Blue Sky Times: Fossilized Forests, Panda Diplomacy and Space Hugs

Spring break has come to a close, which means there are less than two months left of the school year. The daunting end ahead of us can leave one filled with anxiety and wonder for what is to come. The Blue Sky Times is here to remind you to take a breath and remember you aren’t going through this alone. Here are this week’s good news stories.

Oldest Forest on Earth Discovered

Scientists have discovered what they think is the oldest fossilized forest on earth off the coast of South West England, BBC News reported. 

The fossilized trees found are known as calamophyton, which stood between two and four meters tall and resembled the modern day palm tree, BBC reported. 

The fossilized plants show how trees helped shape the landscape into what it is today and also helped stabilize the riverbanks and coastlines millions of years ago.

“When I first saw pictures of the tree trunks I immediately knew what they were, based on 30 years of studying this type of tree worldwide,” co-author Dr Christopher Berry from Cardiff’s School of Earth and Environmental Science said to BBC.

Return of The Pandas

The iconic black-and-white bears are set to return to the U.S. with the loaning of two new giant pandas from China to the San Diego Zoo, NPR reported. Barring any complications, the two bears should arrive as soon as the end of summer.

One of the bears being considered for the transfer is a descendant of two pandas previously loaned to the zoo, Bai Yun and Gao Gao. Bai Yun stayed in San Diego for nearly 20 years before her return to China in 2019, and Gao Gao returned in 2018, NPR reported.

The only four pandas currently left in the U.S. are all at Zoo Atlanta after tensions arose between the U.S. and China and zoos in Washington D.C. and Memphis returned their bears to China. The tradition of “panda diplomacy” first began in 1972 with the first pair of bears loaned by China to the National Zoo, according to NPR.

Space Hugs 

Four astronauts were welcomed onto the International Space Station with hugs and smiles from the rest of the seven-person crew already on board, according to a video posted on BBC.

The newcomers, made up of three U.S. and one Russian astronaut, are part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission which took off from Florida at approximately 10:30 p.m. March 4 and arrived at the ISS just before 2:30 a.m. March 5.

Crew-8 will be tasked with performing research, technology demonstrations and maintenance activities during their time on the ISS, according to NASA’s website. They will remain onboard for the next six months. 

The seven people of the previous mission, Crew-7, left shortly after Crew-8’s arrival and landed in the Gulf of Mexico March 12, according to NASA’s website.

With the war in Ukraine, the ISS is one of the only places where the U.S. and Russia continue to collaborate peacefully, according to BBC.

Have a great week everyone and remember, as When In Rome once said, “If you need a friend / don’t look to a stranger / You know in the end, I’ll always be there.”

This story was written by Isabella Grosso, Lilli Malone and Hunter Minnè

Featured Image by Lilli Malone / The Phoenix