/oss/taxonomy/term/2773/all en /oss/article/critical-thinking-pseudoscience/alien-abduction-hardly-convincing-one <p>In September of 1961, Barney and Betty Hill had taken a belated honeymoon trip and were on their way to New Hampshire from Montreal on what should have been an uneventful drive. It turned out to be anything but! Just as they were passing Lancaster on U.S. Route 3, Betty noted a bright light in the sky. The couple didn’t pay much attention to it until the light seemed to follow them, getting closer and closer. Betty had a look through binoculars and described what she saw as a “spinning disk” in the air.</p> Fri, 01 Sep 2023 19:37:05 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9618 at /oss /oss/article/environment-general-science-you-asked/why-sky-blue-or-better-yet-why-ocean-blue <p>The sky is blue due to a phenomenon called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayleigh_scattering">Raleigh scattering</a>. This scattering refers to the scattering of electromagnetic radiation (of which light is a form) by particles of a much smaller wavelength. Sunlight is scattered by the particles of the atmosphere, and what comes through down to earth is called diffuse sky radiation, and though only about 1/3rd of light is scattered, the smallest wavelengths of light tend to scatter easier.</p> Fri, 31 Jan 2020 19:08:37 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 8097 at /oss