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

Three iron rings in a planet-forming disk      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have detected a three-ringed structure in the nursery of planets in the inner planet-forming disk of a young star. This configuration suggests two Jupiter-mass planets are forming in the gaps between the rings. The detailed analysis is consistent with abundant solid iron grains complementing the dust composition. As a result, the disk likely harbors metals and minerals akin to those in the Solar System's terrestrial planets. It offers a glimpse into conditions resembling the early Solar System over four billion years ago during the formation of rocky planets such as Mercury, Venus, and Earth.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Accounting for plastic persistence can minimize environmental impacts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a sustainability metric for the ecological design of plastic products that have low persistence in the environment. Adhering to this metric could provide substantial environmental and societal benefits, according to a new study.

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

Space oddity: Uncovering the origin of the universe's rare radio circles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers believe they may have found the origin of the universe's giant odd radio circles: they are shells formed by outflowing galactic winds, possibly from massive exploding stars known as supernovae.

Ecology: Animals Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Use of habitat for agricultural purposes puts primate infants at risk      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Frequent visits to oil palm plantations are leading to a sharp increase in mortality rates among infant southern pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) in the wild, according to a new study. In addition to increased risk from predators and human encounters, exposure to harmful agricultural chemicals in this environment may negatively affect infant development.

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Monitoring the well-being of reservoir water through an uncrewed surface vehicle      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a recent tragic incident, approximately 100 elephants in Africa perished due to inadequate access to water. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) issues a warning that around 2.5 billion people worldwide could face water scarcity by 2025. In the face of water shortages affecting not only human society but also the entire ecological community due to the climate crisis, it becomes crucial to adopt comprehensive measures for managing water quality and quantity to avert such pressing challenges.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General
Published

Conflict in full swing: Forest bats avoid large areas around fast-moving wind turbines      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Not only do many bats die at wind turbines, the turbines also displace some species from their habitats over large areas. When the turbines are in operation at relatively high wind speeds, the activity of bat species that hunt in structurally dense habitats such as forests drops by almost 80 per cent within a radius of 80 to 450 meters around the turbine.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General
Published

The choreography connecting kelp forests to the beach      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study uncovers a symphony of synchrony between the kelp forest and beach, with broader implications for the beach food web as the climate changes.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Microbial awakening restructures high-latitude food webs as permafrost thaws      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Wildlife biologists used a novel technique to trace the movement of carbon through Arctic and boreal forest food webs and found that climate warming resulted in a shift from plant-based food webs to fungal-based food webs for several high-latitude species, with potential indirect effects on nutrient cycling and ecosystem function.

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

Magnetic fields in the cosmos: Dark matter could help us discover their origin      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

We don't know how magnetic fields in the cosmos formed. Now a new theoretical research tells how the invisible part of our universe could help us find out, suggesting a primordial genesis, even within a second of the Big Bang.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Understanding climate mobilities: New study examines perspectives from South Florida practitioners      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent study assessed the perspectives of 76 diverse South Florida climate adaptation professionals. A new study explores the expectations and concerns of practitioners from the private sector, community-based organizations, and government agencies about the region's ability to adapt in the face of increasing sea level rise and diverse consequences for where people live and move, also known as climate mobility.

Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

A carbon-lite atmosphere could be a sign of water and life on other terrestrial planets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Best chance of finding liquid water, and even life on other planets, is to look for the absence of carbon dioxide in their atmospheres.

Anthropology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires
Published

Western Cascades landscapes in Oregon historically burned more often than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Forests on the west slope of Oregon's Cascade Range experienced fire much more often between 1500 and 1895 than had been previously thought.

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

Further evidence for quark-matter cores in massive neutron stars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New theoretical analysis places the likelihood of massive neutron stars hiding cores of deconfined quark matter between 80 and 90 percent. The result was reached through massive supercomputer runs utilizing Bayesian statistical inference.

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

Hubble sights a galaxy with 'forbidden' light      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A whirling image features a bright spiral galaxy known as MCG-01-24-014, which is located about 275 million light-years from Earth. In addition to being a well-defined spiral galaxy, MCG-01-24-014 has an extremely energetic core known as an active galactic nucleus (AGN) and is categorized as a Type-2 Seyfert galaxy. Seyfert galaxies, along with quasars, host one of the most common subclasses of AGN. While the precise categorization of AGNs is nuanced, Seyfert galaxies tend to be relatively nearby and their central AGN does not outshine its host, while quasars are very distant AGNs with incredible luminosities that outshine their host galaxies.

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

Researchers study a million galaxies to find out how the universe began      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have analyzed more than one million galaxies to explore primordial fluctuations that seeded the formation of the structure of the entire universe.

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

Astronomers detect seismic ripples in ancient galactic disk      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

 A new snapshot of an ancient, far-off galaxy could help scientists understand how it formed and the origins of our own Milky Way.   At more than 12 billion years old, BRI 1335-0417 is the oldest and furthest known spiral galaxy in our universe. The researchers were able to not only capture the motion of the gas around BRI 1335-0417, but also reveal a seismic wave forming -- a first in this type of early galaxy.  

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

New 1.5-billion-pixel image shows Running Chicken Nebula in unprecedented detail      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While many holiday traditions involve feasts of turkey, soba noodles, latkes or Pan de Pascua, this year, the European Southern Observatory is bringing you a holiday chicken. The so-called Running Chicken Nebula, home to young stars in the making, is revealed in spectacular detail in this 1.5-billion-pixel image captured by the VLT Survey Telescope.