Page 611 | Sci.News: Breaking Science News

This image shows conditions observed by Cassini during a flyby on December 1, 2013, when the magnetosphere of Saturn was highly compressed, exposing Titan to the full force of the solar wind. In analyzing data from the encounter, the researchers observed that the moon interacted with the solar wind much like the planets Mars and Venus, or a comet. Specifically, they saw that the solar wind draped itself around Titan, creating a shockwave that formed around Titan where the full-force solar wind rammed into the atmosphere of the moon. Previously, scientists had thought Titan would have a different sort of interaction with the solar wind because of the complex atmospheric chemistry of the moon. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

NASA’s Cassini Observes Interaction of Titan with Supersonic Solar Wind

Jan 30, 2015 by News Staff

Scientists analyzing data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft have found that Titan – the largest moon of Saturn and the only moon in the Solar System with...

The center of the galaxy Messier 82 at very long radio wavelengths; the bright points are most likely supernova remnants; the image is about 3,300 light years across. Image credit: E. Varenius / Onsala Space Observatory / LOFAR Collaboration.

LOFAR Radio Telescope Observes Messier 82 (Cigar Galaxy)

Jan 29, 2015 by News Staff

The Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope has been used to observe the glowing center of the starburst galaxy Messier 82 at very long radio wavelengths. The...

Terrestrial exoplanet and its moons. Image credit: Luciano Mendez / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Extrasolar Gas Giants Can Become Potentially Habitable Super-Earths, Say Scientists

Jan 29, 2015 by News Staff

Two phenomena known to inhibit the potential habitability of planets – tidal forces and vigorous stellar activity – could combine to transform...

The feather-legged lace weaver (Uloborus plumipes). Image credit: Olaf Leillinger / CC BY-SA 2.5.

Feather-Legged Lace Weaver Gives Unique Insights into How to Spin Nano-Fibers

Jan 29, 2015 by News Staff

The majority of spiders spin silk threads several micrometers thick, but the orb spider Uloborus plumipes can spin nano-scale filaments. The feather-legged...

Qijianglong guokr chased by two carnivorous dinosaurs. Image credit: Lida Xing.

Qijianglong guokr: New Long-Necked Dinosaur Discovered in China

Jan 29, 2015 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists from Japan, China and Canada has described a new genus and species of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Upper Jurassic...

Various views of the Manot skull fossil. Image credit: Israel Hershkovitz et al.

55,000-Year-Old Skull Fossil Sheds New Light on Human Migration out of Africa

Jan 29, 2015 by News Staff

A human skull fragment recently unearthed at Manot Cave in Israel provides strong evidence that both anatomically modern Homo sapiens and Neanderthals...

Water beetle Acilius sulcatus. Image credit: Kai Kluwe.

Vision Gene Found in Blind Water Beetles

Jan 28, 2015 by News Staff

A team of scientists from Australia has discovered that a species of blind water beetle called Limbodessus palmulaoides – living underground for millions...

This image shows the cometary globule CG4; although it looks huge and bright in this image it is actually a faint nebula and not easy to observe; the exact nature of CG4 remains a mystery. Image credit: ESO.

God’s Hand: Astronomers Capture Cometary Globule CG4

Jan 28, 2015 by News Staff

A stunning new image of the cometary globule CG4 has been obtained by a group of astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope. This image shows the cometary...

Portugalophis lignites in a gingko tree. Image credit: Julius Csotonyi.

Paleontologists Find World’s Oldest Known Snake Fossils

Jan 28, 2015 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists led by Prof Michael Caldwell of the University of Alberta, Canada, has found the fossilized remains of four ancient legged snakes...

Scientists have found a way to unboil eggs. Image credit: Eugene Kim / CC BY 2.0.

Scientists Discover How to ‘Uncook’ Egg Whites

Jan 28, 2015 by News Staff

In research that could dramatically reduce costs for cancer treatments and food production, a team of chemists from Australia and the United States, led...

This panorama is presented in approximate true color by combing exposures taken through three of the Opportunity’s Pancam color filters, centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers (near-infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet). The left edge is toward west-northwest and the right edge is southward. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell University /Arizona State University.

NASA’s Opportunity Celebrates 11 Years on Mars

Jan 28, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity celebrates its 11th anniversary on the planet, marking the milestone with an incredible view of 22-km-wide Endeavour Crater. This...

This is an artistic impression of the Kepler-444 planetary system. Image credit: Tiago Campante / Peter Devine.

Kepler-444: Five Exoplanets Found Orbiting 11-Billion-Year-Old Star

Jan 27, 2015 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers headed by Dr Tiago Campante of the University of Birmingham’s School of Physics and Astronomy, UK, has discovered...

The rings of J1407b are shown eclipsing the young Sun-like star J1407. Image credit: Ron Miller.

Super-Saturn J1407b Hosts Massive Ring System, Astronomers Say

Jan 27, 2015 by News Staff

Dr Matthew Kenworthy of Leiden Observatory and Prof Eric Mamajek of the University of Rochester have discovered a so-called super-Saturn exoplanet with...

This image shows the asteroid 2004 BL86 and its small companion. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Sci-News.com.

Asteroid 2004 BL86 and its Moon Fly Safely Past Earth

Jan 27, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Deep Space Network antenna have captured the first radar images of asteroid 2004 BL86, which made its closest approach January...

This image shows the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4217. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / NASA / R. Schoofs.

Astronomers Snap Image of Edge-on Spiral Galaxy NGC 4217

Jan 26, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have obtained a remarkable new view of the spiral galaxy NGC 4217. This image shows the edge-on spiral...

NASA's Curiosity Rover. Image credit: NASA.

Mars Helicopter Could be Scout for Future Rovers, NASA Says

Jan 26, 2015 by News Staff

Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory are working on a helicopter drone that could scout a trail for future Mars exploration vehicles. NASA’s...

Strix aluco, a species of the genus Strix closely related to the Hume’s tawny owl (Strix butleri) and the newly described Desert Tawny Owl (Strix hadorami). Image credit: Andreas Trepte, www.photo-natur.de / CC BY-SA 2.5.

Desert Tawny Owl: New Species of Bird Discovered

Jan 25, 2015 by Sergio Prostak

A group of ornithologists led by Dr Manuel Schweizer from the Natural History Museum of Bern in Switzerland has described a new cryptic species of owl...

This artist’s concept shows a changing look quasar. Image credit: Michael Helfenbein / Yale University.

Astronomers Discover First ‘Changing Look’ Quasar

Jan 23, 2015 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by Dr Stephanie LaMassa of Yale Center for Astronomy & Astrophysics has identified the first changing look quasar, a gleaming...

Fish in an estuary beneath the Antarctic ice. Image credit: Deep-SCINI / UNL-Andrill / SMO.

Scientists Find Fish, Crustaceans under 740 Meters of Antarctic Ice

Jan 23, 2015 by News Staff

Researchers from the Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD) project have uncovered a unique ecosystem of fish and invertebrates...