Red, Green, or in Between?

Red, Green, or in Between?

Eat out in New Mexico and you’re bound to hear it sooner or later: “Red or green?” That’s the state’s official shorthand for “what color chile would you like slathered on your burger or burrito?” You can go the iconic route and ask for green, or get maximum kick by requesting both: “Christmas, please.” 

Red, green, or in between, chile is New Mexico’s pride and joy. What kind of pepper are we talking about here, and what causes a single plant to come in two distinct colors? 

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Hot Air Doesn't Rise

Hot Air Doesn't Rise

You may have heard the maxim that “warm air rises.” False: no matter its temperature, air is drawn downward by Earth’s gravity. There’s no force sending it toward the sky—unless something heavier pushes in with a force greater than its weight, displacing it upward.

So what’s heavier than warm air? What gives those beautiful balloons their lift?

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Round Balloons in a Square Box

Round Balloons in a Square Box

I love waking up in Albuquerque on clear mornings: a glance out my west-facing window often reveals a couple hot air balloons dotting the horizon.

Albuquerque is the self-proclaimed “Ballooning Capital of the World,” and ballooning is popular here year-round thanks to well-suited weather. Cloudless skies and mild temperatures are common across New Mexico, but the terrain around this city in particular sometimes shapes a favorable wind pattern known as the “Box.” What’s so special about the air above Duke City that attracts balloonists by the dozens?

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A Dash of Cosmic Radiation

A Dash of Cosmic Radiation

Earth’s atmosphere offers us more than breathable air: it’s humanity’s security blanket, filtering a steady barrage of cosmic radiation from space. 

These cosmic “rays” are actually atomic nuclei, and they rain in from supernovae and distant galaxies at speeds of up to 667,934,162 mph (99.6% the speed of light)! 

If the atmosphere offers us ground-dwellers protection from all these space particles, are high-elevation dwellers subjected to more potent cosmic radiation? 

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