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Astronomers Observe Host Galaxy of Extremely Bright and Long Gamma-Ray Burst

Nov 21, 2019 by News Staff

Astronomers have investigated the nature of a very bright and long-duration gamma-ray burst, GRB 190114C, by studying its environment. Hubble’s observations...

A model of the molecular structure of ribose and an image of the Murchison meteorite. Image credit: Yoshihiro Furukawa.

Researchers Find Extraterrestrial Sugars in Meteorites

Nov 20, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of scientists from Japan and the United States has found ribose and other bioessential sugars in two primitive meteorites, NWA 801...

An artist’s rendering of two brown dwarfs. Image credit: Roberto Molar Candanosa & Sergio Dieterich, Carnegie Institution for Science.

Two Co-Moving Brown Dwarfs Spotted 79 Light-Years Away

Nov 20, 2019 by Sergio Prostak

Professional and amateur astronomers from the NASA-funded ‘Backyard Worlds: Planet 9’ project have spotted a co-moving pair of low-mass brown dwarfs...

Artist’s concept of ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Astronomers Directly Detect Water Vapor on Europa for First Time

Nov 19, 2019 by News Staff

Astronomers have for the first time managed to detect water vapor above the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. Artist’s concept of ocean on Jupiter’s...

The global geologic map of Titan. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU.

Researchers Create Global Geologic Map of Saturn’s Moon Titan

Nov 19, 2019 by News Staff

Using radar and infrared data from NASA’s Cassini orbiter spacecraft, a team of planetary geologists has identified and mapped the major geological units...

The odd orbits of Neptune’s inner moons Naiad and Thalassa enable them to avoid each other as they race around the giant planet. Image credit: Brozović et al, doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113462.

Neptune’s Moons Naiad and Thalassa Perform ‘Dance of Avoidance’

Nov 18, 2019 by News Staff

A new study, published in the journal Icarus, shows that Naiad and Thalassa, two innermost moons of Neptune, are locked in an unusual type of orbital resonance. The...

Life restoration of Fukuipteryx prima, a primitive bird that lived in what is now Japan about 120 million years ago. Image credit: Masanori Yoshida.

New Dinosaur-Era Bird Discovered in Japan: Fukuipteryx prima

Nov 15, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of non-ornithothoracine bird has been identified from bones collected in Japan. Life restoration of Fukuipteryx prima, a primitive...

Gigantopithecus is Related to Modern-Day Orangutans, New Study Shows

Nov 14, 2019 by News Staff

Orangutans (genus Pongo) are the closest living relatives of Gigantopithecus blacki, the biggest primate that ever walked the Earth, according to new research...

An artist’s impression of Ferrisaurus sustutensis. Image credit: Raven Amos / Royal BC Museum.

New Species of Herbivorous Dinosaur Identified in Canada

Nov 14, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in Canada have found the fossil fragments from a new species of leptoceratopsid dinosaur that walked the Earth during the Cretaceous period. An...

An artist’s impression of S5-HVS1’s ejection by Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Sagittarius A* and the captured binary partner to S5-HVS1 are seen far away in the left corner of the picture, while S5-HVS1 is in the foreground, speeding away from them. Image credit: James Josephides, Swinburne Astronomy Productions.

S5-HVS1: Hypervelocity Star Ejected by Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole

Nov 13, 2019 by News Staff

A main-sequence hypervelocity star traveling at huge speeds after being ejected by Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky...

TESS Finds Hot Neptune-Like Exoplanet around Sun-Like Star

Nov 13, 2019 by Natali Anderson

A short-period, hot Neptune-like planet has been discovered orbiting a Sun-like star called TOI-132, thanks to data gathered by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet...

Silver-Backed Chevrotain Rediscovered in Vietnam

Nov 12, 2019 by News Staff

The silver-backed chevrotain (Tragulus versicolor), a deer-like species the size of a rabbit or small cat, has been rediscovered by an international team...

Ecological reconstruction of tumbling flower beetles Angimordella burmitina. These beetles are feeding on eudicot flowers. The color and morphology of flowers are artistic only. Image credit: Ding-hau Yang / Bao et al, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1916186116.

99-Million-Year-Old Flower Beetle with Pollen Grains on Its Legs Found Encased in Amber

Nov 12, 2019 by News Staff

Since Charles Darwin, insect pollination was thought to be a key contributor to the Cretaceous rise of flowering plants (angiosperms). Both insects and...

This artist’s impression shows the evolution of the Universe beginning with the Big Bang on the left followed by the appearance of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The formation of the first stars ends the cosmic dark ages, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Our Universe is Curved, Suggests New Study

Nov 11, 2019 by News Staff

The current model of the Universe needs to be revised, according to a new analysis of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropy data. This artist’s...

Life reconstruction of the Arisdorf pliosaur with a diver for scale. Image credit: Joschua Knüppe.

Paleontologists Find 170-Million-Year-Old Giant Pliosaur Fossil

Nov 11, 2019 by News Staff

Paleontologists in Switzerland have unearthed an exceptionally rare fossil jaw of an ancient creature known as a pliosaur. Life reconstruction of the Arisdorf...

This Hubble image shows a massive galaxy cluster, about 4.6 billion light years away. Along its borders 12 images within the four arcs are visible; these are copies of the same galaxy called PSZ1 G311.65-18.48, which is almost 11 billion light-years away. Three of these arcs are visible in the top right of the image, while one counterarc is visible in the lower left -- partially obscured by a bright foreground star within our Milky Way Galaxy. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Rivera-Thorsen et al.

Hubble Sees Twelve Images of Same Galaxy Split by Gravitational Lens

Nov 8, 2019 by News Staff

An effect called strong gravitational lensing has allowed the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to see the same remote galaxy twelve times. Called PSZ1 G311.65-18.48,...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Neanderthals May Have Gone Extinct Because of Human Tropical Infections

Nov 8, 2019 by News Staff

The initial encounter between Neanderthals and anatomically modern Homo sapiens migrating out of Africa occurred more than 130,000 years ago in a region...

Danuvius guggenmosi, a great ape that lived some 12 million years ago (Miocene period) in what is now Germany. Image credit: Velizar Simeonovski.

Miocene-Period Great Ape Unearthed in Germany: Danuvius guggenmosi

Nov 7, 2019 by News Staff

A previously unknown species of great ape that was well adapted to both walking upright as well as using all four limbs while climbing has been identified...

NASA’s Voyager 2 Spacecraft Sends Back New Data on Interstellar Space

Nov 5, 2019 by News Staff

In November 2018, NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft became only the second human-made object to cross the outer edge of the Sun’s heliosphere, the bubble...