Excavated in Canada, this Eastern red cedar log turned out to be remarkably well-preserved for its age: 3,775 years old. Credit: Mark Sherwood, University of Maryland A new study published in the journal Science suggests that an ordinary old log could help refine strategies to tackle climate change. A team of researchers led by University…
Author: astronomy.daily
Webb discovers 'weird' galaxy with gas outshining its stars
The newly-discovered GS-NDG-9422 galaxy appears as a faint blur in this James Webb Space Telescope NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image. It could help astronomers better understand galaxy evolution in the early Universe. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Alex Cameron (Oxford) The discovery of a “weird” and unprecedented galaxy in the early universe could “help us understand…
A new catalog charts the evolution of the universe over time
This multiwavelength image of the Cloverleaf ORC (odd radio circle) combines visible light observations from the DESI (Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument) Legacy Survey in white and yellow, X-rays from XMM-Newton in blue, and radio from ASKAP (the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder) in red. Credit: X. Zhang and M. Kluge (MPE), B. Koribalski (CSIRO) An…
Decades-long research reveals new understanding of how climate change may impact caches of Arctic soil carbon
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Utilizing one of the longest-running ecosystem experiments in the Arctic, a Colorado State University-led team of researchers has developed a better understanding of the interplay among plants, microbes and soil nutrients—findings that offer new insight into how critical carbon deposits may be released from thawing Arctic permafrost. Estimates suggest that Arctic…
A river is pushing up Mount Everest's peak
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Mount Everest is about 15 to 50 meters taller than it would otherwise be because of uplift caused by a nearby eroding river gorge, and continues to grow because of it, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The study, published in Nature Geoscience, found that erosion from a river network…
Submicroscopic magnetite may be ubiquitous in lunar regolith of high-Ti region
Droplet-like, rounded iron-sulfide grains embedded within Chang’ e-5 glasses of different Ti content. Credit: IGCAS The research team led by Li Yang and Cao Zhi at the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences confirmed for the first time that submicroscopic magnetite particles are common throughout the lunar surface. This information updates our…
Geologists discover mysterious subduction zone beneath Pacific, reshaping understanding of Earth's interior
A map depicting the region where the discovery of an ancient seafloor was made. Credit: Jingchuan Wang, University of Maryland. University of Maryland scientists uncovered evidence of an ancient seafloor that sank deep into Earth during the age of dinosaurs, challenging existing theories about Earth’s interior structure. Located in the East Pacific Rise (a tectonic…
Hubble finds that a black hole beam promotes stellar eruptions
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA. Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Olmsted (STScI) In a surprise finding, astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have discovered that the blowtorch-like jet from a supermassive black hole at the core of a huge galaxy seems to cause stars to erupt…
First evidence of life colonizing deep into the bedrock of Greenland
Photographs of drill cores from Greenland. Credit: Henrik Drake A new study shows that microorganisms lived deep within the fractured bedrock of Greenland 75 million years ago. The work is published in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. Beneath our feet lies a habitat called the deep biosphere. In this harsh environment, without sunlight and without…
High-pressure reactions can turn nonporous rocks into sponges
Photographs of natural rocks showing (a) hydration and (b) dehydration features. (a) Eclogite shear zone with eclogitization associated to deformation from Holsnøy, western Norway (60°35’11”N, 5°07’34”E). (b) Metamorphic olivine veins in antigorite serpentinite from the Erro Tobbio ultramafic rocks, Ligurian Alps, Italy (44°33’38.9″N, 8°48’49.5″E). Credit: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (2024). DOI: 10.1029/2023GC011422 In deep Earth, rocks…