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Categories: Geoscience: Geology, Space: Astrophysics

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New theoretical research has shown that Stephen Hawking was likely right about black holes, although not completely. Due to Hawking radiation, black holes will eventually evaporate, but the event horizon is not as crucial as had been believed. Gravity and the curvature of spacetime cause this radiation too. This means that all large objects in the universe, like the remnants of stars, will eventually evaporate.

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In the early 1980s, astronomers discovered gigantic, one-dimensional filaments dangling vertically near Sagittarius A*, our galaxy's central supermassive black hole. Now, astronomers have discovered a new population of filaments -- but these threads are much shorter and lie horizontally or radially, spreading out like spokes on a wheel from the black hole.

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The seafloor is home to around one-third of all the microorganisms on the Earth and is inhabited even at a depth of several kilometers. Only when it becomes too hot does the abundance of microorganisms appear to decline. But how, and from what, do microorganisms in the deep seafloor live? How do their metabolic cycles work and how do the individual members of these buried communities interact? Researchers have now been able to demonstrate in laboratory cultures how small, liquid components of crude oil are broken down through a new mechanism by a group of microorganisms called archaea.

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Underwater volcanism and its hydrothermal activity play an important role in marine biogeochemical cycles, especially the carbon cycle. But the nature of hydrothermal activity at 'petit-spot' volcanoes have not been revealed at all. Now, scientists reveal that petit-spot hydrothermal activity occurs on the deepest seafloor known to date and could release carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane, which may have implications for the global carbon cycle.

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After the Big Bang, the universe expanded and cooled sufficiently for hydrogen atoms to form. In the absence of light from the first stars and galaxies, the universe entered a period known as the cosmic dark ages. The first stars and galaxies appeared several hundred million years later and began burning away the hydrogen fog left over from the Big Bang, rendering the universe transparent, like it is today. Researchers have now confirmed the existence of a distant, faint galaxy typical of those whose light burned through the hydrogen atoms; the finding should help them understand how the cosmic dark ages ended.

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Research using the world's most energetic laser has shed light on the properties of highly compressed matter -- essential to understanding the structure of giant planets and stars, and to develop controlled nuclear fusion, a process that could harvest carbon-free energy.

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The ground beneath Antarctica's most vulnerable glacier has now been mapped, helping scientists to better understand how it is being affected by climate change. Analysis of the geology below the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica shows there is less sedimentary rock than expected -- a finding that could affect how the ice slides and melts in the coming decades.

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A graduate student is spearheading an extraordinary scientific endeavor -- a groundbreaking mission to uncover periodic signals emanating from the core of the Milky Way called the Breakthrough Listen Investigation for Periodic Spectral Signals (BLIPSS). Such repetitive patterns could be the key to unlocking the mysteries of extraterrestrial intelligence in our galaxy.

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A third of the exoplanets orbiting common M dwarf stars have gentle enough orbits to potentially be in the habitable zone capable of hosting liquid water.

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Black hole jets are known to emit x-rays, but how they accelerate particles to this high-energy state is still a mystery. Surprising new findings appear to rule out a leading theory, opening the door to reimagining how particle acceleration works. One model of how jets generate x-rays expects the jets' x-ray emissions to remain stable over long time scales. However, the new paper found that the x-ray emissions of a statistically significant number of jets varied over just a few years.

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Astronomers are suggesting a new way to expand the search for habitable planets that takes into account a zone not previously considered: the space between the star and what's called soot-line in planet-forming disks.

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A study presents the detection of a system of two planets slightly larger than Earth orbiting a cold star in a synchronized dance. Named TOI-2096, the system is located 150 light-years from Earth. This system, located 150 light-years from Earth, is one of the best candidates for a detailed study of their atmosphere with the JWST space telescope.

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A new study of the freshwater greenfin darter fish suggests river erosion can be a driver of biodiversity in tectonically inactive regions.

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The latest observations from Low Earth Orbit with the International Space Station provide further evidence of spectral hardening and softening of cosmic ray particles.

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A new study suggests iron-rich ancient sediments may have helped cause some of the largest volcanic events in the planet's history.

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A new study has used global storm-resolving simulations and machine learning to create an algorithm that can deal separately with two different scales of cloud organization: those resolved by a climate model, and those that cannot be resolved as they are too small. This new approach addresses the missing piece of information in traditional climate model parameterizations and provides a way to predict precipitation intensity and variability more precisely.

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A new study concludes that an extinct volcano off the shore of Portugal could store as much as 1.2-8.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of ~24-125 years of the country's industrial emissions. For context, in 2022 a total of 42.6 megatons (0.0426 gigatons) of carbon dioxide was removed from the atmosphere by international carbon capture and storage efforts, according to the Global CCS Institute. The new study suggests that carbon capture and storage in offshore underwater volcanoes could be a promising new direction for removal and storage of much larger volumes of the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.

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Astronomers have come up with what they say is some of their best evidence yet for the presence of a rare class of 'intermediate-sized' black hole that may be lurking in the heart of the closest globular star cluster to Earth, located 6,000 light-years away.

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Scientists working in the lab have produced a signature nuclear reaction that occurs on the surface of a neutron star gobbling mass from a companion star. Their achievement improves understanding of stellar processes generating diverse nuclear isotopes.

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Researchers found that the Hunga-Tonga eruption was associated with the formation of an equatorial plasma bubble in the ionosphere, a phenomenon associated with disruption of satellite-based communications. Their findings also suggest that a long-held atmospheric model should be revised.