Dec 3rd, 2024 - Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. . science and culture for people who love beautiful writing. W hen the two Voyager probes launched into space in 1977, they were headed to uncharted territory. It was the first time humanity had sent robot spacecraft to study up close the four giant outer planets of our solar system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Stunning images and scientific data captured by the probes over the next few decades altered our understanding of the cosmos. Through the Voyagers, we learned of Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere , the tilted magnetic field of ... [Read More]

Dec 3rd, 2024 - https://theconversation.com/to-map-the-vibration-of-the-universe-astronomers-built-a-detector-the-size-of-the-galaxy-244157 Using the largest gravitational wave detector ever made, we have confirmed earlier reports that the fabric of the universe is constantly vibrating. This background rumble is likely caused by collisions between the enormous black holes that reside in the hearts of galaxies. The results from our detector – an array of rapidly spinning neutron stars spread across the galaxy – show this "gravitational wave background" may be louder than previously thought. We ... [Read More]

Dec 3rd, 2024 - Most people associate the discovery that faraway galaxies are receding from us — and thus, that the universe is expanding — with Edwin Hubble, thanks to his landmark 1929 paper. It was one of the most fundamental discoveries in the history of science. But Hubble did not discover the expansion. In the 1910s, a Lowell Observatory astronomer named Vesto Slipher found that spiral nebulae, as galaxies were called, are "fleeing" from us at what were then unheard-of speeds. This was the first observational evidence of the expanding universe. Hubble's paper established a linear ... [Read More]

Dec 3rd, 2024 - By An Ethiopian wolf's diet is pretty basic: its proverbial meat and potatoes consists of a large rodent called a giant mole rat (which is meat but looks rather like a fuzzy potato). But it turns out that the endangered canid also has a sweet tooth. It regularly laps up sugary nectar from a tall, fiery-hued flower that adorns the animal's high-elevation ecosystem. In the process, the wolf may be serving as a pollinator, a role usually occupied by insects, birds and flying mammals—not large carnivores. That hypothesis comes from a team at the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program, which ... [Read More]

Dec 3rd, 2024 - Climate change poses a threat to US national parks like Yellowstone. Warmer temperatures and extreme weather impact both ecosystems and visitors. Advocates hope witnessing changes to the parks will inspire visitors to help protect them. Each year, over 300 million visitors explore the hundreds of parks that make up the US National Park system. These spaces offer unparalleled views of mountains and forests, immersing people in the sights and sounds of nature that are often missing from their everyday lives. But the national parks are in trouble. "Most of our parks have multiple assaults on ... [Read More]

Dec 3rd, 2024 - Researchers at Cornell University have built the world's smallest walking robot, at just two to five microns across. The robot is so small that over 3o,ooo of them could fit on the sharp point of a needle. That tiny size means potentially huge capabilities for medical uses and material sciences since it is small enough to interact with waves of light at sizes comparable with the light's wavelength. "A walking robot that's small enough to interact with and shape light effectively takes a microscope's lens and puts it directly into the microworld," says team leader Paul McEuen, an emeritus ... [Read More]

Dec 3rd, 2024 - The NASA project NEOWISE, which has given astronomers a detailed view of near-Earth objects – some of which could strike the Earth – ended its mission and burned on reentering the atmosphere after over a decade. On a clear night, the sky is full of bright objects – from stars, large planets and galaxies to tiny asteroids flying near Earth. These asteroids are commonly known as near-Earth objects , and they come in a wide variety of sizes. Some are tens of kilometers across or larger, while others are only tens of meters or smaller. On occasion, near-Earth objects smash into ... [Read More]

Dec 3rd, 2024 - Microbes supporting the production of more metabolic energy could be key to the evolution of large brains Northwestern University How did human brains get so big? The answer could be in our gut Microbes supporting the production of more metabolic energy could be key to the evolution of large brains EVANSTON, Ill. --- Brain tissue is among the most energetically costly in the body, and as a result, larger-brained mammals require more energy to support brain growth and maintenance.  Exactly which biological changes allowed human ancestors to meet the very high needs for energy as they ... [Read More]