Gray whale spyhopping off the Alaskan coast
Gray whale spyhopping off the Alaskan coast

Solar storms can mess with a whale's GPS

After studying 186 live strandings of healthy gray whales from 1985 to 2018, researchers at Duke University concluded that whales' navigational sense is affected by solar storms taking place as far away as our sun.

The researchers based their findings on the fact that the strandings are more likely to occur on days when there are more sunspots. Linked to solar storms, sunspots represent sudden releases of high-energy particles from the sun. These may disrupt magnetic orientation behaviour when they interact with the Earth’s magnetosphere.

Here's what the Cassiopea xamachana jellyfish looks like. Photo taken at aquarium in Loro Parque
Here's what the Cassiopea xamachana jellyfish looks like. Photo taken at aquarium in Loro Parque

How upside-down jellyfish can make the water sting

In some tropical waters like the Florida Keys mangrove forests, for snorkellers to stay safe, it’s not enough to not touch anything. It may not be a good idea to enter the water in the first place.

That’s because sometimes it seems that the water itself can sting, causing rashes on a snorkeller's skin.

The real culprit is not some mutant strain of water molecules. Rather, it is a species of upside-down jellyfish that lives on the ocean floor. Called Cassiopea xamachana, this jellyfish can also be found in places like the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

Here's what the Cassiopea xamachana jellyfish looks like. Photo taken at aquarium in Loro Parque
Here's what the Cassiopea xamachana jellyfish looks like. Photo taken at aquarium in Loro Parque

How upside-down jellyfish can make the water sting

In some tropical waters like the Florida Keys mangrove forests, for snorkellers to stay safe, it’s not enough to not touch anything. It may not be a good idea to enter the water in the first place.

That’s because sometimes it seems that the water itself can sting, causing rashes on a snorkeller's skin.

The real culprit is not some mutant strain of water molecules. Rather, it is a species of upside-down jellyfish that lives on the ocean floor. Called Cassiopea xamachana, this jellyfish can also be found in places like the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.