From - Sky &Telescope By - David L. Chandler Edited by - Amal Udawatta An artist's illustration of an asteroid N. Bartmann / ESA / Webb / ESO / M. Kornmesser and S. Brunier / N. Risinger 2024 YR4 is no longer a danger for Earth, and a (small) chance of a lunar impact could provide great science data. “We are all rooting for the Moon!” Richard Binzel (MIT) is referring to the asteroid 2024 YR 4 , which for a few weeks had remained at the second-highest-rated probability of potential Earth impact of any asteroid discovered. Now, although its impact probability has fallen to virtually zero for Earth, it still has a slight chance of impacting the Moon on December 22, 2032. An Earth impact by an object of this size — estimated at anywhere from 40 to 90 meters across — could have been serious for a local region, if populated, and astronomers around the world have scrambled for weeks to obtain observations in order to refine the object’s orbit, using the Canada Fr...
From- BBC World News BY- Miranda Lipton Edited by - Amal Udawatta Chapul Farms (Credit: Chapul Farms) These tiny soldiers can eat four times their own weight in organic waste – and turn it into sustainable fertiliser. With a unique ability to consume nearly any form of organic matter it comes across, one small but mighty insect is becoming a tool to address the growing problem of organic waste and soil degradation. The bug, black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), transforms food waste into nutrient-rich biofertiliser: frass. Insects have been long been used in agricultural practices as a food source – but now farmers are exploring the potential of bug poo as a sustainable fertiliser. With over 33% of the world's soil currently degraded, depleted of the nutrients necessary for healthy plant growth, frass can play a major role in restoring soil biodiversity and quality. In May 2024, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded gra...