Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

A carbon-lite atmosphere could be a sign of water and life on other terrestrial planets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Best chance of finding liquid water, and even life on other planets, is to look for the absence of carbon dioxide in their atmospheres.

Anthropology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires
Published

Western Cascades landscapes in Oregon historically burned more often than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Forests on the west slope of Oregon's Cascade Range experienced fire much more often between 1500 and 1895 than had been previously thought.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Further evidence for quark-matter cores in massive neutron stars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New theoretical analysis places the likelihood of massive neutron stars hiding cores of deconfined quark matter between 80 and 90 percent. The result was reached through massive supercomputer runs utilizing Bayesian statistical inference.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees
Published

New reptile on the block: A new iguana species discovered in China      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have identified a new iguana species, Wang's garden lizard (Calotes wangi), in southern China and northern Vietnam. This species, part of the Calotes versicolor complex, was discovered through extensive surveys conducted from 2009 to 2022. Measuring less than 9 cm with an orange tongue, it inhabits subtropical and tropical forests, thriving in various landscapes including urban areas.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Hubble sights a galaxy with 'forbidden' light      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A whirling image features a bright spiral galaxy known as MCG-01-24-014, which is located about 275 million light-years from Earth. In addition to being a well-defined spiral galaxy, MCG-01-24-014 has an extremely energetic core known as an active galactic nucleus (AGN) and is categorized as a Type-2 Seyfert galaxy. Seyfert galaxies, along with quasars, host one of the most common subclasses of AGN. While the precise categorization of AGNs is nuanced, Seyfert galaxies tend to be relatively nearby and their central AGN does not outshine its host, while quasars are very distant AGNs with incredible luminosities that outshine their host galaxies.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Researchers study a million galaxies to find out how the universe began      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have analyzed more than one million galaxies to explore primordial fluctuations that seeded the formation of the structure of the entire universe.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astronomers detect seismic ripples in ancient galactic disk      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

 A new snapshot of an ancient, far-off galaxy could help scientists understand how it formed and the origins of our own Milky Way.   At more than 12 billion years old, BRI 1335-0417 is the oldest and furthest known spiral galaxy in our universe. The researchers were able to not only capture the motion of the gas around BRI 1335-0417, but also reveal a seismic wave forming -- a first in this type of early galaxy.  

Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

New 1.5-billion-pixel image shows Running Chicken Nebula in unprecedented detail      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While many holiday traditions involve feasts of turkey, soba noodles, latkes or Pan de Pascua, this year, the European Southern Observatory is bringing you a holiday chicken. The so-called Running Chicken Nebula, home to young stars in the making, is revealed in spectacular detail in this 1.5-billion-pixel image captured by the VLT Survey Telescope.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Supernova encore: Second lensed supernova in a distant galaxy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In November 2023, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope observed a massive cluster of galaxies named MACS J0138.0-2155. Through an effect called gravitational lensing, first predicted by Albert Einstein, a distant galaxy named MRG-M0138 appears warped by the powerful gravity of the intervening galaxy cluster. In addition to warping and magnifying the distant galaxy, the gravitational lensing effect caused by MACS J0138 produces five different images of MRG-M0138.

Physics: Optics Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Pancake stack of films on a balloon most accurate gamma-ray telescope      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A pancake stack of radioactivity-sensitive films carried through the sky by a balloon was able to take the world's most accurate picture of a neutron star's gamma ray beam. To achieve this, researchers combined the oldest method of capturing radioactive radiation with the newest data capturing techniques and a clever time-recording device.

Biology: General Ecology: Invasive Species
Published

Same and different: A new species of pit viper from Myanmar      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Asian pit vipers of the genus Trimeresurus are notoriously difficult to tell apart and continue puzzling researchers to this day. Some species groups have similar-looking species (different species that look alike), while others exhibit extreme variation within a single species (same species that look different). Scientists have now discovered a new species of pit viper from Myanmar that is both similar and different from its adjacent sister species.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Cosmic lights in the forest      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Supercomputer helped astronomers develop PRIYA, the largest suite of hydrodynamic simulations yet made of large-scale structure in the universe.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Scientists measure the distance to stars by their music      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of astronomers has used asteroseismology, or the study of stellar oscillations, to accurately measure the distance of stars from the Earth. Their research examined thousands of stars and checked the measurements taken during the Gaia mission to study the near Universe.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

New red galaxies turn out to be already known blue galaxies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Not all discoveries turn out to be actual new discoveries. This was the case for the extremely red objects (EROs) found in James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) data. Analysis shows that they are very similar to blue-excess dust obscured galaxies (BluDOGs) already reported in Subaru Telescope data.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astronomers discover first population of binary stripped stars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have discovered a population of massive stars that have been stripped of their hydrogen envelopes by their companions in binary systems. The findings shed light on the hot helium stars that are believed to be the origins of hydrogen-poor core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Reaching for the (invisible) stars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Supernovae -- stellar explosions as bright as an entire galaxy -- have fascinated us since time immemorial. Yet, there are more hydrogen-poor supernovae than astrophysicists can explain. Now, scientists may have found the missing precursor star population.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Unexpected chemistry reveals cosmic star factories' secrets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two galaxies in the early universe, which contain extremely productive star factories, have been studied by a team of scientists. Using powerful telescopes to split the galaxies' light into individual colors, the scientists were amazed to discover light from many different molecules -- more than ever before at such distances. Studies like this could revolutionize our understanding of the lives of the most active galaxies when the universe was young, the researchers believe.