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Categories: Geoscience: Geology, Space: Astrophysics
Published Breaking ground: Could geometry offer a new explanation for why earthquakes happen?



Researchers are adding a new wrinkle to a long-held belief about what causes earthquakes in the first place.
Published Shape and depth of ocean floor profoundly influence how carbon is stored there



The movement of carbon between the atmosphere, oceans and continents -- or carbon cycle -- regulates Earth's climate, with the ocean playing a major role in carbon sequestration. A new study finds that the shape and depth of the ocean floor explain up to 50% of the changes in depth at which carbon has been sequestered there over the past 80 million years. While these changes have been previously attributed to other causes, the new finding could inform ongoing efforts to combat climate change through marine carbon sequestration.
Published Fresh findings: Earliest evidence of life-bringing freshwater on Earth



New research has found evidence that fresh water on Earth, which is essential for life, appeared about four billion years ago -- five hundred million years earlier than previously thought.
Published Medium and mighty: Intermediate-mass black holes can survive in globular clusters



New research demonstrated a possible formation mechanism of intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters, star clusters that could contain tens of thousands or even millions of tightly packed stars. The first ever star-by-star massive cluster-formation simulations revealed that sufficiently dense molecular clouds, the 'birthing nests' of star clusters, can give birth to very massive stars that evolve into intermediate-mass black holes.
Published NASA's James Webb Space Telescope finds most distant known galaxy



Over the last two years, scientists have used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to explore what astronomers refer to as Cosmic Dawn -- the period in the first few hundred million years after the big bang where the first galaxies were born.
Published The case of the missing black holes



Researchers have applied the well-understood and highly verified quantum field theory, usually applied to the study of the very small, to a new target, the early universe. Their exploration led to the conclusion that there ought to be far fewer miniature black holes than most models suggest, though observations to confirm this should soon be possible. The specific kind of black hole in question could be a contender for dark matter.
Published Earth scientists describe a new kind of volcanic eruption



By analyzing the dynamics of 12 back-to-back explosions that happened in 2018, researchers describe a new type of volcanic eruption mechanism. The explosions were driven by sudden pressure increases as the ground collapsed, which blasted plumes of rock fragments and hot gas into the air, much like a classic stomp-rocket toy.
Published Birth of universe's earliest galaxies observed for first time



Researchers have now seen the formation of three of the earliest galaxies in the universe, more than 13 billion years ago. The sensational discovery contributes important knowledge about the universe.
Published Intriguing nearby world sized between Earth, Venus



Astronomers have discovered a planet between the sizes of Earth and Venus only 40 light-years away.
Published First pictures from Euclid satellite reveal billions of orphan stars



The first scientific pictures from the Euclid satellite mission have revealed more than 1,500 billion orphan stars scattered throughout the Perseus cluster of galaxies.
Published Potentially habitable 'exo-Venus' with Earth-like temperature discovered



Astronomers have made the rare and tantalizing discovery of an Earth-like exoplanet 40 light-years away that may be just a little warmer than our own world. The potentially-habitable planet, named Gliese 12 b, orbits its host star every 12.8 days, is comparable in size to Venus -- so slightly smaller than Earth -- and has an estimated surface temperature of 42 C (107 F), which is lower than most of the 5,000-odd exoplanets confirmed so far. That is assuming it has no atmosphere, however, which is the crucial next step to establishing if it is habitable.
Published Using wobbling stellar material, astronomers measure the spin of a supermassive black hole for the first time



Astronomers have a new way to measure how fast a black hole spins, by using the wobbly aftermath from its stellar feasting. The results offer a new way to probe supermassive black holes and their evolution across the universe.
Published The origin of the sun's magnetic field could lie close to its surface



Surprise findings suggest sunspots and solar flares could be generated by a magnetic field within the Sun's outermost layers. If confirmed, the findings could help scientists better predict space weather.
Published New insights into the degradation dynamics of organic material in the seafloor



Many processes in the deep sea are not yet well understood, and the role of microbial communities in particular is often a big unknown. This includes, for example, how organic material that sinks from the water surface to the ocean floor is metabolised -- an important building block for a better understanding of the global carbon cycle.
Published Complete stellar collapse: Unusual star system proves that stars can die quietly



University of Copenhagen astrophysicists help explain a mysterious phenomenon, whereby stars suddenly vanish from the night sky. Their study of an unusual binary star system has resulted in convincing evidence that massive stars can completely collapse and become black holes without a supernova explosion.
Published Can coal mines be tapped for rare earth elements?



A team of geologists analyzed 3,500 samples taken in and around coal mines in Utah and Colorado. Their findings open the possibility that these mines could see a secondary resource stream in the form of rare earth metals used in renewable energy and numerous other high-tech applications.
Published Webb Telescope offers first glimpse of an exoplanet's interior



A surprisingly low amount of methane and a super-sized core hide within the cotton candy -- like planet WASP-107 b.
Published Extreme complexity in formation of rare earth mineral vital for tech industry



Researchers have unveiled that myriad, intricate factors influence the genesis and chemistry of bastnasite and rare earth carbonates, which are critically needed for today's tech industry and its hardware outputs. Their work unveils a newly acquired depth of understanding that had previously been unexplored in this field. In combination, the findings mark a significant advancement and promise to reshape our understanding of rare earth mineral formation.
Published Subduction zone splay faults compound hazards of great earthquakes



Groundbreaking research has provided new insight into the tectonic plate shifts that create some of the Earth's largest earthquakes and tsunamis.
Published Hubble views the dawn of a sun-like star



Looking like a glittering cosmic geode, a trio of dazzling stars blaze from the hollowed-out cavity of a reflection nebula in a new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The triple-star system is made up of the variable star HP Tau, HP Tau G2, and HP Tau G3. HP Tau is known as a T Tauri star, a type of young variable star that hasn't begun nuclear fusion yet but is beginning to evolve into a hydrogen-fueled star similar to our Sun.