Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

Predatory dinosaurs such as T. rex sported lizard-like lips      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study suggests that predatory dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, did not have permanently exposed teeth as depicted in films such as Jurassic Park, but instead had scaly, lizard-like lips covering and sealing their mouths.

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.

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.

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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

How the 'marsupial sabertooth' thylacosmilus saw its world      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study investigates how an extinct, carnivorous marsupial relative with canines so large they extended across the top of its skull could hunt effectively despite having wide-set eyes, like a cow or a horse. The skulls of carnivores typically have forward-facing eye sockets, or orbits, which helps enable stereoscopic (3D) vision, a useful adaptation for judging the position of prey before pouncing. Scientists studied whether the 'marsupial sabertooth' Thylacosmilus atrox could see in 3D at all.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Extensive catalog of exploding stars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The largest data release of relatively nearby supernovae (colossal explosions of stars), containing three years of data is publicly available via the Young Supernova Experiment (YSE).

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

Webb Telescope captures rarely seen prelude to supernova      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The rare sight of a Wolf-Rayet star -- among the most luminous, most massive, and most briefly detectable stars known -- was one of the first observations made by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in June 2022. Webb shows the star, WR 124, in unprecedented detail with its powerful infrared instruments. The star is 15,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: General Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General
Published

Spatial patterns in distribution of galaxies      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In an unlikely pairing, a chemist and an astrophysicist applied the tools of statistical mechanics to find similarities in spatial patterns across length scales.

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

Ultracool dwarf binary stars break records      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astrophysicists have discovered the tightest ultracool dwarf binary system ever observed. The two stars are so close that it takes them less than one Earth day to revolve around each other. In other words, each star's 'year' lasts just 17 hours.

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

AI draws most accurate map of star birthplaces in the Galaxy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists identified about 140,000 molecular clouds in the Milky Way Galaxy from large-scale data of carbon monoxide molecules, observed in detail by the Nobeyama 45-m radio telescope. Using artificial intelligence, the researchers estimated the distance of each of these molecular clouds to determine their size and mass, successfully mapping the distribution of the molecular clouds in the Galaxy in the most detailed manner to date.

Biology: Evolutionary Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Parental investment may have aided evolution of larger brains      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A review of evidence from prior research provides new support for the possibility that the evolution of larger brains in some species was enabled through increased energy investment by parents in their offspring.

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

Galactic explosion offers astrophysicists new insight into the cosmos      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope's first year of interstellar observation, an international team of researchers was able to serendipitously view an exploding supernova in a faraway spiral galaxy.

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

Astronomers discover metal-rich galaxies in early universe      (via sciencedaily.com) 

While analyzing data from the first images of a well-known early galaxy taken by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers discovered a companion galaxy previously hidden behind the light of the foreground galaxy -- one that surprisingly seems to have already hosted multiple generations of stars despite its young age, estimated at 1.4 billion years old.

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

New discovery sheds light on very early supermassive black holes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers have discovered a rapidly growing black hole in one of the most extreme galaxies known in the very early Universe. The discovery of the galaxy and the black hole at its center provides new clues on the formation of the very first supermassive black holes.

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

Discovery of massive early galaxies defies prior understanding of the universe      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Six massive galaxies discovered in the early universe are upending what scientists previously understood about the origins of galaxies in the universe.