Articles by Enrico de Lazaro

A time averaged artist’s interpretation of Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 66-78 million years ago. The animals pictured include non-avian dinosaurs, birds and other vertebrates that have been discovered in the fossil record of the region. Their specific identifications are as follows: ornithurine birds (flying and walking on the ground), Stegouros (armored dinosaur), Orretherium (mammal), Yaminuechelys (turtle), a megaraptorid (large carnivore), unenlagiines (pair of carnivores), and enantiornithine birds (in foreground). Image credit: Mauricio Alvarez & Gabriel Diaz.

Paleontologists Uncover First Theropod Fossils in Chilean Patagonia

Jan 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described new specimens of theropods — a dinosaur group that includes both modern birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur...

This Hubble image shows the dwarf irregular galaxy UGC 7983. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / R. Tully.

Hubble Space Telescope Spies UGC 7983

Jan 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

UGC 7983 is a dwarf irregular galaxy, a type thought to be similar to the very earliest galaxies in the Universe. This Hubble image shows the dwarf irregular...

This image, taken by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) onboard the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, shows the star cluster NGC 346. Webb reveals the presence of many more building blocks than previously expected, not only for stars, but also planets, in the form of clouds packed with dust and hydrogen. The plumes and arcs of gas in this image contains two types of hydrogen. The pink gas represents energized hydrogen, which is typically as hot as around 10,000 degrees Celsius (approximately 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit) or more, while the more orange gas represents dense, molecular hydrogen, which is much colder at around minus 200 degrees Celsius or less (approximately minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit), and associated dust. The colder gas provides an excellent environment for stars to form, and, as they do, they change the environment around them. The effect of this is seen in the various ridges throughout, which are created as the light of these young stars breaks down the dense clouds. The many pillars of glowing gas show the effects of this stellar erosion throughout the region. In this image blue was assigned to the wavelength of 2.0 microns (F200W), green was assigned to 2.77 microns (F277W), orange was assigned to 3.35 microns (F335M), and red was assigned to 4.44 microns (F444W). Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / O. Jones, UK ATC / G. De Marchi, ESTEC / M. Meixner, USRA / A. Pagan, STScI / N. Habel, USRA / L. Lenkic, USRA / L. Chu, NASA’s Ames Research Center.

Webb Probes Most Massive Star-Forming Region of Small Magellanic Cloud

Jan 13, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have revealed many new pockets of star formation in NCG 346, an open star cluster in the...

Symplocos kowalewskii. Image credit: Sadowski & Hofmann, doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-24549-z.

34-Million-Year-Old Baltic Amber Preserves Exceptionally Large Flower

Jan 13, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Amber exquisitely preserves the delicate organs of fossil flowers for millions of years. However, flower inclusions can be rare and usually do not exceed...

An artist’s impression of Wumengosaurus, a sister taxon of Honghesaurus longicaudal. Image credit: Nobu Tamura / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Triassic Marine Reptile Had Incredibly Long Tail

Jan 9, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of long-tailed pachypleurosaur from a complete skeleton found in China. An artist’s impression...

This Hubble image shows two nearby galaxies: the irregular galaxy LEDA 48062 (right) and the lenticular galaxy UGC 8603 (left); several smaller galaxies in various orientations cluster around LEDA 48062 and UGC 8603. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / R. Tully.

Hubble Focuses on Galaxies in Milky Way’s Neighborhood

Jan 9, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A stunning new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows two nearby galaxies, LEDA 48062 and UGC 8603, located in the constellation of Canes...

Montage of Webb images showing six example barred galaxies, two of which represent the highest lookback times quantitatively identified and characterized to date. The labels in the top left of each figure show the lookback time of each galaxy, ranging from 8.4 to 11 billion years ago (Gyr), when the Universe was a mere 40% to 20% of its present age. Image credit: NASA / CEERS / University of Texas at Austin.

Webb Finds Six Barred Galaxies in Early Universe

Jan 5, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have spotted early galaxies with stellar bars — elongated features of stars stretching...

This image of Sh2-54 was taken in infrared light using ESO’s VISTA telescope. Image credit: ESO / VVVX.

ESO’s VISTA Telescope Spots Bright Nebula in Serpens

Jan 5, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using ESO’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) at Paranal Observatory have captured an amazing new photo of Sh2-54,...

Life reconstruction of Cratonavis zhui. Image credit: Chuang Zhao.

Early Cretaceous Bird Had Dinosaur-Like Skull and Bird-Like Body

Jan 4, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Cratonavis zhui, a new species of pygostylian bird from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota of China, had a unique combination of a dinosaurian skull with...

Close-up of the holotype of Moqisaurus pulchrum. Image credit: Dong et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105363.

Paleontologists Discover Extinct Lizard that Lived among Dinosaurs

Jan 3, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of fossil lizard has been described from two fossilized specimens found in eastern Inner Mongolia, China. Close-up of the holotype...

This Hubble image shows the globular cluster NGC 1850, which is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, over 160,000 light-years from Earth. For this image, five filters were used with the camera to gather data. Two of the filters were at near-ultraviolet wavelengths, two more at visible light wavelengths, and the final one was in the near-infrared. The data gathered through the two ultraviolet filters is violet and blue. The data from the two visible light filters is green and orange. The color red denotes near-infrared data. The image follows chromatic order, which means the shortest wavelength in the image is blue while the longest wavelength is red. Chromatic order allows us to visualize wavelengths of light beyond our eye’s sensitivity in a way that is familiar to us. Image credit: NASA / ESA / N. Bastian, Donostia International Physics Center / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Captures Dual Views of NGC 1850

Jan 3, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have taken two amazing images of NGC 1850, a young globular cluster located in the Large Magellanic...

This Hubble image shows the globular cluster NGC 6355; towards the center the stars become even more dense in a circular region, and also more blue; around the edges there are some redder foreground stars, and many small stars in the background. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / E. Noyola / R. Cohen.

Hubble Snaps New Image of Globular Cluster NGC 6355

Jan 2, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

NGC 6355 is a globular cluster some 31,000 light-years away in the constellation of Ophiuchus. This Hubble image shows the globular cluster NGC 6355; towards...

Life reconstruction of Confuciusornis shifan. Image credit: Paleontological Museum of Liaoning.

Paleontologists Find Fossil of 119-Million-Year-Old Beaked Bird

Dec 30, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of confuciusornithid bird being named Confuciusornis shifan has been identified from a nearly complete skeleton found in northeastern China. Life...

This Hubble image shows NGC 6440, a globular cluster some 27,625 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius. Image credit: NASA / ESA / C. Pallanca / F. Ferraro, Universits Di Bologna / M. van Kerkwijk, University of Toronto / G. Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Observes Globular Cluster NGC 6440

Dec 29, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking new photo of NGC 6440, which is found in the constellation of Sagittarius. This Hubble image...

This Hubble image shows a part of the Carina Nebula, which is located 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Kraus, University of Texas at Austin / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Zooms in on Carina Nebula

Dec 28, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA has released a sparkling photo taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of a small section of the Carina Nebula. This Hubble image shows a part...

Life reconstruction of Baurubatrachus santosdoroi. Image credit: Lautaro R. Blanco.

New Species of Dinosaur-Era Frog Identified in Brazil

Dec 27, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have identified a new species of the extinct frog genus Baurubatrachus from fossils found in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Life reconstruction...

Life reconstruction of Titanochampsa iorii. Image credit: Julia d’Oliveira.

Enormous Crocodile Lived alongside Titanosaurs and Abelisaurid Dinosaurs

Dec 26, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

In the Monte Alto region in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, paleontologists have unearthed the fossilized remains of a new crocodyliform species that...

This Hubble image shows ESO 415-19, a spiral galaxy located some 450 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Fornax. In the top-right there is a smaller, orange elliptical galaxy. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-m telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Four filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey / DOE / FNAL / DECam / CTIO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA.

Hubble Space Telescope Spots Long-Armed Spiral Galaxy

Dec 26, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a stunning image of the spiral galaxy ESO 415-19. This Hubble image shows ESO 415-19,...

Bear skins have high insulating properties and might have played a role in the adaptations of Middle Pleistocene hominins, such as Homo heidelbergensis depicted here, to the cold and harsh winter conditions of Northwestern Europe. Image credit: Benoît Clarys.

320,000-Year-Old Cutmarked Bones Provide Evidence for Exploitation of Bear Skins

Dec 23, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Researchers from the University of Tübingen and elsewhere have unearthed the cutmarked bones of cave bears at the Middle Pleistocene site of Schöningen...

An artist’s impression of an enantiornithine bird. Image credit: Tiny Longwing / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Paleontologists Discover New Species of Dinosaur-Era Bird

Dec 22, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of enantiornithine bird has been described from a partial right humerus found in southern Patagonia, Argentina. An artist’s impression...

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