Run-ins between black holes and neutron stars aren’t as prolific at making heavy elements The cosmic origins of elements heavier than iron are mysterious. One elemental birthplace came to light in 2017 when two neutron-rich dead stars collided and spewed out gold, platinum and other hefty elements. A few yearsContinue Reading
Scientists hope to find clues to help them recognize when other stars are about to blow A mad scramble to observe the moments after a star’s death is helping scientists understand how the star lived out its last year. Astronomers reported the exploding star just 18 hours after it flaredContinue Reading
Nearly 20 “witches” were executed in the English colony. Between 1692 and 1693, accusations of witchcraft were made in and around the town of Salem in Massachusetts, leading to the arrests of about 150 people. These charges were taken seriously, and the ensuing trials resulted in the executions of 19Continue Reading
What do you see in the photo? What do you see in this image of space gas and dust? Perhaps, the greenish blob puts you in mind of a frog, or a crocodile, or Slimer from “Ghostbusters.” One scientist is pretty sure he saw Godzilla. Much like clouds on Earth,Continue Reading
The mysterious Tarim mummies of China’s western Xinjiang region are relics of a unique Bronze Age culture descended from Indigenous people, and not a remote branch of early Indo-Europeans, according to new genetic research. The new study upends more than a century of assumptions about the origins of the prehistoricContinue Reading
The call was coming from inside our solar system all along. A strange radio signal once thought to be a possible sign of alien intelligence in a nearby star system was likely created by a broken piece of human technology, according to new research. On April 29, 2019, astronomers detectedContinue Reading
China has test fired a huge new solid rocket motor, creating more propulsion options for the country’s growing space activities. The rocket motor was ignited Tuesday (Oct. 19) at a site near Xi’an city in north China, firing for 115 seconds, creating a tremendous trail of flame and exhaust. TheContinue Reading
The planet appears to orbit a massive star circling a dead star in the Whirlpool galaxy Astronomers may have spotted the first known planet in another galaxy. The potential world, called M51-ULS-1b, orbits both a massive star and a dead star in the Whirlpool galaxy, about 28 million light-years fromContinue Reading
It’s not like leftovers are a modern invention. Refrigeration is a pretty new phenomenon, so for millennia, people had to find clever ways to preserve food. These practices slowed the growth of microorganisms that could cause foodborne illnesses or lead food to rot. Many preservation practices other than refrigeration —Continue Reading
More recently than you might think. Istanbul is a rare place. It’s the only city to straddle Europe and the Middle East; the Turkish metropolis is simultaneously an Asian and a European city. This geography helps explain why it was once the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, also knownContinue Reading