When a star is born or dies, or when any other very energetic phenomenon occurs in the universe, it emits X-rays, which are high-energy light particles that aren’t visible to the naked eye. These X-rays are the same kind that doctors useto take pictures of broken bones inside the body. But instead of looking at the shadows produced by the bones stopping X-rays inside of a person, astronomers detect X-rays flying through space to get images of events such as black holes and supernovae.Images an ...read more
There's a baby girl gestating in the womb of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, and if she's born without complication, she'll make a big impression all around the world.
I'm speaking of the La Niña climate phenomenon. And according to the latest forecast, she stands a 69 percent chance of being born between July and September, pushing aside the almost dead 2023-2024 El Niño. (A new forecast is coming soon.) You can see her developing along the equator in the screenshot above, and in this video: [ ...read more
Bat populations in Colorado may be headed for a decline that could cause ecological disruptions across the state.Two bats discovered in Boulder County in late February 2024 were confirmed to have white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease. Additional bats in Larimer County also tested positive for white-nose syndrome early this spring.The first North American bats with white fungus on their faces, ears and wings were discovered in 2006 in caves where they hibernated near Albany, New York. The ...read more
A leading theory for why primates have bigger brains than other mammals has been debunked. The “fruit-diet theory” contended that foraging ability and intelligence go hand in hand in a sort of fruit-foraging feedback loop. Essentially, it posited that animals with larger brains can find fruit easily, then eating that fruit fuels brain growth, which, in turn boosts foraging ability. But, a study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B that compared larger-brained primates fruit foraging with sm ...read more
Phobos and Deimos are potato-shaped, heavily pock-marked rocks that are gravitationally bound to Mars. They are also two of the strangest moons in the Solar System.For a start, they are tiny compared to their host—Phobos is just 20 kilometers across. They are much less dense than Mars and heavily cratered, suggesting a colorful past. They also have some peculiar features, such as the grooves on the surface of Phobos that stretch for over a kilometer. The puzzle for astronomers is to determine ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine