Published on December 10, 2022 in Planet Earth, Science This weekend’s stories include What the World’s Largest Liquid Mirror Telescope Means for Astronomy to How Mass Extinction and Evolution Are Intertwined, and much more. Consciousness may not require a brain–Are plants conscious? asks Annaka Harris, New York Times bestselling author of CONSCIOUS: A Brief Guide …
A new analysis of Hubble data has concluded: there is too much light in space around the solar system. Not much extra light, of course. Just a subtle, ghostly glow, a slight excess that cannot be counted in a count of all light-emitting objects. All the stars and galaxies surrounding the solar system – and …
A ghostly glow surrounds the solar system and no one can explain it Read More »
From the energetic Border Collie to the friendly Golden Retriever, there are over 350 dog breeds today, each with specific physical and behavioral traits. Although previous research into dog genomes has revealed the genetic basis for variations in body size and shape between breeds, the genetic basis for complex behaviors – hunting, herding, guarding, pointing, …
In 1916, Einstein completed his theory of general relativity, which describes how gravitational forces alter the curvature of spacetime. Among other things, this theory predicted that the Universe is expanding, which was confirmed by the observations of Edwin Hubble in 1929. Since then, astronomers have looked further into space (and therefore, into the time) to …
‘Early dark energy’ could explain the crisis in cosmology Read More »
Title: A circumplanetary dust ring may explain the extreme spectral slope of 10 Myr Young’s exoplanet K2-33b Authors: Kazumasa Ohno, Pa Chia Thao, Andrew W. Mann, Jonathan J. Fortney Institution of the first author: Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA Status: Published in ApJ Letters (open access) Interpreting the transmission …
Could rings explain an intriguing exoplanetary spectrum? Read More »
The Song of the Dodo by David Quammen Chosen by Patrick Barkham Imagine a beautiful Persian rug 12 feet by 18 feet. Now imagine wielding a razor-sharp hunting knife and cutting it into 36 equal pieces. When you’re done cutting, there’s still nearly 216 square feet of recognizable things like rugs. But are they beautiful …
Essential COP15 reading: six books that explain the biodiversity crisis Read More »
The Winchcombe meteorite is a rare find, with a hydrogen isotope ratio similar to that of water on Earth. Recovering a meteorite within 12 hours of its arrival means it is as pristine a specimen as possible without going into space. Eleven percent of the meteorite’s weight comes from Earth-like water, puzzling scientists about the …
HOUSTON – (November 7, 2022) – A new model that accounts for the interaction of forces acting on infant planets may explain two puzzling observations that have cropped up repeatedly among the more than 3,800 planetary systems cataloged to date. An illustration of the variations among the more than 5,000 known exoplanets discovered since the …
Early planetary migration may explain missing planets Read More »
image: https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/resources/2319/exoplanet-types-illustration/ CAPTION: An illustration of the variations among the more than 5,000 known exoplanets discovered since the 1990s. see After Credit: Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech HOUSTON – (November 7, 2022) – A new model that accounts for the interaction of forces acting on infant planets may explain two puzzling observations that have cropped up …
Early planetary migration may explain missing planets Read More »
