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Categories: Ecology: Research, Offbeat: Space
Published Precision instrument bolsters efforts to find elusive dark energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Dark energy -- a mysterious force pushing the universe apart at an ever-increasing rate -- was discovered 26 years ago, and ever since, scientists have been searching for a new and exotic particle causing the expansion. Physicists combined an optical lattice with an atom interferometer to hold atoms in place for up to 70 seconds -- a record for an atom interferometer -- allowing them to more precisely test for deviations from the accepted theory of gravity that could be caused by dark energy particles such as chameleons or symmetrons. Though they detected no anomalies, they're improving the experiment to perform more sensitive tests of gravity, including whether gravity is quantized.
Published Future risk of coral bleaching set to intensify globally
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have projected future marine heatwaves will cause coral reefs to be at severe risk of bleaching for longer periods than previously seen.
Published Shocked quartz reveals evidence of historical cosmic airburst
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers continue to expand the case for the Younger Dryas Impact hypothesis. The idea proposes that a fragmented comet smashed into the Earth's atmosphere 12,800 years ago, causing a widespread climatic shift that, among other things, led to the abrupt reversal of the Earth's warming trend and into an anomalous near-glacial period called the Younger Dryas.
Published Pillars of creation star in new visualization from NASA's Hubble and Webb telescopes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Made famous in 1995 by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the Pillars of Creation in the heart of the Eagle Nebula have captured imaginations worldwide with their arresting, ethereal beauty. Now, NASA has released a new 3D visualization of these towering celestial structures using data from NASA's Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. This is the most comprehensive and detailed multiwavelength movie yet of these star-birthing clouds.
Published Plankton researchers urge their colleagues to mix it up
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new article encourages researchers to focus their attention on mixoplankton, providing a set of methodologies to help expand our understanding of this critically important component of the marine ecosystem.
Published Surprising phosphate finding in NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Early analysis of the asteroid Bennu sample returned by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has revealed dust rich in carbon, nitrogen, and organic compounds, all of which are essential components for life as we know it. Dominated by clay minerals, particularly serpentine, the sample mirrors the type of rock found at mid-ocean ridges on Earth. The magnesium-sodium phosphate found in the sample hints that the asteroid could have splintered off from an ancient, small, primitive ocean world.
Published Frog 'saunas' a lifeline for endangered frog populations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New biologist-designed shelters will help endangered frogs survive the devastating impacts of a deadly fungal disease by regulating their body temperature to fight off infections.
Published Telltale greenhouse gases could signal alien activity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source If aliens modified a planet in their solar system to make it warmer, we'd be able to tell. A new study identifies the artificial greenhouse gases that would be giveaways of a terraformed planet.
Published First of its kind detection made in striking new Webb image
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For the first time, a phenomenon astronomers have long hoped to directly image has been captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). In this stunning image of the Serpens Nebula, the discovery lies in the northern area of this young, nearby star-forming region.
Published Geologists expect Chang'e-6 lunar surface samples to contain volcanic rock and impact ejecta
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source On June 25, China's Chang'e-6 (CE-6) lunar probe is set to return to Earth, carrying the first surface samples collected from the farside of the Moon. In anticipation of this historic event, scientists are publishing their predictions for the unique materials that may be found in the CE-6 samples.
Published Fuel treatments reduce future wildfire severity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There is a common belief that prescribed burning, thinning trees, and clearing underbrush reduce risks of the severity of future fires. But is that true? A new project analyzing 40 studies where wildfire burned into different vegetation treatments, spanning 11 western states. Researchers found overwhelming evidence that in seasonally dry mixed conifer forests in the western U.S., reducing surface and ladder fuels and tree density through thinning, coupled with prescribed burning or pile burning, could reduce future wildfire severity by more than 60% relative to untreated areas.
Published A hidden treasure in the Milky Way -- Astronomers uncover ultrabright x-ray source
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers uncovered that a well-known X-ray binary, whose exact nature has been a mystery to scientists until now, is actually a hidden ultraluminous X-ray source.
Published Star clusters observed within a galaxy in the early Universe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The history of how stars and galaxies came to be and evolved into the present day remains among the most challenging astrophysical questions to solve yet, but new research brings us closer to understanding it. New insights about young galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization have been revealed. Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of the galaxy Cosmic Gems arc (SPT0615-JD) have confirmed that the light of the galaxy was emitted 460 million years after the big bang. What makes this galaxy unique is that it is magnified through an effect called gravitational lensing, which has not been observed in other galaxies formed during that age.
Published Boosting biodiversity without hurting local economies
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Protected areas, like nature reserves, can conserve biodiversity without harming local economic growth, countering a common belief that conservation restricts development. A new study outlines what is needed for conservation to benefit both nature and people.
Published Iron meteorites hint that our infant solar system was more doughnut than dartboard
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Iron meteorites are remnants of the metallic cores of the earliest asteroids in our solar system. Iron meteorites contain refractory metals, such as iridium and platinum, that formed near the sun but were transported to the outer solar system. New research shows that for this to have happened, the protoplanetary disk of our solar system had to have been doughnut-shaped because the refractory metals could not have crossed the large gaps in a target-shaped disk of concentric rings. The paper suggests that the refractory metals moved outward as the protoplanetary disk rapidly expanded, and were trapped in the outer solar system by Jupiter.
Published Supermassive black hole appears to grow like a baby star
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Supermassive black holes pose unanswered questions for astronomers around the world, not least 'How do they grow so big?' Now, an international team of astronomers has discovered a powerful rotating, magnetic wind that they believe is helping a galaxy's central supermassive black hole to grow. The swirling wind, revealed with the help of the ALMA telescope in nearby galaxy ESO320-G030, suggests that similar processes are involved both in black hole growth and the birth of stars.
Published Titan's lakes may be shaped by waves
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Geologists studied Titan's shorelines and showed through simulations that coastlines of the moon's methane- and ethane-filled seas have likely been shaped by waves. Until now, scientists have found indirect and conflicting signs of wave activity, based on Cassini images of Titan's surface.
Published Jupiter's great red spot is not the same one Cassini observed in 1600s
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Jupiter's iconic Great Red Spot has persisted for at least 190 years and is likely a different spot from the one observed by the astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1665, a new study reports. The Great Red Spot we see today likely formed because of an instability in the planet's intense atmospheric winds, producing a long, persistent atmospheric cell, the study also finds.
Published Non-native plants and animals expanding ranges 100 times faster than native species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of scientists has recently found that non-native species are expanding their ranges many orders of magnitude faster than native ones, in large part due to inadvertent human help. Even seemingly sedentary non-native plants are moving at three times the speed of their native counterparts in a race where, because of the rapid pace of climate change and its effect on habitat, speed matters. To survive, plants and animals need to be shifting their ranges by 3.25 kilometers per year just to keep up with the increasing temperatures and associated climactic shifts -- a speed that native species cannot manage without human help.
Published What happens when neutron stars collide?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New simulations show that hot neutrinos created at the interface of merging binary neutron stars are briefy trapped and remain out of equilibrium with the cold cores of the stars for 2 to 3 milliseconds.