The brightest outpourings of energy in the universe are gamma ray bursts. They are typically born as stars or other objects collapse into black holes and send out blasts of high-energy photons billions of light years across the universe.Most commonly, the collapsing objects are massive stars that have burned through their nuclear fuel and imploded, causing gamma rays to shoot out in opposing directions.But the universe has other tricks up its sleeve, according to a new paper. For the first time, ...read more
Dogs are still the most popular pet in the U.S. (sorry, cats) and only getting more popular. Just last year, the percentage of homes with at least one dog rose to nearly 45 percent, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.For many of these first-time pup parents, smaller breeds may seem the easier or safer option. But looks can be deceiving. According to numerous studies over the past two decades, certain pint-sized breeds are stubborn as mules and prone to barking, biting, sna ...read more
All the stars in our galaxy are moving relative to one another, usually at speeds no more than about 100 kilometers per second. Some stars move much faster, and a few have huge velocities, of the order of 1000 kilometers per second. These hypervelocity stars have an interesting history. Astronomers believe these stars probably started life as one half of a binary system with one star then being captured by the powerful gravitational field of the supermassive black hole at the center of our galax ...read more
Old Billy was a draft horse, probably a Shire, who lived and worked in England in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He was 62 years old when he died. In those days, that was a pretty advanced age for a human; for a horse, it was remarkable. It's thought that Old Billy is the longest-lived horse on record.How Long Do Horses Live?On average, domesticated horses live 25 to 30 years. Ponies tend to live even longer. (Horses in the wild typically make it only to about 15 years old ...read more
Did you know? Your camera (or smartphone) is a fantastic tool you can use to help scientists better understand the world and answer big questions affecting us and our planet.Next time you’re taking a walk, visiting a local park, heading out on an outdoor adventure or even just exploring your own basement, you can aid REAL scientific research by photographing plants, animals, fungi and more!Need help getting started? Watch the recording of our June 20 SciStarter LIVE! event: Photography 101: H ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
