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Published

With unprecedented flares, stellar corpse shows signs of life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

After a distant star's explosive death, an active stellar corpse was the likely source of repeated energetic flares observed over several months -- a phenomenon astronomers had never seen before, astronomers report.

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

James Webb Space Telescope detects water vapor, sulfur dioxide and sand clouds in the atmosphere of a nearby exoplanet      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have used recent observations made with the James Webb Space Telescope to study the atmosphere of the nearby exoplanet WASP-107b. Peering deep into the fluffy atmosphere of WASP-107b they discovered not only water vapor and sulfur dioxide, but even silicate sand clouds. These particles reside within a dynamic atmosphere that exhibits vigorous transport of material.

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

Downloading NASA's dark matter data from above the clouds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Data from a NASA mission to map dark matter around galaxy clusters has been saved by a new recovery system. The system allowed the retrieval of gigabytes of information, even after communication failed and the balloon-based telescope was damaged in the landing process.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

'Bouncing' comets could deliver building blocks for life to exoplanets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How did the molecular building blocks for life end up on Earth? One long-standing theory is that they could have been delivered by comets. Now, researchers have shown how comets could deposit similar building blocks to other planets in the galaxy.

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

Galactic 'lightsabers': Answering longstanding questions about jets from black holes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The one thing everyone knows about black holes is that absolutely everything nearby gets sucked into them. Almost everything, it turns out. Astrophysicists have now determined conclusively that energy close to the event horizon of black hole M87* is pushing outward, not inward. The researchers have also created a way to test the prediction that black holes lose rotational energy and to establish it's that energy that produces the incredibly powerful jets.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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New study reveals surprising insights into feeding habits of carnivorous dinosaurs in North America      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research sheds light on the dining habits of ancient carnivorous dinosaurs from Jurassic rocks of the USA. A recent study explores the bite marks left on the ancient bones of the giant long-necked sauropod dinosaurs like Diplodocus and Brontosaurus by carnivorous theropod dinosaurs.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Tracking down quantum flickering of the vacuum      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Absolutely empty -- that is how most of us envision the vacuum. Yet, in reality, it is filled with an energetic flickering: the quantum fluctuations. Experts are currently preparing a laser experiment intended to verify these vacuum fluctuations in a novel way, which could potentially provide clues to new laws in physics. A research team has developed a series of proposals designed to help conduct the experiment more effectively -- thus increasing the chances of success.

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Published

Second-most distant galaxy discovered using James Webb Space Telescope      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The second- and fourth-most distant galaxies ever observed have been discovered in a region of space known as Pandora's Cluster, or Abell 2744, using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

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

Milky Way-like galaxy found in the early universe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have discovered the most distant barred spiral galaxy, similar to the Milky Way, that has been observed to date.

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

Extended habitability of exoplanets due to subglacial water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research promises to redefine our comprehension of habitable exoplanets. A recent study introduces the concept of subglacial liquid water as a pivotal element in broadening the boundaries of the conventional Habitable Zone.

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

Scientists find 14 new transient objects in space by peering through the 'Christmas Tree Galaxy Cluster'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered 14 new transient objects during their time-lapse study of galaxy cluster MACS0416 -- located about 4.3 billion light years from Earth -- which they've dubbed as the 'Christmas Tree Galaxy Cluster.'

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Published

Mystery resolved: Black hole feeding and feedback at the center of an active galaxy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Almost every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its center. An international research team has recently observed the Circinus galaxy, which is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way, with high enough resolution to gain further insights into the gas flows to and from the black hole at its galactic nucleus.

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

Black holes are messy eaters      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New observations down to light-year scale of the gas flows around a supermassive black hole have successfully detected dense gas inflows and shown that only a small portion (about 3 percent) of the gas flowing towards the black hole is eaten by the black hole. The remainder is ejected and recycled back into the host galaxy.

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

Researchers find gravitational lensing has significant effect on cosmic birefringence      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Future missions will be able to find signatures of violating the parity-symmetry in the cosmic microwave background polarization more accurately after a pair of researchers has managed to take into account the gravitational lensing effect, reports a new study.

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

Exploding stars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When massive stars or other stellar objects explode in the Earth's cosmic neighborhood, ejected debris can also reach our solar system. Traces of such events are found on Earth or the Moon and can be detected using accelerator mass spectrometry, or AMS for short.

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

Giant planets cast a deadly pall      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Giant gas planets can be agents of chaos, ensuring nothing lives on their Earth-like neighbors around other stars. New studies show, in some planetary systems, the giants tend to kick smaller planets out of orbit and wreak havoc on their climates.

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Published

The Crab Nebula seen in new light by NASA's Webb      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has gazed at the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Since the recording of this energetic event in 1054 CE by 11th-century astronomers, the Crab Nebula has continued to draw attention and additional study as scientists seek to understand the conditions, behavior, and after-effects of supernovae through thorough study of the Crab, a relatively nearby example.

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

Uranus aurora discovery offers clues to habitable icy worlds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers confirm the existence of an infrared (IR) aurora on Uranus. This could help astronomers identify exoplanets that might support life, a large number of which are icy worlds.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Venus had Earth-like plate tectonics billions of years ago, study suggests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Venus, may have once had tectonic plate movements similar to those believed to have occurred on early Earth, a new study found. The finding sets up tantalizing scenarios regarding the possibility of early life on Venus, its evolutionary past and the history of the solar system.