News Archive for December 2022

This Webb image shows the Pillars of Creation, a small star-forming region some 6,500 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / J. DePasquale, STScI / A. Pagan, STScI / A. M. Koekemoer, STScI.

Webb Team Releases Composite Image of Pillars of Creation

Dec 5, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers have combined Webb’s near-infrared image with the mid-infrared image, setting the iconic Pillars of Creation ablaze with new details. This...

Iberian owl-like plaques and local owl species: (a) engraved slate plaque found in Cerro de la Cabeza, Valencina de la Concepción, Sevilla, Spain; (b) wild little owl (Athene noctua) pictured in an agricultural area in Valencina de la Concepción in 2021; (c) slate plaque from Mértola, Alentejo, Portugal; the orifices on the upper part may have been used to insert actual feathers; (d) long-eared owl (Asio otus) with erected ear tufts, pictured in Valencina de la Concepción in 2021. Image credit: Juan J. Negro.

Iberian Owl-Shaped Plaques Were Toys Made by Copper Age Children: Study

Dec 5, 2022 by News Staff

In the Copper Age, around 5,000 years ago, owl-shaped, engraved plaques were produced massively in the southwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula. Researchers...

This Hubble image shows the young open star NGC 376. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / A. Nota / G. De Marchi.

Hubble Space Telescope Observes NGC 376

Dec 5, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced this beautiful image of NGC 376, a young open star cluster in the Small Magellanic...

Varrette et al. run an exploratory study on whether intentionally introduced cognitive behavioral therapy, delivered through the medium of TTRPG groups, could positively affect social skills, reduce anxiety symptoms and behaviors, and enhance the mental well-being of participants. Image credit: Edwin Francisco.

Tabletop Role-Playing Games Reduce Anxiety, New Research Shows

Dec 5, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

In new research, a team of scientists from the Bodhana Group and the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology explored whether intentionally introduced...

These images of Saturn’s moon Titan were captured by Webb’s NIRCam instrument on November 4, 2022. Left: image using F212N, a 2.12-micron filter sensitive to Titan’s lower atmosphere; the bright spots are prominent clouds in the northern hemisphere. Right: color composite image using a combination of NIRCam filters; several prominent surface features are labeled: Kraken Mare is thought to be a methane sea; Belet is composed of dark-colored sand dunes; Adiri is a bright albedo feature. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / A. Pagan, STScI / Webb Titan GTO Team.

Webb Sees Clouds in Hazy Atmosphere of Titan

Dec 2, 2022 by News Staff

Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is the only moon in the Solar System with a dense atmosphere, and it is also the only planetary body other than Earth...

An artist’s impression of Cryptovaranoides microlanius. Image credit: Lavinia Gandolfi.

Modern-Type Lizards Originated in Late Triassic Epoch, Fossil Shows

Dec 2, 2022 by News Staff

Cryptovaranoides microlanius is an extinct relative of living lizards such as monitor lizards, gila monsters and slow worms. An artist’s impression of...

Life reconstruction of Natovenator polydontus. Image credit: Yusik Choi.

Cretaceous Bird-Like Dinosaur Had Adaptations for Swimming and Diving

Dec 2, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of theropod dinosaur with a streamlined body as in diving birds has been identified from a well-preserved skeleton found in Mongolia. Life...

An illustration of an asteroid on its way to ancient Mars. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO / Nathan Owen-Price / Sci.News.

Chicxulub-Like Asteroid Caused Megatsunami on Early Mars

Dec 1, 2022 by News Staff

The Chicxulub-like asteroid crash landed in shallow ocean waters in the Martian region of Chryse Planitia 3.4 billion years ago (Hesperian period) and...

An artist’s impression of a tidal disruption event. Image credit: Carl Knox / OzGrav, ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery, Swinburne University of Technology.

Astronomers Detect Very Luminous Jet from Star-Eating Supermassive Black Hole

Dec 1, 2022 by News Staff

A supermassive black hole devours a star that has come too close. In extremely rare instances — only about 1% of the time — these so-called...

Life reconstruction of Janavis finalidens. Image credit: Phillip Krzeminski.

Cretaceous-Period Toothed Bird Had Mobile Beak

Dec 1, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Janavis finalidens — an extinct bird species that lived 66.7 million years ago and was one of the last toothed birds to ever live — had a mobile,...

This Webb image shows the merging galaxy pair ZW II 96. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / L. Armus / A. Evans / Hubble Heritage Team / STScI / AURA / Hubble Collaboration.

Webb Watches Cataclysmic Collision of Two Galaxies

Dec 1, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Webb team has released a beautiful photo taken by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope of ZW II 96, a merging galaxy pair in the constellation...

Reconstitution of Spiroplasma swimming in JCVI-syn3B by expressing seven genes. Image credit: Kiyama et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abo7490.

Japanese Scientists Create ‘Smallest Mobile Lifeform’

Dec 1, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Researchers from the Osaka City University, the Osaka Metropolitan University and the Bioproduction Research Institute have created a swimming synthetic...

1 2 3 45