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

New type of star gives clues to mysterious origin of magnetars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Magnetars are the strongest magnets in the Universe. These super-dense dead stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields can be found all over our galaxy but astronomers don't know exactly how they form. Now, using multiple telescopes around the world, researchers have uncovered a living star that is likely to become a magnetar. This finding marks the discovery of a new type of astronomical object -- massive magnetic helium stars -- and sheds light on the origin of magnetars.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General
Published

Using supernovae to study neutrinos' strange properties      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In a new study, researchers have taken an important step toward understanding how exploding stars can help reveal how neutrinos, mysterious subatomic particles, secretly interact with themselves.

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

Webb reveals colors of Earendel, most distant star ever detected      (via sciencedaily.com) 

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has followed up on observations by the Hubble Space Telescope of the farthest star ever detected in the very distant universe, within the first billion years after the big bang. Webb's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument reveals the star to be a massive B-type star more than twice as hot as our Sun, and about a million times more luminous.

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

Gravitational arcs in 'El Gordo' galaxy cluster      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new image of the galaxy cluster known as 'El Gordo' is revealing distant and dusty objects never seen before, and providing a bounty of fresh science. The infrared image displays a variety of unusual, distorted background galaxies that were only hinted at in previous Hubble Space Telescope images.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

New clues on the source of the universe's magnetic fields      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers offer insight into the source of cosmic magnetic fields. The research team used models to show that magnetic fields may spontaneously arise in turbulent plasma. Their simulations showed that, in addition to generating new magnetic fields, the turbulence of those plasmas can also amplify magnetic fields once they've been generated, which helps explain how magnetic fields that originate on small scales can sometimes eventually reach to stretch across vast distances.

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

Galaxy J1135 reveals its water map      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers look at water in galaxies, its distribution and in particular its changes of state from ice to vapor, as important markers indicating areas of increased energy, in which black holes and stars are formed. A new study has now revealed the distribution of water within the J1135 galaxy, which is 12 billion light years away and formed when the Universe was a 'teenager', 1.8 billion years after the Big Bang . This water map, with unprecedented resolution, is the first ever to be obtained for such a remote galaxy. The map can help scientists to understand the physical processes taking place within J1135 and shed light on the dynamics, still partially unclear, surrounding the formation of stars, black holes and galaxies themselves.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Flying reptiles had nurturing parental style      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Did the pterosaurs, flying reptiles from the days of the dinosaurs, practice parental care or not? New research shows that pterosaurs were indeed caring parents -- but only the larger species.

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

The puzzle of the galaxy with no dark matter      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research has found the first evidence of a massive galaxy with no dark matter. The result is a challenge to the current standard model of cosmology.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Unusual fossil shows rare evidence of a mammal attacking a dinosaur      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have described an unusual fossil from around 125 million years ago in China that shows a dramatic moment in time when a carnivorous mammal attacked a larger plant-eating dinosaur. The two animals are locked in mortal combat, and it's among the first evidence to show actual predatory behavior by a mammal on a dinosaur. The fossil's presence challenges the view that dinosaurs had few threats from their mammal contemporaries during the Cretaceous, when dinosaurs were the dominant animals.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Giant swirling waves at edge of Jupiter's magnetosphere      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team has found that NASA's Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter frequently encounters giant swirling waves at the boundary between the solar wind and Jupiter's magnetosphere. The waves are an important process for transferring energy and mass from the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emitted by the Sun, to planetary space environments.

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

James Webb Telescope catches glimpse of possible first-ever 'dark stars'      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Three bright objects initially identified as galaxies in observations from the James Webb Space Telescope might actually represent an exotic new form of star. If confirmed, the discovery would also shed light on the nature of dark matter.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Ice Age saber-tooth cats and dire wolves suffered from diseased joints      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ice Age saber-tooth cats and dire wolves experienced a high incidence of bone disease in their joints, according to new research.

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

Webb celebrates first year of science with close-up on birth of sun-like stars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

From our cosmic backyard in the solar system to distant galaxies near the dawn of time, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has delivered on its promise of revealing the universe like never before in its first year of science operations. To celebrate the completion of a successful first year, NASA has released Webb's image of a small star-forming region in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Tiny scales reveal megalodon was not as fast as believed, but it had a mega-appetite explaining its gigantism      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reveals the iconic extinct Megalodon, or 'megatooth shark', was a rather slow cruiser that used its warm-bloodedness to facilitate digestion and absorption of nutrients.

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

Reinventing cosmology: New research puts age of universe at 26.7 -- not 13.7 -- billion years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Our universe could be twice as old as current estimates, according to a new study that challenges the dominant cosmological model and sheds new light on the so-called 'impossible early galaxy problem.'

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Evolutionary origins of the pygmy right whale      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have finally settled a decades-long dispute about the evolutionary origins of the pygmy right whale.

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

Webb Telescope detects most distant active supermassive black hole      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered the most distant active supermassive black hole to date with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The galaxy, CEERS 1019, existed about 570 million years after the big bang, and its black hole is less massive than any other yet identified in the early universe.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Fossils reveal how ancient birds molted their feathers -- which could help explain why ancestors of modern birds survived when all the other dinosaurs died      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Birds are the only group of dinosaurs that survived the asteroid-induced mass extinction 66 million years ago. But not all the birds alive at the time made it. Why the ancestors of modern birds lived while so many of their relatives died has been a mystery that paleontologists have been trying to solve for decades. Two new studies point to one possible factor: the differences between how modern birds and their ancient cousins molt their feathers.

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

Webb locates dust reservoirs in two supernovae      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have made major strides in confirming the source of dust in early galaxies. Observations of two Type II supernovae, Supernova 2004et (SN 2004et) and Supernova 2017eaw (SN 2017eaw), have revealed large amounts of dust within the ejecta of each of these objects. The mass found by researchers supports the theory that supernovae played a key role in supplying dust to the early universe.

Offbeat: Space Space: Cosmology
Published

Quasar 'clocks' show Universe was five times slower soon after the Big Bang      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Quasars are the supermassive black holes at the centres of early galaxies. Scientists have unlocked their secrets to use them as 'clocks' to measure time near the beginning of the universe.