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Categories: Paleontology: Climate, Space: Exploration

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

Dark matter halos measured around ancient quasars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

At the center of every galaxy is a supermassive black hole. Beyond a certain size, these become active, emitting huge amounts of radiation, and are then called quasars. It is thought these are activated by the presence of massive dark matter halos (DMH) surrounding the galaxy, directing matter towards the center, feeding the black hole. A team has now surveyed hundreds of ancient quasars and found this behavior is very consistent throughout history. This is surprising, as many large-scale processes show variation throughout the life of the universe, so the mechanism of quasar activation could have implications for the evolution of the entire universe.

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

The universe caught suppressing cosmic structure growth      (via sciencedaily.com) 

As the universe evolves, scientists expect large cosmic structures to grow at a certain rate: dense regions such as galaxy clusters would grow denser, while the void of space would grow emptier.

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

Water world? Methane, carbon dioxide in atmosphere of massive exoplanet      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new investigation with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope into K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, has revealed the presence of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and carbon dioxide. Webb's discovery adds to recent studies suggesting that K2-18 b could be a Hycean exoplanet, one which has the potential to possess a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean-covered surface.

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

Study hints at the existence of the closest black holes to Earth in the Hyades star cluster      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new article hints at the existence of several black holes in the Hyades cluster -- the closest open cluster to our solar system -- which would make them the closest black holes to Earth ever detected.

Biology: Microbiology Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

How to prevent biofilms in space      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In experiments aboard the International Space Station, a surface treatment developed engineers prevented the growth of microbial biofims. These films can damage equipment and potentially cause illness.

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

Ravenous black hole consumes three Earths'-worth of star every time it passes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Massive burst of X-rays detected by astronomers indicates material three times the mass of Earth burning up in a black hole. They observed a star like our own Sun being eaten away every time it orbits close. First time a Sun-like star being repeatedly disrupted by a low mass black hole has been seen, opening the possibility of a range of star and black hole combinations to be discovered.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Bursting air bubbles may play a key role in how glacier ice melts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Stability inspection for West Antarctica shows: marine ice sheet is not destabilized yet, but possibly on a path to tipping      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

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

Furthest ever detection of a galaxy's magnetic field      (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

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

Hot Jupiter blows its top      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The planet HAT-P-32b is losing so much of its atmospheric helium that the trailing gas tails are among the largest structures yet known any planet outside our solar system. Three-dimensional (3D) simulations helped model the flow of the planet's atmosphere. The scientists hope to widen their planet-observing net and survey 20 additional star systems to find more planets losing their atmosphere and learn about their evolution.

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

Webb reveals new structures within iconic supernova      (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

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

Telescopes help unravel pulsar puzzle      (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Neptune's disappearing clouds linked to the solar cycle      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers have uncovered a link between Neptune's shifting cloud abundance and the 11-year solar cycle, in which the waxing and waning of the Sun's entangled magnetic fields drives solar activity.

Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

How being in space impairs astronauts' immune system      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has examined how T cells of the immune system are affected by weightlessness. The results could explain why astronauts' T cells become less active and less effective at fighting infection.

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

Mysterious Neptune dark spot detected from Earth for the first time      (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

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

Rewriting the past and future of the universe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

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

New type of star gives clues to mysterious origin of magnetars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Key role of ice age cycles in early human interbreeding      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

Anthropology: Early Humans Biology: Evolutionary Paleontology: Climate
Published

Elephant ancestors´ teeth evolved in response to long term changes in diet and climate in Africa      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.