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In this science news update, new public affairs content creator Breyton Hill discusses some cool science and research news that has been happening around the Triangle.
With the weather happening this weekend, Breyton gets into the science of snowflakes, discussing what makes each one unique.
Next, Breyton talks about how astronomers at Duke University are photographing the cosmos as part of Legacy Survey of Space and Time at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile.
Breyton then gets into updates from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science’s “Dueling Dinosaur” exhibit. Get excited, there has been a new classification. What was originally thought to be a baby Tyrannosaur is actually a Nanotyrannus.
Lastly, Breyton discusses different ways to get involved in science around the triangle with events at the NC Museum of Natural Science and the Durham Life and Science Museum.
Creators and Guests
Host
Shradha Bhatia
Public Affairs Director (2025-2026)
Producer
Breyton Hill
Content Creator
What is Eye on the Triangle?
Eye on the Triangle is WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2’s weekly public affairs programming with news, interviews, opinion, weather, sports, arts, music, events and issues that matter to NC State, Raleigh and the Triangle.
Meeting created at: 27th Jan, 2026 - 3:21 PM1
Speaker 1: You are listening to Eye of the Triangle, WKNC's weekly public affairs program from the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
Speaker 1: Any views and opinions expressed during Eye of the Triangle do not represent NC State or student media.
Speaker 1: Hello, everyone.
Speaker 1: This is Shradha Bhatia, and I'm the public affairs director here at wknc.
Speaker 1: And on today's episode, we're gonna take a look at science shaping life here in the Triangle, from what makes snowflakes unique to the new discoveries in space, to updates from our local science museums.
Speaker 1: But science doesn't just live in labs and observatories.
Speaker 1: It also plays a role in public decision making.
Speaker 1: After our science news update, we'll talk about how the public can weigh in on Duke Energy's plan, which would roll back some of North Carolina's clean energy goals.
Speaker 1: First, here's breyton final with this week's science news.
Speaker 2: Good morning, everyone.
Speaker 2: This is your newest public affairs content creator, breyton final.
Speaker 2: And today we're going to dig into some cool science and research news that's been happening around the Triangle.
Speaker 2: But first, can we talk about the snow?
Speaker 2: We all know that it snows this past weekend, but what's the science behind snowflakes?
Speaker 2: The short answer here is that snowflakes are ice crystals that fall from the sky.
Speaker 2: But let's get into it.
Speaker 2: What is a snowflake?
Speaker 2: Snowflakes form from water vapor that freezes inside a cloud on a dust or pollen particle.
Speaker 2: That crystal then creates the foundation for the snowflake.
Speaker 2: As the crystal falls to the ground, more water vapor attaches, extending in six different directions to form branches of the snowflake.
Speaker 2: So why six sides?
Speaker 2: Great question.
Speaker 2: Water is made up of one negative oxygen and two positive hydrogen molecules.
Speaker 2: Because negative and positive molecules attract oxygen from one molecule of water attaches itself to the hydrogen of another.
Speaker 2: This bridge creates a connection of water.
Speaker 2: However, because the negative and negative molecules and positive molecules repel each other, the hydrogen wants to stay away from other hydrogens and the oxygen wants to stay away from other oxygens.
Speaker 2: This balance of attraction and repulsion creates an ice structure called a crystal lattice that has six sides and is the structure for the extending six branches.
Speaker 2: Each snowflake is unique from every other snowflake.
Speaker 2: But weirdly enough, that actually has nothing to do with the formation of the snowflake and everything to do with how it falls.
Speaker 2: Once a snowflake gets big enough, it starts to fall to the ground.
Speaker 2: That journey to the Earth is different for every single snowflake with differing Temperatures and humidities, different wind speeds, different things that it hits on the ground.
Speaker 2: And that can all have a great impact on the shape of the snowflake.
Speaker 2: However, since the individual snowflake is attached to each other, it has those six branches.
Speaker 2: Those six branches tend to look the same.
Speaker 2: Anyways, enough about snowflakes and chemistry.
Speaker 2: Let's hear about something huge.
Speaker 2: The Veraci Rubin Observatory.
Speaker 2: Located in Chile.
Speaker 2: This observatory claims to have found a new way to view the universe simply by taking pictures of the Cosmos every three nights for the next 10 years.
Speaker 2: Now you're all probably sitting there thinking, brayden, that's great, but it's in Chile.
Speaker 2: Why do I care?
Speaker 2: Well, let me tell you.
Speaker 2: Scientists at Duke University.
Speaker 2: That's right, Duke University, right here in the Triangle, helped bring this mission to life.
Speaker 2: The Duke Cosmology Group is invested in studying changes in brightness and position and other behaviors of the cosmos over time.
Speaker 2: So PhD students and postdocs and professors at Duke are working not only with the hardware, so controlling telescope precision, et cetera, but also the software.
Speaker 2: So how we're going to process these images and actually gain valuable information from this data, this legacy survey of space and time will be something to talk about for years to come.
Speaker 2: So just think about it.
Speaker 2: The next time you go in the grocery store in Durham, you might be passing someone who's instrumental in recording how the cosmos is changing.
Speaker 2: That's pretty cool.
Speaker 2: And speaking of cool things, let's talk about the news from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science.
Speaker 2: The museum opened an exhibit called Dueling Dinosaurs back in April of 2024, which features a fossil of interlocked dinosaurs, a Triceratops, and what was thought to be a small bodied T Rex.
Speaker 2: However, there have been updates.
Speaker 2: Get excited, everyone.
Speaker 2: Showcasing distinct anatomy in the spinal cord and skull nerves.
Speaker 2: It turns out this fossil wasn't a baby Tyrannosaurus, instead a completely different species, a Nanotyrannus.
Speaker 2: The head of paleontology at the museum and also an associate research professor at NC State, Dr. Lindsey Zano says that this fl decades of t Rex research on its head.
Speaker 2: So really and truly talk about cool.
Speaker 2: You can read more about Dr. Zano's research with this new dino in her paper published in Nature.
Speaker 2: But the gist is that there might now need to be some reclassification of which fossils are actually T Rex and which fall under the new category of Nanotyrannus.
Speaker 2: This research also begs the question of what other dinosaurs might have been around, since we now know that the T Rex was not the sole lone predator and speaking of museums, there are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved in your community through science.
Speaker 2: The North Carolina Museum of Natural Science has postponed their astronomy days due to the wintry weather we got this weekend.
Speaker 2: So join them next weekend on Saturday, January 31 and Sunday, February 1 to shoot for the moon.
Speaker 2: There will be presentations from expert scientists, plenty of telescopes, and even hands on science experiments for you to do.
Speaker 2: Also, the Durham Life and Science Museum is hosting a Community day on Wednesday, January 28 as part of an effort to get everyone excited about science admission.
Speaker 2: That day is free for residents of Durham county, so make sure to have your proof of residence.
Speaker 2: Also, as part of these Durham Community Days, the Museum is hosting a Black Excellence in Science day on Saturday, February 7th.
Speaker 2: Join experts for demonstrations and even more hands on activities.
Speaker 2: Well, this has been a science News update.
Speaker 2: I'm breyton final.
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening.
Speaker 3: The utilities resource proposal differs from its 2023 plan.
Speaker 3: It will eliminate wind power additions until at least 2040 and coal will be burned for two to four years longer than expected.
Speaker 3: Brittany Griffin with Clean Air in Sea points out other concerning elements of the plan.
Speaker 2: There is new natural gas, so proposing building about 12 new natural gas powered generators.
Speaker 2: There's some more nuclear in there extending the life of around 11 nuclear facilities.
Speaker 3: Griffin says the plan also includes new technology like carbon capture and green hydrogen that have unproven track records.
Speaker 3: However, she says the most concerning part of Duke's plan for the future is a 15% rate increase starting in 2027.
Speaker 3: Duke says changes to its energy mix are necessary for reliability and to meet future growth in the state.
Speaker 3: I'm Eric Tagidoff reporting.
Speaker 1: This has been Eye on the triangle from WKNC 88.1 FM HD1 rally.
Speaker 1: Our theme song is Krakatoa by Noah Stark, licensed under Creative Commons.
Speaker 1: To re listen to this or any other episode, visit wknc.org podcast or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: Thank you for listening.