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Water Found Deep Inside the Moon-- Get the Facts

Satellite data suggest that water inside the moon is widespread, and that volcanic rocks may be a valuable resource for future explorers. There’s Water Inside the Moon—More Than We Thought There's even more water on the moon than we previously thought, according to new analysis of tiny glass beads left over from ancient volcanic eruptions. The naturally occurring beads were collected in the 1970s as part of the Apollo 15 and 17 missions, which landed near zones of volcanic activity. The beads formed when magma bursting onto the surface crystallized in such a way that water became trapped inside. However, scientists couldn’t be sure if the Apollo samples are unique or if other volcanic flows on the moon are filled with water-bearing glass. (Find out how  flying oceans of magma help demystify the moon's creation .) In a  new study published today in  Nature Geoscience , scientists reexamined the Apollo samples and used more recent satellite data to look for signs of...

D.C. Is the New Hub for U.S. Ivory Sales

As states impose their own bans on ivory to help save elephants, it appears the market is simply shifting to other spots. New York City has long been a hub of the U.S. ivory market, but a state ban enacted in 2014 has reduced the amount of ivory for sale. Here, an antique store on 5th Avenue displayed ivory items in the window.   Has the nation’s capital become the new center of the U.S. ivory trade? Investigators counted almost three times as many ivory items for sale in the Washington, D.C., area in 2016 than ten years earlier, even as the amount of ivory for sale in other parts of the country has been decreasing. From antique shops to flea markets, galleries, and even a tobacco shop, some 658 pieces of ivory for sale were identified in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area by investigators with TRAFFIC, the wildlife monitoring organization. A  new report from TRAFFIC, with support from the World Wildlife Fund and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), a co...