On this week’s news update…
Hurricane Destruction
Hurricanes cause destruction across the Caribbean and the USA.
Animal Behaviour
Scientists study some unusual animal behaviour.
Record-Breaking Astronaut
And a record-breaking astronaut returns to Earth.
First up, Hurricane Irma has been causing destruction across the Caribbean and several states in the USA.
It comes as people in the state of Texas are still dealing with the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.
But what are hurricanes?
hurricanes
Hurricanes are powerful storms with really strong winds that form over warm oceans.
The winds spiral towards the centre of the storm, which is called the eye…
eye
And when the hurricane hits land, its force can be seen much more clearly.
Weather scientists, known as meteorologists, can use satellites to track these storms – predicting where they will travel and how strong they will get.
Information like this helps people to prepare and know when to take shelter or leave their homes.
Next up… when you have a cold, or when your nose is tickly, you sneeze!
But it seems that some animals sneeze for a different reason.
Botswana, Africa
In Botswana, in Africa, a team of zoologists discovered that African wild dogs sometimes use sneezes to communicate with each other.
When the packs were deciding whether to hunt for food, the dogs appeared to sneeze to cast their vote.
Did you see that?
Here it is again.
The more dogs that sneezed, the more likely the packs were to set out to hunt.
The number of African wild dogs is falling, and it’s hoped the research into this interesting behaviour will raise awareness of these animals.
And finally, it’s Space Track.
Space Track
Three astronauts have safely returned to Earth after completing their mission aboard the International Space Station – the world’s only orbiting laboratory.
They worked on hundreds of scientific experiments, as well as carrying out spacewalks to make repairs to the space station.
Among the crew was Peggy Whitson, who has officially broken the record for the most time spent in space by a US astronaut!
Including her other missions, Dr Whitson has spent a total of six hundred and sixty-five days in space. That’s almost two years!
That’s all for this week. We’ll see you next time!