science

Imaging Exocomet Belts: A Breakthrough Study

Website: https://joshuniverse.com/imaging-exocomet-belts-a-breakthrough-study/

Astrophysicists led by a team from Trinity College Dublin have made a groundbreaking discovery in the realm of astrophysics by imaging a large number of exocomet belts surrounding nearby stars. This research, deemed pivotal, marks the first time that such a substantial number of these mysterious structures have been captured in high-resolution images, revealing not only the belts themselves but also the tiny millimeter-sized pebbles embedded within them. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of this significant advancement in space science.

@[email protected] @[email protected] [email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy

Summary

Archaeologists in Pompeii have uncovered a lavish private bathhouse within a wealthy residence, likely owned by politician Aulus Rustius Verus.

The complex, described as a "once-in-a-century" find, includes hot, warm, and cold rooms with advanced heating systems, vibrant frescoes, and a massive plunge pool.

Skeletons of two eruption victims—a wealthy woman and a likely lower-status male—were found.

The discovery offers new insights into Roman luxury, societal contrasts, and daily life. The excavation will soon open to the public.

Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A

Astronomy Picture of The Day 1/17/25

Massive stars in our Milky Way Galaxy live spectacular lives. Collapsing from vast cosmic clouds, their nuclear furnaces ignite and create heavy elements in their cores. After only a few million years for the most massive stars, the enriched material is blasted back into interstellar space where star formation can begin anew. The expanding debris cloud known as Cassiopeia A is an example of this final phase of the stellar life cycle. Light from the supernova explosion that created this remnant would have been first seen in planet Earth's sky about 350 years ago, although it took that light 11,000 years to reach us. This sharp NIRCam image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the still hot filaments and knots in the supernova remnant. The whitish, smoke-like outer shell of the expanding blast wave is about 20 light-years across. A series of light echoes from the massive star's cataclysmic explosion are also identified in Webb's detailed images of the surrounding interstellar medium.

@[email protected] @[email protected] [email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy

SpaceX Catches Booster But Loses Ship in Starship Test Flight

SpaceX's seventh flight test of its massive Starship launch system brought both thrilling advancements and unexpected challenges. Notably, the Super Heavy booster successfully returned to the launch site and was caught by the launch tower's "chopstick" arms, while the upper stage, known as Ship 33, experienced a critical failure during its ascent.

Article: https://joshuniverse.com/spacex-starship-flight-booster-success-ship-loss/

@[email protected] @[email protected] [email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy

Starship Flight 7: SpaceX reports the Ship vehicle is lost after premature engine shutdown during ascent and telemetry loss.

'At this point we are assuming that we have lost the Ship,' SpaceX's Dan Huot says.

@[email protected] @[email protected] [email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #technology

Astronomy Picture of The Day - Jan 16

M83: The Southern Pinwheel

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

@[email protected] @[email protected] [email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy

NASA's Pandora to Illuminate Exoplanet Atmospheres

Nasa's Pandora mission is set to explore the atmospheres of distant exoplanets, adding to the growing portfolio of extraterrestrial investigation. This article provides an in-depth analysis of Pandora's objectives, milestones, and the significance of its mission in the context of modern astronomy.

https://joshuniverse.com/nasas-pandora-to-illuminate-exoplanet-atmospheres/

@[email protected] @[email protected] [email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy

Northern pike are moving through salt water to invade freshwater habitats in Southcentral Alaska, according to a recent study published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game made the discovery by collecting and analyzing tiny ear stones called otoliths from northern pike caught in the region. It's the first known documentation that northern pike are traveling through estuaries, where fresh water from rivers mixes with the ocean, to colonize new territory in North America.

The discovery offers new insights into the ongoing spread of northern pike throughout Southcentral Alaska. A native species in Interior and Western Alaska, northern pike were illegally introduced to the Susitna River basin in the 1950s. Since then, the predatory fish has become established in more than 150 lakes and rivers in the region.

Until now, the spread of northern pike was thought to be limited to freshwater corridors or illegal introductions by people.

"They're a freshwater fish, and it was thought that Cook Inlet represented a marine barrier stopping them from moving from watershed to watershed," said Matthew Wooller, a professor at the UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and lead author of the paper.

Wooller, who is also director of the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility at UAF, led the team's efforts to reconstruct the movements of pike by analyzing otoliths collected by ADFG since 2019. The composition of strontium isotopes in the layers of an otolith can be matched with chemical signatures in various waterways, showing where a fish traveled during its life.

"Strontium varies according to geology and location," Wooller said. "If pike are moving between watersheds, you can pick it up by analyzing strontium in the otoliths."

The study found three pike from three separate locations with isotopic signatures matching upper Cook Inlet water, suggesting they had occupied the inlet at some point. Those fish were caught in freshwater habitats that connect to Cook Inlet: Campbell Lake and Westchester Lagoon, both in Anchorage, and Vogel Lake on the Kenai Peninsula. The discovery highlights the steep challenge of limiting the spread of northern pike in the region. It suggests that ocean-connected waterways where northern pike have been eradicated may become reinvaded.

As efficient predators, pike impact native fish species such as salmon when they invade new territory.

The newfound realization that the fish are moving through estuaries "is just one more reason that northern pike are a poster child of what makes a formidable invasive species," said Peter Westley, a UAF associate professor of fisheries who has studied northern pike in their native and introduced ranges for over a decade.

While concerning, the new research also could lead to more targeted action against the invasive fish.

"Confirming northern pike can use this pathway gave us the information we needed to now focus on preventing this spread and protecting valuable habitats," said Parker Bradley, an ADFG invasive species biologist.

Kristine Dunker, who coordinates an ADFG program to manage invasive northern pike in Southcentral Alaska, said "the findings will help direct resources toward monitoring areas without pike that are at the highest risk of invasion.

"This discovery has been a step forward, both scientifically with our understanding of northern pike ecology in North America and also for our invasive northern pike management here at home," Dunker said.

Along with Wooller, Bradley, Dunker and Westley, contributors to the paper included Karen Spaleta at UAF and Robert Massengill, formerly at ADFG.

More information: Matthew J. Wooller et al, Estuarine dispersal of an invasive Holarctic predator (Esox lucius) confirmed in North America, PLOS ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315320

Journal information: PLoS ONE

Provided by University of Alaska Fairbanks

Headline is a bit misleading because the link to the volcanic eruption is not definitive and it may have been a celebration of the return of the sun rather than a sacrifice, but the article itself is interesting. A major change in the climate would certainly explain such a dramatic shift in their culture.

30 MINUTES - WATCH LIVE at 5:37 p.m.: Starship set to launch back to space.

SpaceX’s reusable megarocket will be taller, packed with more propellant and equipped with its first-ever payload when it makes its seventh flight test from Boca Chica, Texas.

Liftoff from “Starbase” is set for Thursday at 5:37 p.m. EST.

The company unveiled a long list of upgrades to its powerful moon rocket this month, with the goal of adding “additional vehicle performance and the ability to fly longer missions"

@[email protected] @[email protected] [email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PYuUj777a0

Astronomy Picture of the Day - Jan 15 2024

Wolf Moon Engulfs Mars

Explanation: Does the Moon ever engulf Mars? Yes, but only in the sense that it moves in front, which happens on rare occasions. This happened just yesterday, though, as seen from some locations in North America and western Africa. This occultation was notable not only because the Moon was a fully lit Wolf Moon, but because Mars was near its largest and brightest, moving to opposition -- the closest to the Earth in its orbit -- only tomorrow. The engulfing, more formally called an occultation, typically lasts about an hour. The featured image was taken from near Chicago, Illinois, USA just as Earth's largest satellite was angularly moving away from the much more distant red planet. Our Moon occasionally moves in front of all of the Solar System's planets. Given the temporary alignment of orbital planes, the next time our Moon eclipses Mars will be a relatively soon February 9.

@[email protected] @[email protected] [email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy

FDA bans Red No. 3 food dye in food, drinks

FDA: https://www.fda.gov/food/hfp-constituent-updates/fda-revoke-authorization-use-red-no-3-food-and-ingested-drugs

#health #science #biology @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]

Artificial Motors Mimic Muscle Proteins for Innovation

The recent advancements in nanotechnology have paved the way for the development of artificial motors that closely replicate the natural mechanisms inherent in biological systems. A groundbreaking study from The University of Manchester, in collaboration with the University of Strasbourg, has introduced artificial rotary motors capable of mimicking muscle proteins. This innovation marks a significant step in understanding molecular machines and could have profound implications across various fields, including medicine, energy, and nanotechnology.

https://biohackers.media/artificial-motors-mimic-muscle-proteins-for-innovation/

#health #science #biology @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]

We Just Got More Evidence That Long COVID Is a Brain Injury

The exact nature of long COVID is still coming to light, but we just got some of the best evidence yet that this debilitating condition stems from a brain injury.

Using high-resolution scanners, researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford have shown microscopic, structural abnormalities in the brainstems of those recovering from COVID-19.

Signs of brain inflammation were present up to 18 months after first contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

"We show that the brainstem is a site of vulnerability to long-term effects of COVID-19, with persistent changes evident in the months after hospitalization," the authors of the study conclude.

https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae215

#health #science #biology #news @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]

NEW JWST IMAGE shows SEVENTEEN carbon dust shells around a binary star system

@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, together with an international team, carried out an archaeogenetic study of human remains from more than 700 individuals from the Early Middle Ages. Two large burial sites, Mödling and Leobersdorf, have been genetically analyzed in their entirety. The surprising result was that the individuals from Leobersdorf were mostly of East Asian origin, while those buried in Mödling mostly had European ancestry. Both communities lived next to each other for at least six generations.

Stem cells reverse woman’s diabetes — a world first

A 25-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes started producing her own insulin less than three months after receiving a transplant of reprogrammed stem cells1. She is the first person with the disease to be treated using cells that were extracted from her own body.

“I can eat sugar now,” said the woman, who lives in Tianjing, on a call with Nature. It has been more than a year since the transplant, and, she says, “I enjoy eating everything — especially hotpot.” The woman asked to remain anonymous to protect her privacy.

James Shapiro, a transplant surgeon and researcher at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, says the results of the surgery are stunning. “They’ve completely reversed diabetes in the patient, who was requiring substantial amounts of insulin beforehand.”

#health #science #biology @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]

Check Out the Stunning New Images of Jupiter From NASA's Juno Spacecraft

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has just released stunning images of Jupiter, captured during its 66th flyby of the largest and oldest planet in our solar system.

The Juno mission has been studying the Jovian system—Jupiter, along with its rings and many moons—to learn about the giant planet’s formation and evolution with the hope that it might shed light on the development of the entire solar system, per a NASA statement. The solar-powered spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in August 2011 and reached Jupiter in July 2016.

“Jupiter is the Rosetta Stone of our solar system. Juno is going there as our emissary—to interpret what Jupiter has to say,” Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator and associate vice president of the Southwest Research Institute’s Science and Engineering Division, says in the statement.

@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy

A NASA astronaut may have just taken the best photo from space—ever - "During his third stay in orbit, Pettit is absolutely killing it."

@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy

Mid-Infrared Flares in Sagittarius A*
@[email protected] @[email protected] [email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy

Six-planet system discovered that moves in perfect mathematical harmony

Researchers have identified a fascinating six-planet system that offers a different take on planetary configurations. The newly reported configuration features six planets around a single star. Their orbits line up in a synchronized manner, which astronomers call resonance.

When planets move in resonance, their orbital periods stay in a fixed ratio for millions or even billions of years. This pattern can be so exact that it reminds some observers of musical tempos.

@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy