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

Hubble unexpectedly finds double quasar in distant universe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The early universe was a rambunctious place where galaxies often bumped into each other and even merged together. Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and other space and ground-based observatories, astronomers investigating these developments have made an unexpected and rare discovery: a pair of gravitationally bound quasars, both blazing away inside two merging galaxies. They existed when the universe was just 3 billion years old.

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

Do Earth-like exoplanets have magnetic fields? Far-off radio signal is promising sign      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Earth's magnetic field does more than keep everyone's compass needles pointed in the same direction. It also helps preserve Earth's sliver of life-sustaining atmosphere by deflecting high energy particles and plasma regularly blasted out of the sun. Researchers have now identified a prospective Earth-sized planet in another solar system as a prime candidate for also having a magnetic field -- YZ Ceti b, a rocky planet orbiting a star about 12 light-years away from Earth.

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

Galaxy clusters yield new evidence for standard model of cosmology      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study probing the structure and evolution of galaxy clusters shows good agreement with the predictions of standard cosmological models.

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

Molecules precursors to life discovered in the Perseus Cloud      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study has detected the presence of large quantities of complex organic molecules in one of the nearest star forming regions to the solar system.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ants took over the world by following flowering plants out of prehistoric forests      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Today, ants are pretty much everywhere. To learn more about how these insects conquered the world, scientists used a combination of fossils, DNA, and data on the habitat preferences of modern species to piece together how ants and plants have been evolving together over the past 60 million years. They found that when flowering plants spread out from forests, the ants followed, kicking off the evolution of the thousands of ant species alive today.

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

Scientists observe flattest explosion ever seen in space      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have observed an explosion 180 million light years away which challenges our current understanding of explosions in space, that appeared much flatter than ever thought possible.

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

'Taffy galaxies' collide, leave behind bridge of star-forming material      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, operated by NSF's NOIRLab, captured a dazzling image of UGC 12914 and UGC 12915, which are nicknamed the Taffy Galaxies. Their twisted shape is the result of a head-on collision that occurred about 25 million years prior to their appearance in the image. A bridge of highly turbulent gas devoid of significant star formation spans the gap between the two galaxies.

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

Astronomers witness the birth of a very distant cluster of galaxies from the early Universe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have discovered a large reservoir of hot gas in the still-forming galaxy cluster around the Spiderweb galaxy -- the most distant detection of such hot gas yet. Galaxy clusters are some of the largest objects known in the Universe and this result further reveals just how early these structures begin to form.

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

How cosmic winds transform galactic environments      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Much like how wind plays a key role in life on Earth by sweeping seeds, pollen and more from one place to another, galactic winds -- high-powered streams of charged particles and gases -- can change the chemical make-up of the host galaxies they form in, simply by blowing in a specific direction.

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

Brightest gamma-ray burst ever observed reveals new mysteries of cosmic explosions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists believe the gamma-ray emission, which lasted over 300 seconds, is the birth cry of a black hole, formed as the core of a massive and rapidly spinning star collapses under its own weight.

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

JWST confirms giant planet atmospheres vary widely      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers have found the atmospheric compositions of giant planets out in the galaxy do not fit our own solar system trend.

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

Temperature of a rocky exoplanet measured      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international team of researchers has used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to measure the temperature of the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b. The measurement is based on the planet's thermal emission: heat energy given off in the form of infrared light detected by Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). The result indicates that the planet's dayside has a temperature of about 500 kelvins (roughly 450 degrees Fahrenheit) and suggests that it has no significant atmosphere.

Anthropology: Cultures Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ancient genomes reveal immunity adaptation in early farmers      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Research has revealed that diversity in genes coding for immunity may have facilitated adaptation to farming lifestyles in prehistoric periods.

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

Artificial intelligence discovers secret equation for 'weighing' galaxy clusters      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astrophysicists have leveraged artificial intelligence to uncover a better way to estimate the mass of colossal clusters of galaxies. The AI discovered that by just adding a simple term to an existing equation, scientists can produce far better mass estimates than they previously had. The improved estimates will enable scientists to calculate the fundamental properties of the universe more accurately, the astrophysicists have reported.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

AI finds the first stars were not alone      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Machine learning and state-of-the-art supernova nucleosynthesis has helped researchers find that the majority of observed second-generation stars in the universe were enriched by multiple supernovae.

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

Surprisingly simple explanation for the alien comet 'Oumuamua's weird orbit      (via sciencedaily.com) 

When the first interstellar comet ever seen in our solar system was discovered in 2017, one characteristic -- an unexplained acceleration away from the sun -- sparked wild speculation, including that it was an alien spacecraft. An astrochemist found a simpler explanation and tested it with an astronomer: in interstellar space, cosmic rays converted water to hydrogen in the comet's outer layers. Nearing the sun, outgassed hydrogen gave the tiny comet a kick.

Energy: Nuclear Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Neutrinos made by a particle collider detected      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Physicists have detected neutrinos created by a particle collider. The discovery promises to deepen scientists' understanding of the subatomic particles, which were first spotted in 1956 and play a key role in the process that makes stars burn.