Scientists have studied the morphology and structure of Cretaceous-period dinosaur eggshells collected from the El Gallo Formation of Baja California, Mexico. Elejalde-Cadena et al. present a detailed structural and morphological analysis of different dinosaur eggshells such as Spheroolithus, lambeosaurinae, Prismatoolithus, and one unidentified eggshell performed by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy. …
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NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been in orbit around Jupiter since 2016. One of its instruments is the ultraviolet spectrograph (UVS), which is primarily used to make ultraviolet images of Jupiter’s auroras. During the first four years of the mission, the UVS instrument has observed 11 transient bright flashes. These flashes …
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On October 28, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully stowed its Sample Return Capsule (SRC) with a sample of surface material from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. This image shows OSIRIS-REx’s collector head hovering over the Sample Return Capsule after the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism arm moved it into the proper position …
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Astronomers have identified more than 4,000 exoplanets orbiting other stars but just a few “rogue planets” wandering the galaxy without a star to call home. A new study claims to have spotted one of these worlds, and it may be a small, rocky world like Earth. If confirmed, the …
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Archaeologists have discovered figures of animals, mainly bison, engraved in a Gravettian style in three caves in northern Spain. Engravings in the A panel of Aitzbitarte III cave in Spain. Top: tracing of the panel formed by the bird and the bison, engraved on the left wall. Bottom left: detail …
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Paleontologists have found two nearly complete skeletons from a new genus and species of nothosauroid marine reptile that lived during the Middle Triassic in what is now China. Dubbed Brevicaudosaurus jiyangshanensis, the ancient creature used its short and flat tail for balance and floated near the bottom of the edges …
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Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) live in tight-knit groups, foraging, resting and sleeping together around a core home range and a wider peripheral range. These groups sometimes split permanently, separating gorillas that may have lived together for years and may be closely related. A new study, published in the Journal …
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Spooky sounds are a mainstay of Halloween, but there’s no sound in space. That doesn’t mean it’s not scary, though. Black holes can vacuum up light and spaghettify matter, but it turns out they have a Halloween vibe if you give them a listen. NASA’s latest data release turns …
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In a new study published this week in the journal Nature, a team of researchers from the United Kingdom combined fossil records with a new model of flight to measure flight efficiency in pterosaurs and fill in gaps in our knowledge of their evolutionary story. The scientists were able to …
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Earth has been bombarded by space rocks throughout its history, but we’re lucky no large ones have slammed into the planet lately. Astronomers keep a careful watch on the skies, hoping to spot potential impactors far enough in advance that we can do something about it, and one of …
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