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Aptenoperissus burmanicus lived at the base of trees while dinosaurs wondered around above it, and is the only known specimen in a newly-created family, Aptenoperissidae. Scale bar - 1.0 mm. Image credit: George Poinar, Jr. / Oregon State University.

Bizarre Wingless Wasp Found Encased in 100-Million-Year-Old Burmese Amber

Oct 14, 2016 by News Staff

An enigmatic wingless parasitic wasp has been found preserved in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, a new study says. Aptenoperissus burmanicus lived at the...

This composite image shows a beautiful new look at the compact group of galaxies known as Stephan’s Quintet. Image credit: X-ray – NASA / CXC / CfA / E. O’Sullivan; optical - Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope / Coelum.

Universe Contains at least Two Trillion Galaxies, Astronomers Say

Oct 13, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers led by University of Nottingham scientist Christopher Conselice has performed an accurate census of the number of...

Vegavis iaai. Image credit: Nicole Fuller / Sayo Art / University of Texas at Austin.

Vegavis iaai: Dinosaurs Likely Did Not Sing, Vocal Organ of Mesozoic Bird Suggests

Oct 13, 2016 by News Staff

The oldest known syrinx (vocal organ) of a bird has been found, preserved in three dimensions in a 66-million-year-old specimen from Antarctica, according...

Proxima Centauri. Image credit: Hubble / ESA / NASA.

Astronomers Find Evidence for 7-Year Stellar Cycle in Proxima Centauri

Oct 12, 2016 by Natali Anderson

The Sun’s nearest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri, has a regular cycle of starspots, according to a team of astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian...

The main idea behind the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative is to send light-propelled nanocrafts to the Alpha Centauri system within the next generation. Image credit: Breakthrough Initiatives.

New Light Sail Proposed to Ride a Laser Beam to the Stars

Oct 10, 2016 by James Romero

A laser beam-riding sail in the shape of a giant trapped ping pong ball could carry the first manmade object across interstellar space towards the recently-discovered...

Humans aren’t the only ones who can tell when someone’s beliefs don’t match reality. Image credit: Jochemy.

Study: Great Apes Understand False Beliefs

Oct 10, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Science, three different species of great apes — chimpanzee, bonobo, and orangutan — are...

This Hubble image shows the lenticular galaxy GJ1417+52. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Astronomers Find Wandering Black Hole in Galaxy 4.5 Billion Light-Years Away

Oct 7, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A rogue black hole has been found in the outer regions of the lenticular galaxy SDSS J141711.07+522540.8 (GJ1417+52 for short). Evidence suggests this...

Philippine tarsiers (Tarsius syrichta). Image credit: JT Lim Majuro / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Sequence Tarsier Genome

Oct 6, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from the United States and Germany today reports having sequenced and annotated the genome of the Philippine tarsier....

Planets form from epic collisions between asteroids and even bigger bodies, called protoplanets. Sometimes the colliding bodies are ground to dust, and sometimes they stick together to ultimately form larger, mature planets. This artist’s conception shows one such smash-up. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Mystery of KIC 8462852 Deepens

Oct 5, 2016 by News Staff

Planets form from epic collisions between asteroids and even bigger bodies, called protoplanets. Sometimes the colliding bodies are ground to dust, and...

This image of Messier 78 was captured using the VISTA telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory. In the image, Messier 78 is the bluish haze in the center, the other reflection nebula towards the right goes by the name of NGC 2071. Image credit: ESO.

ESO’s VISTA Telescope Sees Hidden Stars in Messier 78

Oct 5, 2016 by News Staff

This detailed view of the reflection nebula Messier 78 was taken with the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) at ESO’s Paranal...

Peristylium (open courtyard) of the House of Caecilius Iucundus. Image credit: Emanuel Demetrescu et al.

Archaeologists Virtually Recreate House of Caecilius Iucundus in Pompeii

Oct 4, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers led by Lund University archaeologists has virtually reconstructed a large house of the Pompeian banker Lucius Caecilius...

This image shows an artist concept of NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

NASA’s MAVEN Probe Celebrates One Martian Year in Orbit around the Red Planet

Oct 4, 2016 by News Staff

NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, sent to Mars to explore its upper atmosphere, ionosphere and interactions with the...

Megalolamna paradoxodon: Paleontologists Uncover New Species of Prehistoric Shark

Oct 3, 2016 by News Staff

Fossilized teeth from a newly identified species of extinct shark that lived 20 million years ago (early Miocene) were found in the mid-latitudinal zones...

Farewell, Rosetta! ESA’s Spacecraft Crashes into Comet

Sep 30, 2016 by News Staff

ESA’s Rosetta mission has concluded as planned, with the controlled impact onto Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. An artist’s impression of Rosetta...

Rosetta orbiting Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Image credit: ESA / AOES Medialab.

ESA’s Rosetta Orbiter to Crash Land into Comet: Watch Live

Sep 29, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Rosetta orbiting Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Image credit: ESA / AOES Medialab. ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft is set to complete its mission in a controlled...

Mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars projected into point perspective, a view similar to that which one would see from a spacecraft. The distance is 1,550 miles (2,500 km) from the surface of the planet. The mosaic is composed of 102 Viking Orbiter images of Mars. The center of the scene shows the entire Valles Marineris canyon system, over 1,240 miles (2,000 km) long and up to 5 miles (8 km) deep, extending form Noctis Labyrinthus, the arcuate system of graben to the west, to the chaotic terrain to the east. Many huge ancient river channels begin from the chaotic terrain from north-central canyons and run north. The three Tharsis volcanoes (dark red spots), each about 15.5 miles (25 km) high, are visible to the west. South of Valles Marineris is very ancient terrain covered by many impact craters. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Marsquakes Could Support Life Deep within the Red Planet

Sep 28, 2016 by James Romero

The combination of seismic activity and water locked away at depth within Mars could be releasing sufficient hydrogen gas to support communities of microorganisms,...

An artistic life reconstruction of Rativates evadens in the paleoenvironment of the Late Cretaceous of Alberta. Image credit: Andrey-Atuchin.

Rativates evadens: New Ostrich-Mimic Dinosaur Species Identified

Sep 28, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists, led by Carleton University researcher Bradley McFeeters, has added another ornithomimid dinosaur to the prehistoric...

The team has identified fossil proteins in 3.8 million year-old ostrich eggshells. Image credit: Matthew Collins.

Researchers Find Ancient Proteins in 3.8-Million-Year-Old Ostrich Eggshells

Sep 27, 2016 by News Staff

A multinational team of researchers has uncovered fossil proteins dating back 3.8 million years — a discovery that will enhance future understanding...

The surface of Europa looms large in this newly-reprocessed color view; image scale is 1.6 km per pixel; north on Europa is at right. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SETI Institute.

Hubble Space Telescope Directly Images Possible Water Plumes on Europa

Sep 26, 2016 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has imaged what may be water vapor plumes erupting off the surface of Europa, the sixth-closest moon of Jupiter and...