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In this artist’s conception GJ 1132b circles a red dwarf star. Image credit: Dana Berry.

GJ 1132b: Astronomers Discover Earth-Sized Exoplanet 39 Light-Years Away

Nov 12, 2015 by News Staff

A team of astronomers has discovered a new rocky, Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting a star approximately 39 light-years away. In this artist’s conception...

Phobos is Slowly Being Torn Apart by Mars

Nov 11, 2015 by News Staff

Phobos, the larger and inner of the two natural satellites of Mars, is slowly being pulled apart by tidal forces and is expected to break up within the...

This high-resolution image of Pluto was taken by New Horizons on July 14, 2015: yellow circle shows location of Wright Mons and Piccard Mons mountains on the dwarf planet. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Horizons Geologists Spot Possible Cryovolcanoes on Pluto

Nov 10, 2015 by Natali Anderson

Using images of Pluto’s surface, geologists with the New Horizons mission have discovered that two of dwarf planet’s mountains could be cryovolcanoes...

A solar storm approaches Mars. Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

NASA’s MAVEN Team: Solar Storms Stripped Away Mars’ Atmosphere

Nov 6, 2015 by News Staff

Thanks to NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter, scientists have learned more about what happened to the Martian climate since...

Life restoration of Dakotaraptor steini running with the sparrow-sized birds Cimolopteryx petra, while the mammal Purgatorius can be seen in the foreground. Image credit: Emily Willoughby.

Dakotaraptor steini: Giant, Feathered Dromaeosaurid Dinosaur Discovered in South Dakota

Nov 5, 2015 by Sergio Prostak

Paleontologists have discovered what they say is a new giant raptor that lived in what is now South Dakota during the Maastrichtian stage of the Upper...

This is an artist’s impression of PSO J318.5-22. Image credit: MPIA / V. Ch. Quetz.

Astronomers Create Weather Map of Rogue Planet-Like Object

Nov 4, 2015 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers have detected layers of clouds – made up of hot dust and droplets of molten iron – on a planet-like object known as PSO J318.5338–22.8603...

Pineapple (Ananas comosus), on sale on Reunion Island. Image credit: David Monniaux / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Researchers Sequence Pineapple Genome

Nov 3, 2015 by News Staff

A multinational team of scientists has sequenced genomes of a wild pineapple relative, the red pineapple (Ananas bracteatus), and two cultivated varieties...

Acmella nana, a new species in the genus Acmella, the world’s tiniest snail. Image credit: VermeuleMany of the new snails were discovered by sieving soil; in some areas, a few litres of soil can yield thousands of micro-snail shells, most, such as these from Peninsular Malaysia, measuring just one or two millimeters. Image credit: Reuben Clements / Rimba.n JJ et al.

World’s Smallest Snail Found: Acmella nana

Nov 3, 2015 by News Staff

A tiny snail shell with a diameter of 0.028 inches (0.7 mm) was found on the Malaysian portion of the island of Borneo by a group of scientists from the...

Francis’ Woolly Horseshoe Bat: New Species of Bat Discovered

Nov 2, 2015 by News Staff

A new species of woolly horseshoe bat has been described from Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. The Francis’ woolly horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus francisi). Image...

This image of 2015 TB145 was generated using radar data collected by the Arecibo Observatory. Image credit: NAIC-Arecibo / NSF.

2015 TB145: Astronomers Capture Radar Images of ‘Halloween Asteroid’

Nov 1, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using NSF’s 1,000-foot (305-m) Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico have captured images of a massive asteroid – designated 2015 TB145...

Newly-Discovered Miocene Ape Casts New Light on Hominoid Evolution

Oct 30, 2015 by News Staff

Paleontologists from Spain and the United States have discovered a new genus and species of small-bodied ape that lived about 11.6 million years ago, before...

Rosetta has made the first in situ detection of oxygen molecules outgassing from a comet; this surprising observation suggests they were incorporated into the comet during its formation. This infographic depicts various strands of evidence gathered for the study. Image credit: ESA / ATG medialab / Rosetta / NavCam / A. Bieler et al. / CC BY-SA IGO 3.0.

Molecular Oxygen Detected in Coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Oct 29, 2015 by News Staff

ESA’s Rosetta orbiter has detected molecules of oxygen in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Rosetta has made the first in situ detection...

This diagram shows the locations of the newly-discovered Cepheids in an artist’s rendering of our Milky Way Galaxy; the yellow star indicates the position of our Solar System. Image credit: ESO / Microsoft WorldWide Telescope.

Astronomers Discover New Component of Milky Way Galaxy

Oct 28, 2015 by News Staff

Using data from the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea Survey (VVV) ESO Public Survey, astronomers have discovered a previously unknown component of the...

This gold ring with a Cretan bull-jumping scene was one of four solid-gold rings found in the tomb. This number is more than found with any other single burial elsewhere in Greece. Image credit: University of Cincinnati.

Archaeologists Unearth Tomb of Wealthy Mycenaean Warrior in Greece

Oct 27, 2015 by News Staff

A multinational group of archaeologists has unearthed a 3,500-year-old tomb of Mycenaean warrior near the city of Pylos on the southwest coast of Greece...

Aurochs (Bos primigenius) in a cave painting in Lascaux, France. Image credit: Prof Saxx / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Sequence Genome of Extinct Eurasian Wild Aurochs

Oct 26, 2015 by News Staff

A multinational team of researchers has sequenced the nuclear genome of the aurochs (Bos primigenius), an extinct species of ox that inhabited Europe,...

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) on February 22, 2015. An international team of scientists has found more than twenty molecules in the comet, including ethyl alcohol and a simple sugar. Image credit: Fabrice Noel.

Astronomers Detect Ethyl Alcohol, Sugar in Atmosphere of Comet Lovejoy

Oct 26, 2015 by Natali Anderson

In a paper in the journal Science Advances, astronomers report the detection of 21 different organic molecules in gas from Comet Lovejoy, including the...

Archaea were first found in extreme environments, such as volcanic hot springs; pictured here is Grand Prismatic Spring of Yellowstone National Park. Image credit: Jim Peaco / National Park Service.

Bathyarchaeota: New Deep-Sea Methane-Consuming Microorganisms Discovered

Oct 26, 2015 by News Staff

An international team of biologists from Australia and the United States has discovered two new species of methane-metabolizing archaea. Archaea were first...

New Horizons Captures Images of Pluto’s Small Moon Kerberos

Oct 23, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has sent back four low-resolution images of Kerberos, Pluto’s tiny moon. This image of Kerberos completes the family...

ASASSN-14li: X-Ray Telescopes Catch Supermassive Black Hole Shredding Star to Pieces

Oct 22, 2015 by News Staff

Using a trio of X-ray telescopes, astronomers have observed material being blown away from a supermassive black hole after it tore a star apart. The event...