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Giant exoplanet K2-33b. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / R. Hurt.

Fully-Formed Giant Exoplanet Found Orbiting 5-10-Million-Year-Old Star

Jun 21, 2016 by Natali Anderson

An international team of astronomers has spotted a Neptune-sized exoplanet orbiting a very young star approximately 500 light-years from our own Solar...

Astronomers Find Most Distant Oxygen in Universe

Jun 17, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have found the most distant oxygen yet seen in the Universe, in a galaxy 13.1...

This artist’s impression shows a hot-Jupiter orbiting close to one of the stars in the star cluster Messier 67. Astronomers have found far more planets like this in the cluster than expected. This surprise result was obtained using a number of telescopes and instruments, among them the HARPS spectrograph at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. Image credit: L. Calcada / ESO.

Unexpected Excess of Hot-Jupiter Exoplanets in Messier 67

Jun 17, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers have found that there are far more so-called hot-Jupiter planets – gas giants that orbit very close to their parent stars – than...

Physicists Identify Second Gravitational-Wave Event

Jun 16, 2016 by Sergio Prostak

An international team of scientists has identified a second gravitational wave event in the data from the twin detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave...

Astronomers applaud the first detection of a chiral molecule, propylene oxide, in interstellar space. On Earth, propylene oxide is a common compound used in making polyurethane plastics. Image credit: B. Saxton / NRAO / AUI / NSF / N.E. Kassim, Naval Research Laboratory / Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

Chiral Molecule Detected in Interstellar Cloud Sagittarius B2

Jun 15, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using highly sensitive radio telescopes have detected, for the first time, a chiral molecule in interstellar space. Astronomers applaud the...

Reconstruction of Wahlisaurus massarae. Image credit: James McKay.

Wahlisaurus massarae: Forgotten Fossil is New Species of Ancient Dolphin-Like Reptile

Jun 14, 2016 by News Staff

A new species of ichthyosaur that lived about 200 million years ago has been identified from a fossil found in a quarry in Nottinghamshire, England. Reconstruction...

Long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis aurea) uses a stone. Image credit: University of Oxford.

Wild Macaques in Thailand Have Entered Stone Age

Jun 13, 2016 by News Staff

Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis aurea) on Piak Nam Yai, one of Thailand’s coastal islands, have been using stone tools for several decades...

Location of Cape Espenberg. Image credit: Rand McNally.

Asian Metals were Traded in Alaska Centuries before Sustained Contact with Europeans

Jun 10, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Two artifacts found at Cape Espenberg on the northern coast of the Seward Peninsula in Alaska are the first evidence that Asian metal alloys reached North...

Opaque Clouds on hot-Jupiters May Hide Atmospheric Water, Scientists Say

Jun 10, 2016 by News Staff

Hot, Jupiter-sized extrasolar planets often have cloud or haze layers in their atmospheres, and this may prevent astronomers from detecting atmospheric...

Reconstruction of Homo floresiensis. Image credit: Kinez Riza / Atelier Elisabeth Daynes, Sangiran Museum.

Scientists Find 700,000-Year-Old Remains of Proto-Homo floresiensis

Jun 9, 2016 by News Staff

New hominin fossils from the Indonesian island of Flores shed light on the origin of the mysterious ‘hobbit’ species, Homo floresiensis. Hominin remains...

Abell 2597 BCG. Image credit: NRAO / AUI / NSF / Dana Berry / SkyWorks / ALMA / ESO / NAOJ.

Astronomers Observe Feeding Habits of Active Black Hole

Jun 8, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers have witnessed a cosmic weather event that has never been seen before — a cluster of giant gas clouds raining in on the supermassive...

Archerfish (Toxotes chatareus). Image credit: Esquilo / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Study Shows Fish Can Recognize Human Faces

Jun 7, 2016 by News Staff

The archerfish (Toxotes chatareus), a species of freshwater tropical fish, can recognize individual people’s faces, shows a new study published in the...

Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Neanderthals Left Humans Genetic Burden, Scientists Say

Jun 6, 2016 by News Staff

The genome of Neanderthals contained harmful gene variants that made them around 40 percent less reproductively fit than modern humans. And non-Africans...

Man’s best friend may have been domesticated from distinct wolf populations on either side of the Old World. Image credit: Pixel-mixer.

New Study Suggests Dual Origin of Domestic Dogs

Jun 3, 2016 by News Staff

Dogs may have been domesticated independently in Asia and Europe from two separate wolf populations, according to a new study led by the University of...

Radio image (top), made with the VLA, and optical image (bottom) made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. The radio image shows the complex upwellings and downwellings of ammonia gas 18-56 miles (30-90 km) below the visible clouds. Image credit: Imke de Pater et al / NRAO / AUI / NSF / NASA / ESA.

VLA Radio Maps Reveal What’s Beneath Jupiter’s Thick Clouds

Jun 3, 2016 by News Staff

Scientists using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory have produced detailed radio maps of Jupiter’s...

Cosmic distance ladder. Image credit: NASA /ESA / A. Field, STScI / A. Riess, STScI & JHU.

Universe is Expanding Faster than Previously Thought

Jun 2, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have discovered that the Universe is expanding between 5% and 9% faster than previously calculated. Cosmic...

An Austronesian village showing several traditional houses, 1893. Image credit: Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ancient Crops Help Solve Puzzle of Madagascar’s Southeast Asian Settlement

Jun 1, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides the first archaeological evidence for an early Southeast Asian presence...

Milky Way Galaxy. Image credit: Nick Risinger.

Milky Way Galaxy Has Mass of 700 Billion Suns, Canadian Astronomers Say

Jun 1, 2016 by News Staff

What is the total mass of our Milky Way Galaxy? The short answer, so far, is 7 x 1011 solar masses, says a team of astronomers at McMaster University,...

Emission nebula RCW 120. Image credit: ESA / Herschel / PACS / SPIRE / Hi-GAL Project / G. Li Causi, IAPS / INAF.

Herschel Maps Reveal Star-Forming Hubs across Milky Way’s Galactic Plane

May 31, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers from ESA’s Herschel mission have released a series of stunning maps of star-forming regions in the Milky Way’s Galactic plane. The emission...