Showing 20 articles starting at article 401
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Paleontology: Climate, Space: Astrophysics
Published Bursting air bubbles may play a key role in how glacier ice melts



New research has uncovered a possible clue as to why glaciers that terminate at the sea are retreating at unprecedented rates: the bursting of tiny, pressurized bubbles in underwater ice.
Published New cosmological constraints on the nature of dark matter


New research has revealed the distribution of dark matter in never before seen detail, down to a scale of 30,000 light-years. The observed distribution fluctuations provide better constraints on the nature of dark matter.
Published Stability inspection for West Antarctica shows: marine ice sheet is not destabilized yet, but possibly on a path to tipping



Antarctica's vast ice masses seem far away, yet they store enough water to raise global sea levels by several meters. A team of experts has now provided the first systematic stability inspection of the ice sheet's current state. Their diagnosis: While they found no indication of irreversible, self-reinforcing retreat of the ice sheet in West Antarctica yet, global warming to date could already be enough to trigger the slow but certain loss of ice over the next hundreds to thousands of years.
Published Furthest ever detection of a galaxy's magnetic field


Astronomers have detected the magnetic field of a galaxy so far away that its light has taken more than 11 billion years to reach us: we see it as it was when the Universe was just 2.5 billion years old. The result provides astronomers with vital clues about how the magnetic fields of galaxies like our own Milky Way came to be.
Published Vast bubble of galaxies discovered, given Hawaiian name



The immense bubble is 820 million light years from Earth and believed to be a fossil-like remnant of the birth of the universe.
Published Webb reveals new structures within iconic supernova


NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has begun the study of one of the most renowned supernovae, SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A). Located 168,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, SN 1987A has been a target of intense observations at wavelengths ranging from gamma rays to radio for nearly 40 years, since its discovery in February of 1987. New observations by Webb's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) provide a crucial clue to our understanding of how a supernova develops over time to shape its remnant.
Published Unprecedented gamma-ray burst explained by long-lived jet


While astrophysicists previously believed that only supernovae could generate long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), a 2021 observation uncovered evidence that compact-object mergers also can generate the phenomenon. Now, a new simulation confirms and explains this finding. If the accretion disk around the black hole is massive, it launches a jet that lasts several seconds, matching the description of a long GRB from a merger.
Published Telescopes help unravel pulsar puzzle


With a remarkable observational campaign that involved 12 telescopes both on the ground and in space, including three European Southern Observatory (ESO) facilities, astronomers have uncovered the strange behavior of a pulsar, a super-fast-spinning dead star. This mysterious object is known to switch between two brightness modes almost constantly, something that until now has been an enigma. But astronomers have now found that sudden ejections of matter from the pulsar over very short periods are responsible for the peculiar switches.
Published Mysterious Neptune dark spot detected from Earth for the first time


Using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have observed a large dark spot in Neptune's atmosphere, with an unexpected smaller bright spot adjacent to it. This is the first time a dark spot on the planet has ever been observed with a telescope on Earth. These occasional features in the blue background of Neptune's atmosphere are a mystery to astronomers, and the new results provide further clues as to their nature and origin.
Published Rewriting the past and future of the universe



New research has improved the accuracy of the parameters governing the expansion of the Universe. More accurate parameters will help astronomers determine how the Universe grew to its current state, and how it will evolve in the future.
Published Scientists zero in on timing, causes of ice age mammal extinctions in southern California



Radiocarbon dating on bones in the La Brea Tar Pits lead archaeologists to warn that history may be repeating itself.
Published New type of star gives clues to mysterious origin of magnetars



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.
Published Using supernovae to study neutrinos' strange properties


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.
Published Key role of ice age cycles in early human interbreeding



Recent paleogenomic research revealed that interbreeding was common among early human species. However, little was known about when, where, and how often this hominin interbreeding took place. Using paleoanthropological evidence, genetic data, and supercomputer simulations of past climate, a team of international researchers has found that interglacial climates and corresponding shifts in vegetation created common habitats for Neanderthals and Denisovans, increasing their chances for interbreeding and gene flow in parts of Europe and central Asia.
Published Elephant ancestors´ teeth evolved in response to long term changes in diet and climate in Africa



A new study shows that the cheek teeth of proboscideans (elephants and their ancient relatives) evolved in response to dietary changes due to vegetation changes and climate change in East Africa during the last 26 million years.
Published A climate-orchestrated early human love story



A new study finds that past changes in atmospheric CO2 and corresponding shifts in climate and vegetation played a key role in determining when and where early human species interbred.
Published How a massive North Atlantic cooling event disrupted early human occupation in Europe



A new study finds that around 1.12 million years ago a massive cooling event in the North Atlantic and corresponding shifts in climate, vegetation and food resources disrupted early human occupation of Europe.
Published Webb reveals colors of Earendel, most distant star ever detected


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.
Published Drops of seawater contain traces of an ancient world



New research links chemical changes in seawater to volcanic activity and changes.
Published Then vs. now: Did the Horn of Africa reach a drought tipping point 11,700 years ago?



If climate models predict that much of tropical Africa will become wetter with a warming climate, then why does it keep getting drier in the Horn of Africa?