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There’s one question that’s crossed many a mind whilst having a paddle at the beach: am I in the sea or the ocean? Saying you’ve dipped your toes in the ocean certainly sounds more impressive, but is there actually a difference between the two?Before we dive into it, it’s important to know that the definitions of oceans and seas aren’t exactly the strictest – there’s a lot of room for interpretation, with generalizations and exceptions, particularly when it comes to seas.If we’re getting really loose with definitions, oceans and (most of) the seas are all just one vast body of water anyway, known as the World Ocean. But for a multitude of reasons, be it cultural, geographic, or scientific, that water has been carved up and categorized.What is an ocean?When referring to the ocean, it typically means that big ol’ body of salt water covering nearly three-quarters of the planet’s surface, while each of the regions that oceanographers have divided it up into can be considered an ocean (well, so can the ocean, but a word count only allows for so much pedantry).Historically, there were four officially recognized oceans – the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic – their boundaries primarily defined by the continents that they surround. Then, after years of debate, there came a fifth: the Southern Ocean, finally recognized by the National Geographic Society in 2021.What makes this ocean different from the other four is that rather than the continents, it’s defined by an invisible ring: the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that encircles Antarctica.What is a sea?If you happen to call the sea the ocean, you’re not necessarily wrong – seas can still be considered a part of the ocean. What typically defines them, however, is that they are much smaller than an ocean, found where the land and ocean meet, and are usually at least partially enclosed by land.…or are they?We did warn you that there’d be exceptions and when it comes to seas, the Sargasso Sea shows that enclosure by land isn’t exactly a hard and fast rule.Like the Southern Ocean, the boundaries of the Sargasso Sea are defined by current rather than land – four currents, in fact. Found in the north of the Atlantic Ocean, it’s enclosed by the North Atlantic Current, the Canary Current, the North Atlantic Equatorial Current, and the Gulf Stream, making it the only sea without a land boundary.All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text, images, and links may be edited, removed, or added to at a later date to keep information current

Along with summoning beautiful aurora in the night sky around the world, the gusty solar storm that rocked Earth in May this year left another legacy: a new Van Allen Belt looping around the planet. The Van Allen belts are two donut-shaped belts of radiation wrapped around Earth, composed of energetic charged particles trapped in the planet's magnetic field. According to NASA, a temporary third belt has recently emerged around Earth as a result of the intense solar storms in May. “Scientists are studying the data to better understand the Belt and how long it might stick around. Stay tuned for their findings!” NASA posted on X, formally Twitter.Most of the energized particles caught in the belts are believed to come from the solar wind, while others arrive as cosmic rays. When strong solar storms hit Earth, just like they did in May, it can cause a disruption that allows a third layer of charged particles to become ensnared by the magnetosphere.The new belt was found sandwiched between the two permanent ones by NASA’s Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Experiment (CIRBE) CubeSat, a satellite that keeps an eye on Earth's inner radiation belt. While it’s unclear how long it might linger, the space agency said it could “last months to years.” It’s well-established that solar storms, an intense flurry of emission of high-energy particles from the Sun's atmosphere, can meddle with Earth’s Van Allen belts. In September 2012, there was another instance of strong solar weather creating a third temporary Belt, which faded away in a matter of weeks. Explaining the 2012 event, Ian Mann, a physics professor at the University of Alberta, said in a statement: "Rather like a space tsunami, they slosh the radiation belts around and very rapidly wash away the outer part of the belt, explaining the structure of the enigmatic third radiation belt."            The geomagnetic storm of May 2024 was the strongest that has been detected for 20 years. Along with the formation of a third Van Allen belt and the creation of a previously unseen vortex in Earth's atmosphere, the most noticeable impact on Earthlings was the sight of stunning Northern Lights in latitudes that aren’t usually blessed with auroras.Don’t be fooled, though, geomagnetic storms have the potential to cause much more upset than pretty colors in the night sky. Much of the technology that runs the world, such as GPS and satellite-based telecommunications, can be affected by aggressive space weather. If a strong enough solar storm were to strike Earth today – just as it did in 1859 – it could prove catastrophic.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has passed a resolution to strengthen the work it does in protecting the Dark and Quiet Sky both on the ground and in space. That the resolution would pass was obvious – you wouldn’t expect turkeys to vote for Christmas – but it matters greatly in showing the commitment of the IAU to protecting the sky, not just for astronomers but for all of us. It is, after all, a shared heritage of humankind.It is for this reason that the resolution was on the table for the 32nd General Assembly of the IAU, the first one that took place in Africa. Among the many sessions, there have been workshops on the topic of Dark and Quiet skies. Threats to the sky are multiple – the most common on the ground is light pollution.“A problem for us with light pollution on the ground is the ongoing world transition to LED technology, which has made light at night very inexpensive to consume,” Dr John Barentine, the Executive Officer and Principal Consultant at Dark Sky Consulting, told IFLScience. “In the last decade, the brightness of the night sky has been rising around the world on the order of about 10 percent per year on average.”We are still trying to develop and refine our messaging to emphasise that there is a win-win – that it is possible to have responsibly designed, effective light while also minimising light pollution.Carol Nyaguthii The transition to LED has been good in terms of energy consumption as the bulbs consume much less energy than filament bulbs. But it has meant that it is now possible to illuminate areas all night long, including places that weren’t really illuminated, simply because it’s very cheap. A common example is floodlights in an industrial parking lot, even when there’s no one on the premises.Light pollution impacts astronomy and our enjoyment of the night sky, but it also impacts our body’s natural rhythms leading to sleeplessness. It also affects animals, plants, and other living organisms that rely on the sky and darkness to live and thrive.“One of the biggest challenges has been raising awareness about the importance of dark sky preservation. While people more intuitively understand how light pollution affects astronomy, its effects on biodiversity, health, and heritage are harder to communicate,” Carol Nyaguthii, secretary of DarkSky Kenya, told IFLScience.In many countries in the Global North, the work of Dark Sky initiatives is focused on reversing the damage and making better choices for the future. Places like Kenya, where electrification is still expanding, are about to show that it is possible to bring lighting without having to compromise the protection of the night sky.“We are still trying to develop and refine our messaging to emphasise that there is a win-win – that it is possible to have responsibly designed, effective light while also minimising light pollution,” Nyaguthii explained.Clever design, timers, motion sensors, and different colors are some of the ways that light pollution is mitigated. However, part of the problem does not come from the ground, but from satellites. There are a lot more satellites in space than ever before. The megaconstellations of satellites, with hundreds if not thousands of individual orbiting objects, are changing the sky dramatically. This impacts astronomers who can’t perform observations without streaks, but if they add to overall brightness, even designated dark areas on Earth are not safe.Satellites can leave streaks on astronomical observations.Image Credit: NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory/CTIO/AURA/DELVEAs of June 2024, there were 11,780 satellites in orbit and 6,050 of them were from SpaceX’s megaconstellation Starlink. The company owned by Elon Musk aims to at least double the number and ideally get to six times as many satellites in space. They are not alone in this endeavor. Many private and public organizations are planning similar numbers of objects in space.These satellites bring not just light, they also send radio waves down to places on Earth where there is usually very little radio frequency. Scientists want to make sure progress in access to space doesn’t come at the cost of our ability to study the universe in the first place.“The sky is a resource, I think, that's available to everybody. And there's so much out there in astronomy that we don't yet know. The increased number of satellites poses a risk to our ability to actually see and learn more things. And I think we can try and cooperate together to keep the sky dark, to keep it quiet, so that we're still able to do observations and do science,” Dr Wendy Williams, a scientist for the SKA Observatory, told IFLScience.With 300,000 satellites expected to be in orbit over the course of the next decade, the crucial issue is that there is little regulation at national and international levels to keep light and radio pollution to a minimum. As an example, in the US, the Federal Communications Commission requires operators to have a coordination agreement with the National Science Foundation to keep light pollution to a minimum.“It's mandatory to have this coordination agreement, but it doesn’t actually mandate any specific limit or threshold or brightness requirement,” Dr Andrew Williams, from the European Southern Observatory (ESO), told IFLScience. “So companies can make good faith efforts. But presumably, they could say: ‘Well, look, we tried as hard as we can, it cost us a huge amount of effort, but sorry, that’s the best we can do.’ It’s not clear what is actually going to happen in that situation.”The streak from a Starlink satellite across the Andromeda galaxy, taken by the Zwicky Transient Facility during twilight on May 19, 2021.Image Credit: ZTFStill, all the people we interviewed at the General Assembly regarding the Dark and Quiet Sky have stressed that private companies are engaging and listening to the concern. They are willing to change satellite designs, turn off emitters over specific regions, and more.“We don't want to roll back any progress,” Dr Barentine explained. “The satellite operators have a right to be in space, just as we have a right to access space for astronomy purposes. So we're actively working with them to try to find a solution that is as much of an agreement on the basics as we can reach to where they're able to conduct their activities without causing undue interference to what we're doing.”I hope there will be some regulation for the protection of the dark and quiet sky.Prof. Roberto RagazzoniThis sentiment is echoed by Dr Lewis Ball, the Director of Operations for the SKA Organisation. SKA Observatory will be a revolutionary radio astronomy facility spread across South Africa and Australia, and a quiet sky is paramount for its quest to answer some of the biggest mysteries of the universe. Companies are willing to listen to organizations trying to protect the sky, but this is done on a one-to-one basis. What happens when there are dozens?“One of the challenges that we face though is that at the moment there's one major and small number of other operators.  But as that grows, the one-to-one interaction becomes simply too hard to manage. We can't be engaging with 20 or 25 or 50 different operators. So we have to look at the regulatory side and have some input to that as well,” Dr Ball explained.This is why clear rules and regulations are key for the long-term protection of the night sky and the safe operation of satellites in space. Things are moving slowly but there’s reason to hope for more in the near future.“The European Space Agency has mandatory space debris mitigation standards and they're going through a process now of updating these,” Dr Williams told IFLScience. “They have the Clean Space program and we've managed to get dark and quiet skies as an item that's now part of this Space Debris Mitigation Standard.”The risk of space debris is a serious one and the space industry is paying attention to those requirements. Adding Dark and Quiet Sky protection makes it easier to know what private companies should do. Still, the constant request we hear is for clear regulations.       “The most precious resource for astronomers Is the sky. This remained unchanged for millennia. But it is no longer the case. The sky is threatened by light pollution and satellite constellation, among other things. The IAU, together with its partner, NFS Noirlab, the SKAO, under the leadership of Piero Benvenuti, and with the support of several concerned countries is raising the issue at the highest political level including the [United Nations],”  Willy Benz, incoming IAU president, said during a gala at the Italian Embassy in Cape Town attended by IFLScience.This is also echoed by Professor Roberto Ragazzoni, the president of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics and chair of the next IAU General Assembly that will take place in Rome in August 2027.“I hope there will be some regulation for the protection of the dark and quiet sky,” Ragazzoni told us. “Especially on the radio side, we want to protect those special areas where today we are building, SKA or LOFAR or other telescopes.”Dr Williams too, who is ESO's Representative to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, is looking at the highest international levels for eventual regulation. “What we hope for in the long run is that the UN committee will make this a bit more formalized and will start the process of developing some kind of principles of protection of the dark and quiet skies.”

Google George Santos and you’ll find a surplus of headlines citing fraud and campaign finance violations, among other accusations. The list of federal felony charges the expelled congressman faces is as follows: one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States two counts of wire fraud two counts of making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission two counts of falsifying records submitted to obstruct the FEC two counts of aggravated identity theft one count of access device fraud seven counts of wire fraud three counts of money laundering one count of theft of public funds two counts of making materially false statements to the United States House of Representatives That’s 23 total charges that Santos will answer to in court next month. According to Santos, however, the only reason he’s been hit with a slew of felonies is because he’s exposed the insidious corruption in Congress. - YouTube www.youtube.com “I went from being a member of Congress (previously a private equity professional) to becoming a professional s**t poster on social media, and let me tell you something ... nobody's willing to say that Congress inside trades. Nobody's willing to sit here and tell you Dan Crenshaw is a dirty insider trader,” he tells James Poulos, pointing to the Blaze Originals documentary “Bought and Paid For” released earlier this year that explains how congressmen and women get filthy rich despite their moderate salaries. Santos says he does it because “the American people deserve to know the scumbags that are in Congress today.” However, he believes that his boldness is why he’s been ousted and charged with a litany of offenses. He points to Texas Democrat Sen. Henry Cuellar as proof. “His indictment says he's been taking bribes from a Mexican bank and the country of Azerbaijan for the last ten years, which means he's been corrupt since the day he got here. I think that's far more than the BS they try to pin on me,” says Santos, and yet despite his crimes, Cuellar is considered “an honorable member with great relationships and accomplishments.” To hear Santos spill the tea on his least favorite members of Congress, like Eric Swalwell's intimate relations with a Chinese spy, watch the episode above. Want more from James Poulos?To enjoy more of James' visionary commentary on politics, tech, ideas, and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently located and detained an illegal alien gang member wanted for 23 murders in Peru. The Biden-Harris administration's open border crisis has led to an increased number of foreign gang members entering the U.S.According to ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations in Buffalo, New York, 38-year-old Gianfranco Torres-Navarro was arrested on Wednesday. A source told ABC News that Torres-Navarro, the leader of the Peruvian gang "Los Killers," was apprehended in Endicott, New York, as part of a "targeted operation."'A highly dangerous criminal who believed he was untouchable.'ERO Buffalo reported that Torres-Navarro illegally entered the United States on May 16 near Roma, Texas. He was apprehended by Customs and Border Protection agents the same day but was released after being issued a notice to appear for immigration proceedings. Border Patrol agents were apparently unaware of Torres-Navarro's criminal history in his home country.In July, Homeland Security Investigations notified ICE that Torres-Navarro was wanted for nearly two dozen murders in Peru. He was arrested by immigration officials on August 14 and transported to a detention facility in Batavia, New York, while he awaits immigration proceedings. ERO Buffalo Field Office Director Thomas Brophy stated, "Gianfranco Torres-Navarro poses a significant threat to our communities, and we won't allow New York to be a safe haven for dangerous noncitizens. Well done by our ERO Buffalo officers who brought this individual into custody."According to the Associated Press, Torres-Navarro's girlfriend, Mishelle Sol Ivanna Ortíz Ubillús, was also arrested. She was described as Torres-Navarro's lieutenant and cashier. They both reportedly fled Peru after Los Killers gang members were suspected of murdering a retired police officer and injuring a municipal employee. The AP reported that per Peru's Public Prosecutor's Office, Torres-Navarro is also known as "Gianfranco 23," in reference to the number of individuals he has allegedly murdered. He reportedly has the names of his victims tattooed on his body. Torres-Navarro is also wanted in Peru for extortion and operating a criminal organization.Col. Franco Moreno, the head of Peru's High Complexity Crime Investigations Division, told the AP that Torres-Navarro "is a highly dangerous criminal who believed he was untouchable." He stated Torres-Navarro allegedly committed the murders or ordered the murders "to increase his criminal leadership." — (@) Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A German lawmaker is asking for reparations in the wake of yet another report indicating that Ukraine was behind the undersea bombings of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. Alice Weidel, co-chair of the Alternative for Germany, tweeted Friday, "The economic damage to our country caused by the demolition of #Nordstream presumably ordered by @Selenskyj — and not #Putin as we were led to believe — should be 'billed' to #Ukraine." Weidel added, "Any 'aid payments' that burden the German taxpayer should be stopped." Germany's ruling coalition has already indicated it will be putting an end to new military aid to Ukraine. This planned cessation of funding has, however, not been attributed to the bombing but rather to the need to fulfill other spending priorities. Extra to seeking possible recompense, there appears to be a sustained desire in Berlin to find and lock up the perpetrators. The German Federal Court of Justice issued an arrest warrant earlier this summer for a Ukrainian citizen and diving instructor, Volodymyr Z., in connection to the Nord Stream bombing. The Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper revealed that the suspect was living in Warsaw, Poland, before going on the run. On the basis of witness statements and speed camera photos, investigators determined that he drove the suspected saboteurs to the 50-foot Bavaria Cruiser used in the attack, then aided them in its execution. The Wall Street Journal report that appears to have captured Weidel's attention last week indicated that the Sept. 26, 2022, bombings, which NATO appeared ready at the outset to register as an Article 5-triggering attack, were initiated by "a handful of senior Ukrainian military officers and businessmen." 'I am president and I give orders accordingly.' According to one officer involved in the attack, "The whole thing was born out of a night of heavy boozing and the iron determination of a handful of people who had the guts to risk their lives for their country." The alleged Ukrainian bombing plot apparently cost $300,000; involved a rental yacht and a six-member crew, including civilian divers; and was verbally approved by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reported the Journal. Zelenskyy has long denied Ukraine's involvement in the attacks. "I am president and I give orders accordingly," Zelenskyy told Axel Springer in June 2023. "Nothing of the sort has been done by Ukraine. I would never act that way." "I didn't know anything, 100 percent," added Zelensky. "I said, 'Show us proof. If our military is supposed to have done this, show us proof.'" Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak similarly denied Ukrainian involvement last year, stating, "Although I enjoy collecting amusing conspiracy theories about [Ukrainian] government, I have to say: [Ukraine] has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea mishap and has no information about 'pro-[Ukraine] sabotage groups.' What happened to the Nord Stream pipelines? 'They sank,' as they say in RF itself ..." At the time of the pipeline bombings, Podolyak joined Poland in suggesting the damage was instead the doing of the Russians, reported the BBC. "Gas leak from NS-1 [Nord Stream 1] is nothing more than a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards the EU. Russia wants to destabilise the economic situation in Europe and cause pre-winter panic," said Zelenskyy's adviser. In the wake of the attack, Podolyak stressed that the "best response and security investment are tanks for Ukraine. Especially German ones." Three people familiar with the bombing plot as well as one of the officers directly involved told the Journal that the CIA learned of the scheme and told Zelenskyy to call it off. Although Zelenskyy supposedly obliged the American spy agency, his commander in chief running the operation, Valeriy Zaluzhniy — now Ukraine's ambassador to London — reportedly went ahead with the bombing plot utilizing Ukrainian special-operations officers, including Col. Roman Chervinsky. Following a joint investigation, the Washington Post and Der Spiegel reported last year that Chervinsky was the "coordinator" of the operation, "managing logistics and support for a six-person team that rented a sailboat under false identities and used deep-sea diving equipment to place explosive charges on the gas pipelines." The joint report indicated further that Chervinsky ultimately reported to Zaluzhniy, although he contended in a statement, "All speculations about my involvement in the attack on Nord Stream are being spread by Russian propaganda without any basis." The Journal indicated that a Polish travel agency set up by Ukrainian intelligence years ago to disguise financial transactions was used to rent a yacht called the Andromeda in the German town of Rostock. Masquerading as a group on a pleasure cruise, Chervinsky's crew allegedly set off three explosions using an explosive called HMX, wired to timed-control detonators. The explosions caused leaks on both the Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines, which both run a distance of over 740 miles from Russia to Lubmin, Germany, under the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine and Poland. The pipelines were not in operation at the time of the leaks, although they nevertheless contained gas under pressure. 'There was no practical sense in such actions for Ukraine.' According to Carnegie Politika, initial estimates indicated the explosions released 500 million cubic meters of gas, or the equivalent of 1/5000 of annual global CO2 emissions, into the sea. Extra to causing possible environmental damage, the explosions caused energy prices to surge and Germany to nationalize energy companies. The fallout of the attacks continues to cost Germany, which the Journal indicated pays roughly $1 million daily just to lease floating terminals for liquefied natural gas to partially replace gas flows alternatively carried by the Nord Stream. The Journal noted that the "four senior Ukrainian defense and security officials who either participated in or had direct knowledge of the plot" who spoke on the record all confirmed that the pipelines were considered to be a legitimate target for Ukraine. Despite the admissions from these officials, Zaluzhniy and other officials in Kiev continue to downplay and deny their active involvement. "Ukraine's involvement in the Nord Stream explosions is absolute nonsense. There was no practical sense in such actions for Ukraine," Podolyak told the AFP Thursday. While Germany is continuing to investigate the bombings, sources familiar with the investigation told the Journal that it may prove an exercise in futility given that those responsible, cognizant they are wanted, will avoid traveling outside Ukraine — a nation that will not extradite its own citizens. Even if successful in bringing those responsible to justice, Germany may suffer further embarrassment. It would mean that Germany was attacked by a nation it has materially supported for years. "An attack of this scale is a sufficient reason to trigger the collective defense clause of NATO, but our critical infrastructure was blown up by a country that we support with massive weapons shipments and billions in cash," a senior German official told the Journal. Moscow suspects that Germany will ultimately close its investigation without naming those believed to be responsible, reported Reuters. "We have raised the issue of Germany and other affected countries fulfilling their obligations under the U.N. anti-terrorist conventions," said Oleg Tyapkin, the head of the European department at the Russian foreign ministry. "We have officially made corresponding claims on this matter bilaterally, including to Berlin." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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