Radio bursts from space are exhibiting a strange ‘sad trombone’ effect

 

Image courtesy of Seth Shostak/SETI Institute

Joel Kontinen 

Astronomers have spotted a set of 35 mysterious flashes of radio waves from space that seem to show a strange phenomenon of decreasing frequency that has never been seen before.

"Short, powerful bursts of radio waves from space are getting stranger and stranger. Astronomers have spotted 35 of these bursts from a single object with a pattern unlike any we have seen before."

Sofia Sheikh at the SETI Institute in California and her colleagues observed this object, a fast radio burst (FRB) called FRB 20220912A, over the course of 541 hours of observation with the Allen Telescope Array in California. In each of the bursts from this FRB, they found a phenomenon called the “sad trombone”.

Source:

Leah Crane 2023. Radio bursts from space are exhibiting a strange ‘sad trombone’ effect | New Scientist. 28 December. 

 

Organic molecules in Bennu

 

A view of the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector. Sample material from asteroid Bennu can be seen on the middle right. 

Image courtecy of NASA/Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebersold)

What is that material?': Potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu stumps scientists with its odd makeup.

Scientists found signs of organic molecules in the first samples of potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu, as well as a 'head scratching' material that has yet to be identified.

Some scientist say that the asteroid Bennu has organic molecules. Tasked with finding clues about origins of life on Earth, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft scooped up pieces of a rugged, rubble-pile asteroid named Bennu in late 2020 and delivered them to Earth about two months ago. On Monday (Dec. 11), scientists got their first detailed description of some of that extraterrestrial collection.

Some scientist say, "We definitely have hydrated, organic-rich remnants from the early solar system, which is exactly what we were hoping when we first conceived this mission almost 20 years ago."

They said that Bennu has since its discovery is millions of years old.

Source:

Sharmila Kuthunur. 2023. 'What is that material?': Potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu stumps scientists with its odd makeup | Live Science 13 December.

 

 

An ancient whale claimed the title of heaviest animal ever in 2023

 

An artist’s impression of Perucetus colossus

Image courtesy of Alberto Gennari

 Joel Kontinen

Perucetus colossus lived 39 million years ago and weighed in at between 85 and 340 tonnes, meaning it was probably larger than even blue whales. The discovery has inspired both fan art and music.

"In August, the blue whale was cut down to size. Once known as the heaviest animal to have ever existed, that title has now been claimed by a gargantuan species of ancient whale discovered in Peru. The oversized beast, dubbed Perucetus colossus, has delighted people around the world."

The story of P. colossus began in 2010, when Eli Amson at the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart in Germany and his colleagues unearthed the partial skeleton of an enormous whale in southern Peru.

Source:

Chen Ly. 2023. Perucetus colossus: An ancient whale claimed the title of heaviest animal ever in 2023 | New Scientist

Stunning JWST image of Uranus shows 13 rings and nine moons

 

Image courtesy of NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Joel Kontinen

Rings, moons, storms and a bright polar cap can be seen in this breathtaking new image of Uranus from the James Webb Space Telescope

This amazing shot of Uranus, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), has given us our most complete view yet of the planet, with its rings and turbulent atmosphere revealed in glorious detail.

In April, JWST used its infrared sensors to image Uranus and give us a clearer view of the ice giant’s rings of rock and dust, which had only previously been directly imaged twice, by the Voyager 2 spacecraft and Earth-based Keck Observatory. In that April image, 11 of Uranus’s 13 known rings could be seen, but the final two were too faint to show up.

Source: 

Alex Wilkins 2023. Stunning JWST image of Uranus shows 13 rings and nine moons | New Scientist

18 December.

NASA finds key ingredient for life gushing out of Saturn's icy moon Encelaudus

 

Image courtesy of  NASA)

 Joel Kontinen

Scientists have discovered complex molecules in the gas and vapor plumes escaping from Enceladus's icy core — and some say one of them, hydrogen cyanide, is a precursor for life.

“On Earth, hydrogen cyanide is toxic to most organisms. But scientists believe it played an important role in the early origin of life, potentially serving as a precursor molecule in the evolution of amino acids — the building blocks of proteins required for life.”

“Encelaudus has intrigued astrobiologists since 2005, when NASA's Cassini probe detected jets of gas and icy crystals erupting from cryovolcanoes near its south pole.”

So this by no means confirms the presence of life, for evolutionists does strengthen the case for it on Enceladus. 

Source:  

Joanna Thompson. 2023. NASA finds key ingredient for life gushing out of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus (msn.com). 20 December

 

Evolutionist find "72 million year’s old" fossil

 

Image courtecy of Andrey Atuchin

Joel Kontinen

These  exceptional fossils, which aaccordin to evolution, are around 72 million years old, were discovered along the Aridagawa River in Wakayama Prefecture on Honshu island. “They belong to a never-before-seen species of mosasaur — a group of air-breathing aquatic reptiles that were apex marine predators during the Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago).”

In a new study published Dec. 11 in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, researchers named the new mosasaur Megapterygius wakayamaensis. The new genus Megapterygius translates to "large-winged" after the creature's unusually large rear flippers

Mosasaurs share a similar body plan and there is very little variation among species. But M. wakayamaensis is something of an outlier, which has surprised scientists. 

“Like other mosasaurs, M. wakayamaensis had a dolphin-like torso with four paddle-like flippers, an alligator-shaped snout and a long tail. But it also had a dorsal fin like a shark or dolphin, which is not seen in any other mosasaur species. “

However, what confused researchers the most was the size of the new mosasaur's rear flippers, which were even longer than their front flippers. Not only is this a first among mosasaurs but it is also extremely uncommon among all living and extinct aquatic species. 

Almost all swimming animals have their largest flippers toward the front of their bodies, which helps them steer through the water. Having larger flippers at the rear of the body would be like driving a car by steering the rear wheels instead of the front ones, which would make it much harder to turn quickly.

"We lack any modern analog that has this kind of body morphology — from fish to penguins to sea turtles," Konishi said. "None has four large flippers they use in conjunction with a tail fin."

The researchers suspect that instead of using the rear flippers to turn, M. wakayamaensis angled them upward or downward to quickly dive down or ascend through the water column, which may have helped make them adept hunters. The dorsal fin could have made it easier for the creature to turn, which may have counteracted the extra drag from the rear flippers, they added.

“M. wakayamaensis was about the same size as great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), which grow to around 4.9 metersor or 16 feet ‘) long. But other species could grow up to  (17 m), which is longer than a school bus.”

Source:

Harry Baker 2023. 

72 million-year-old 'blue dragon' unearthed in Japan is unlike anything we've ever seen, experts say | Live Science 18 December

 

Swimming together lets fish move faster while expending less energy

 

Image courtecy of blickwinkel/Alamy

Joel Kontinen

We have always suspected that fish can make enormous energy savings by swimming in groups, and now we have the proof

Giant danio (Devario aequipinnatus) save energy by swimming together

Swimming in schools has massive energy-saving benefits for fish. A study in “water tunnels” has found that fish use half as much energy swimming at high speeds if they are in a school rather than alone, and they also recover in nearly half the time.

This helps explain why so many fish species swim in schools, write Yangfan Zhang and George Lauder at Harvard University.

This is a good axample of intelligent design.

Source:

Michael Le Page 2023. Swimming together lets fish move faster while expending less energy | New Scientist 18 December

Moons around Uranus may suddenly develop atmospheres

 

Image courtecy of NASA/JPL/USGS

Joel Kontinen

Some evolutionist believe that the moons of Uranus may have short-lived atmospheres every time the seasons change. The seasons there are so intense that these tenuous atmospheres, called exospheres, could exist briefly twice every Uranian year before freezing and falling back down to the surface.

Uranus’s poles are extremely tilted with respect to the planet’s orbit around the sun, which, along with its powerful magnetic field, makes the seasons there particularly extreme. 

Source:

Leah Crane 2023 Moons around Uranus may suddenly develop atmospheres in the spring | New Scientist 16 December. 

Intelligent design keeps the Arctic seals warm

 

Image courtesy of Ole Jorgen Liodden/naturepl.com

Joel Kontinen

Maze-like bones in the noses of Arctic seals turn out to be an adaptation for keeping warm in chilly conditions

Bearded seals have convoluted nasal bones that help keep heat in their bodies

Arctic seals have evolved a nifty adaptation for staying warm in icy climes: intricate, maze-like bones in their noses.

Many birds and mammals, including humans, have a pair of thin, porous nasal bones called maxilloturbinates or nasal concha, which are covered by a layer of tissue.

“They take the form of scrolls, or a branching form a little bit like a tree,” says Matthew Mason at the University of Cambridge.

This is a good example of the intelligent design.

Source:

Chen Ly 2023. Arctic seals have weird bones in their noses that help them stay warm | New Scientist 14 December. 

City-size comet racing toward Earth regrows 'horns' after massive volcanic eruption

 

Image courtecy of Comet Chasers/Richard Miles

Joel Kontinen

Evolutionists say that the cryovolcanic comet 12P/Pons–Brooks, which will make its closest approach to Earth next year, has re-sprouted its distinctive "horns" after its second major eruption in four months.

“An enormous volcanic comet the size of a small city has violently exploded for the second time in four months as it hurtles toward the sun. And just like the previous eruption, the cloud of ice and gas emitted what looked like a gigantic pair of horns.”

The comet, named 12P/Pons-Brooks, is a cryovolcanic - it is (17 kilometers), and is filled with a mix of ice, dust and gas known as cryomagma. The nucleus is surrounded by a fuzzy cloud of gas called a coma, which leaks out of the comet's interior. 

When solar radiation heats the comet's insides, the pressure builds up and the comet violently explodes, shooting its frosty guts out into space through large cracks in the nucleus's shell.

On Oct. 5, astronomers detected a large outburst from 12P, after the comet became dozens of times brighter due to the extra light reflecting from its expanded coma, according to the British Astronomical Association (BAA), which has been closely monitoring the comet 

Over the next few days, the comet's coma expanded further and developed its "peculiar horns," Spaceweather.com reported. Some experts joked that the irregular shape of the coma also makes the comet look like a science fiction spaceship, such as the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.

Source:

Harry Baker 2023. City-size comet racing toward Earth regrows 'horns' after massive volcanic eruption | Live Science October 16,

 

Jumping spiders seem to recognise each other if they have met before

 

Image courtesy of FLPA/Alamy.

Joel Kontinren

Regal jumpers, a type of jumping spider, appear to be less interested in each other if they have met before, suggesting that the arachnids recognise individuals within their species

Some evolutionists believe that Jumping spiders seem to be able to tell each other apart, putting them among just a few other invertebrates that are thought to have this kill.

“Recognising individuals within your species is important for social animals, such as primates, but just a handful of invertebrates have been observed to have this recognition, for example Northern paper wasps (Polistes fuscatus). This is thought to help with social cohesion within the insects’ colonies.!!”

Source:

Chen Ly 2023. Jumping spiders seem to recognise each other if they've met before | New Scientist

8 December.

The moon may enter a new geological period thanks to human activity

 

Image courtecy of NASA

Joel Kontinen

Some evolutionist think that humanity’s influence on the moon is so great that we should define a new geological epoch, just as we are doing on Earth with the creation of the Anthropocene, researchers argue. We should also create lunar “national parks” to preserve areas for scientific study, they say.

“The Anthropocene is the name given to the epoch in which humans began having a significant impact on Earth’s geology and ecosystems. The definition is still being agreed upon, but most researchers suggest Earth entered this period in 1950, marked by the presence of plutonium isotopes from nuclear weapons tests in sediment at the bottom of a relatively untouched lake in Canada.”

Source:

Matthew Sparkes. 2023 The moon may enter a new geological period thanks to human activity | New Scientist. 8 December 

Elusive Planet Nine could be an alternative form of gravity masquerading as a planet, study claims

 

Image courtecy: Shutterstock

Joel Kontinen

Some astronauts think that the elusive Planet Nine, which is theorized to be lurking somewhere in the outer reaches of the solar system, may not be a planet after all, a new study suggests. Instead, what we assumed to be a massive object could be evidence that gravity doesn't work like we thought it does. But the new theory doesn't sit well with everyone.

“The Planet Nine hypothesis, first proposed in 2016, argues that the unusual orbits of objects in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune, which seem to be being pulled away from the sun, can be explained by the presence of an undiscovered ninth planet up to 10 times more massive than Earth. Astronomers have been looking for Planet Nine ever since. However, despite searching almost half of the night sky, they have so far come up empty-handed. “   

Source: 

Harry Baker 2023.

 October 16, Elusive Planet Nine could be an alternative form of gravity masquerading as a planet, study claims | Live Science

Largest stream of stars ever found could teach us about dark matter

 

Image courtecy of William Herschel Telescope/Román et al.

Joel Kontinen

The newfound Giant Coma Stream of stars stretches nearly 1.7 million light years across the cosmos, and it could have holes blasted through it by clumps of dark matter

The black streak is the newly discovered Giant Coma Stream, which is ten times as long as the Milky Way.

Some astromomers have found the biggest stream of stars ever recorded. This tendril of stars is extraordinarily faint, but it and others like it could eventually help us unveil the true nature of secrets of dark matter.

The stream of stars, called the Giant Coma Stream, appears to float unmoored from any particular galaxy in the Coma galaxy cluster, about 300 million light years away from Earth. 

Source: 

Leah Crane 2023. Largest stream of stars ever found could teach us about dark matter | New Scientist

2 December.