Simulation May Explain Saturnian System
Saturn’s odd mix of mid-sized satellites are among the strangest in the outer Solar System. With widely varying densities and locations, measuring between 300 to…
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Earth-Sized Exoplanet Discovered in Alpha Centauri System
Astronomers have uncovered a low-mass planet orbiting α Centauri B, a member of the stellar system neighboring our Solar System. Although the exoplanet is nearly…
Transgendered Bellbird Discovered in New Zealand
Biologists have uncovered a spotted New Zealand bellbird (Anthornis melanura) in Karori’s Zealandia eco-sanctuary that exhibits features and behavior of both male and female members…
NASA’s WISE Uncovers New Clues on Jovian Trojans
New data from WISE answers several questions about Jovian Trojans, asteroids that orbit the sun on the same path as Jupiter, and is the first…
Chemical Model Shows How First Life Forms Might Have Packaged RNA
Using polymers, scientists at Penn State created primitive cell-like structures that they infused with RNA, demonstrating how the molecules would react chemically under conditions that…
Nanosheet-Flower Structure Boosts Energy Storage
This flower-like structure is made out of germanium sulfide (GeS), a semiconductor material that has extremely thin petals with an enormous surface area. The GeS…
Satellites Monitor the Colliding Winds of O-Type Stars
The combined effort of NASA’s Swift satellite, the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton observatory, and several ground-based facilities has allowed scientists to X-ray the colliding stellar…
Genetically Modified Maize Study Faces Even More Scrutiny
There is more and more scientific criticism over a study that claims that genetically modified maize causes severe diseases in rats, and this controversy shows…
Cosmic Spiral Around Red Giant Star R Sculptoris Could Elucidate Stellar Evolution
R Sculptoris, an elderly star, located 1,500 light-years from Earth, has been observed in the final stages of stellar life, slowly shedding the outer layers…
New Infrared Obscurants Will Cloak Battlefields in Greener Fog of War
Obscurants, which are basically metallic dust clouds, have been in use for years in order to protect troops from heat-seeking missiles. These obscurants have never…
Curiosity Assesses a Small Plastic Object Found on the Surface of Mars
NASA’s Curiosity rover continues to assess a small plastic object discovered on the surface of Mars. It is believed that the object is something from…
Magnets Used to Eradicate Cancer Cells
A group of South Korean researchers has developed a new method to cause cell death in both living fish and lab bowel cancer cells using…
Thor’s Helmet Nebula
The above image of Thor’s Helmet Nebula was chosen as the winner of a competition during ESO’s 50th anniversary celebration. The nebula is located roughly…
Hubble Views the Cosmic Riches of Messier 69
This Hubble image shows the globular cluster Messier 69, also known as NGC 6637, which is located 29,700 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. This…
Great White Shark Have a More Varied Diet Than Previously Thought
It might seem that Carcharodon carcharias choose seals and sea lions as their preferred prey, but studies indicate that great white sharks consume different prey…
NASA Satellite Discovers a New Black Hole in the Milky Way
NASA’s Swift satellite detected high-energy X-rays a few degrees from the center of our galaxy, toward the constellation Sagittarius. Produced by a rare X-ray nova,…
Curiosity Prepares to Take Its First Scoop of Soil for Analysis
NASA scientists are preparing Curiosity to take its first scoop of soil for analysis, which will likely occur at the “Rocknest” site – a windblown,…
Measuring the Expansion of Universe – A Newly Refined Value for the Hubble Constant
Using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have greatly improved the cosmic distance ladder used to measure the expansion rate of the universe, as well as…