While Earth’s one and only moon enthralls everyone on this planet, it can’t hold a candle to Saturn’s 274 moons, 128 of which were recently discovered and recognized by the International Astronomical Union. With this new surge in its moon count, Saturn prevails with the most moons out of any other planet in the Solar System. Astronomers are now wondering, though, how this abundance of moons emerged in the first place.Regular vs. Irregular MoonsAlthough Saturn boasts an impressive amount of ...read more
On both page and screen, we’re used to seeing dinosaurs and prehistoric birds as vibrant creatures exhibiting unique and diverse patterns in color and texture. But what about the mammals roaming the earth alongside them?In a new study published in Science, an international team of scientists has discovered that early mammals had dark and dull fur, no matter the species. This uniform fur coloring had evolutionary advantages and allowed mammals to avoid becoming prey to their more colorful neigh ...read more
About 34 million years ago, iguanas sailed 5,000 miles from western North America and settled in Fiji. It’s not uncommon for iguana species to hop a natural raft and drift to a new island, but according to new research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, this may be the “the longest known transoceanic dispersal of any terrestrial vertebrate.”"We found that the Fiji iguanas are most closely related to the North American desert iguanas, something that hadn't been fi ...read more
An unexpected extended stay at the International Space Station will come to an end March 18, 2025 — weather and technology permitting. If all goes as planned, NASA astronauts Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore will return to Earth, unintentionally joining the top 10 list of longest time for U.S. astronauts spent in space on a single mission.A Longer Stay on the ISSWhen Suni and Butch rode Boeing’s first-ever crewed Starliner to the ISS in June 2024, they were only expected to s ...read more
Sit comfortably and pay attention to your breath as you inhale and exhale. When thoughts drift into your mind, just ignore them and stay focused on your breath. Seems simple enough, right? But it turns out that this basic practice, known as mindfulness meditation, is powerful stuff. Not only does it help reduce stress and improve mood, but it actually changes your brain structure. And those changes can be quite beneficial. How Meditation Changes the Brain Sara Lazar is a neuroscientist at the ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine