(Newswise)–A planet in an unlikely orbit around a double star 336 light-years away may offer a clue to a mystery much closer to home: a hypothesized, distant body in the solar system dubbed “Planet Nine.” This is the first time that astronomers have been able to measure the motion of a massive Jupiter-like planet that […]
Warm oceans helped first human migration from Asia to North America
(Newswise)–New research reveals significant changes to the circulation of the North Pacific and its impact on the initial migration of humans from Asia to North America. The new international study led by the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of St Andrews and published Dec. 9 in Science Advances provides a new picture of […]
Researchers reveal switch used in plant defense against animal attack
(Newswise)–For decades, scientists have known that plants protect themselves from the devastation of hungry caterpillars and other plant-munching animals through sophisticated response systems, the product of millions of years of evolution. The biological mechanisms underlying this attack-counter defense paradigm have been vigorously pursued by plant biologists given that such details will help unlock a trove […]
Buzz kill: Ogre-faced spiders ‘hear’ airborne prey with their legs
(Newswise)–In the dark of night, ogre-faced spiders with dominating big eyes dangle from a silk frame to cast a web and capture their ground prey. But these spiders also can capture insects flying behind them with precision, and Cornell University scientists have now confirmed how. In a new study, researchers confirmed these spiders use metatarsal […]
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft successfully touches asteroid
NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft unfurled its robotic arm Tuesday, and in a first for the agency, briefly touched an asteroid to collect dust and pebbles from the surface for delivery to Earth in 2023. This well-preserved, ancient asteroid, known as Bennu, is currently more than 200 million miles […]
Studying the sun as a star to understand stellar flares and exoplanets
(Newswise)–New research shows that sunspots and other active regions can change the overall solar emissions. The sunspots cause some emissions to dim and others to brighten; the timing of the changes also varies between different types of emissions. This knowledge will help astronomers characterize the conditions of stars, which has important implications for finding exoplanets […]
Global survey using NASA data shows dramatic growth of glacial lakes
In the largest-ever study of glacial lakes, researchers using 30 years of NASA satellite data have found that the volume of these lakes worldwide has increased by about 50% since 1990 as glaciers melt and retreat due to climate change. The findings, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, will aid researchers assessing the potential […]
Hubble uses Earth as a proxy for identifying oxygen on potentially habitable planets around other stars
(Newswise)–Taking advantage of a total lunar eclipse, astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have detected Earth’s own brand of sunscreen – ozone – in our atmosphere. This method simulates how astronomers and astrobiology researchers will search for evidence of life beyond Earth by observing potential “biosignatures” on exoplanets (planets around other stars). Hubble did not look at […]
A new idea on how Earth’s outer shell first broke into tectonic plates
(Newswise)–The activity of the solid Earth – for example, volcanoes in Java, earthquakes in Japan, etc.- is well understood within the context of the ~50-year-old theory of plate tectonics. This theory posits that Earth’s outer shell (Earth’s “lithosphere”) is subdivided into plates that move relative to each other, concentrating most activity along the boundaries between […]
NASA announces new James Webb Space Telescope target launch date
NASA is now targeting Oct. 31, 2021, for the launch of the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope from French Guiana, due to impacts from the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as technical challenges. This decision is based on a recently completed scheduled risk assessment of the remaining integration and test activities prior to launch. […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- …
- 12
- Next Page »