see whether the same effect is seen across a wider sample size. Dr Dudley added: 'Understanding how the disease works differently in women could help doctors tailor future treatments and health advice.' The charity hopes that this crucial research will bring us one step closer to finding a cure for the devastating disease. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia in the UK. Recent analysis by the Alzheimer's society estimates the overall annual cost of dementia to the UK is £42billion a year, with families bearing the brunt. An ageing population could see these costs soar to £90billion in the next 15 years. Around 944,000 in the UK are thought to be living with dementia, while the figure is thought to be around 7million in the US. Memory problems, thinking and reasoning difficulties and language problems are common early symptoms of the condition, which then worsen over time. Alzheimer's Research UK analysis found 74,261 people died from dementia in 2022 compared with 69,178 a year earlier, making it the country's biggest killer.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Scientists get a rare peek inside of an exploding star
Scientists for the first time have spotted the insides of a dying star as it exploded, offering a rare peek into stellar evolution. Stars can live for millions to trillions of years until they run out of fuel. The most massive ones go out with a bang in an explosion called a supernova. Using telescopes that peer deep into space, researchers have observed many such explosions. The cosmic outbursts tend to jumble up a dying star's layers, making it hard for scientists to observe the inner structure. But that wasn't the case for the new discovery, a supernova called 2021yfj located in our Milky Way galaxy. The collapsing star's outermost layers of hydrogen and helium had peeled away long ago, which wasn't surprising. But the star's dense, innermost layers of silicon and sulfur had also shed during the explosion. 'We have never observed a star that was stripped to this amount,' said Northwestern University 's Steve Schulze, who was part of the discovery team that published the research Wednesday in the journal Nature. The finding lends evidence to ideas scientists have about how large stars look near the end of their lives, organized into layers with lighter elements on the outside and heavier ones close to the core. 'Because so many of the layers had been stripped off this star, this basically confirmed what those layers were,' said Anya Nugent, who studies supernovas at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. She was not involved with the new research. It's not yet clear how this star got so whittled down — whether its layers were flung off violently in the final stages of its life or yanked away by a twin star. Future research may yield clues, though scientists acknowledged such an event may be tough to capture again. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
