Science & TechnologyS


Attention

128 new Saturn moons just announced

Michelle Starr
Science Alert
Wed, 12 Mar 2025 01:45 UTC
Saturn's Moons
© NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science InstituteFive of Saturn's moons, from left: Janus, Pandora, Enceladus, Rhea, and Mimas.
The race between Jupiter and Saturn for the most moons in the Solar System may have just finally come screeching to a halt.

A team of scientists has found a whopping 128 previously unknown moons hanging around Saturn, in a discovery officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union. This brings the planet's total number of known moons to 274, leaving Jupiter, with its mere 95 moons, in the dust.

The first hint that there were more moons awaiting discovery came between 2019 and 2021, when 62 such objects were identified. Other small objects were also spotted at the time that couldn't yet be designated.

"With the knowledge that these were probably moons, and that there were likely even more waiting to be discovered, we revisited the same sky fields for three consecutive months in 2023," says astronomer Edward Ashton of Academia Sincia in Taiwan.

"Sure enough, we found 128 new moons. Based on our projections, I don't think Jupiter will ever catch up."
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Ice Cube

Antarctica ice growing across large areas for at least 85 years, aerial photos show

Chris Morrison
The Daily Sceptic
Tue, 11 Mar 2025 09:00 UTC
penguins
© screenshotEast Antartica ice growth
Sensational new discoveries arising from long-forgotten early aerial photographs indicate that ice has remained stable and even grown slightly since the 1930s over a 2,000 km stretch of East Antarctica. In a recent paper published in Nature Communications, researchers from the University of Copenhagen came to their conclusions by tracking glacial movement in an area with as much ice as the Greenland ice sheet. The findings are unlikely to feature in narrative-driven mainstream media. The silence will probably replicate the response to another recent paper that found the ice shelves surrounding Antarctica grew in overall size from 2009-2019.

The Copenhagen scientists examined hundreds of old aerial photographs taken for mapping work in 1937. The images were supplemented with a number of photographs taken in the 1950s and 1974 of the same area and a 3D computer reconstruction was produced. This allowed the researchers to examine the evolution of glaciers over a significant time period. In order to determine if recent trends exceed the scale of natural variability, long-term observations are said to be vital. It was noted:
"Compared to modern data, the ice flow speeds are unchanged. While some glaciers have thinned over shorter intermediate periods of 10-20 years, they have remained stable or grown slightly in the long term, indicating a system in balance."
Actual long-term scientific observations will always beat media-friendly computer-modeled pseudoscientific opinions and alarm drummed up by short-term outliers.
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Beaker

Real green research: Plastic recycling gets a breath of fresh air

Amanda Morris
Northwestern Now
Wed, 12 Mar 2025 15:20 UTC
plastic bottle recycle breakthrough
© GettyUsing a simple catalyst and air, Northwestern scientists have developed a new method for recycling plastics that is safer, cleaner, cheaper and more sustainable than current strategies.
Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air

Harnessing moisture from air, Northwestern University chemists have developed a simple new method for breaking down plastic waste.

The non-toxic, environmentally friendly, solvent-free process first uses an inexpensive catalyst to break apart the bonds in polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common plastic in the polyester family. Then, the researchers merely expose the broken pieces to ambient air. Leveraging the trace amounts of moisture in air, the broken-down PET is converted into monomers — the crucial building blocks for plastics. From there, the researchers envision the monomers could be recycled into new PET products or other, more valuable materials.

Safer, cleaner, cheaper and more sustainable than current plastic recycling methods, the new technique, published in the journal Green Chemistry, offers a promising path toward creating a circular economy for plastics.
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Fireball 5

World's oldest impact crater found, rewriting Earth's ancient history

Samuel Jeremic
Curtin University
Thu, 06 Mar 2025 17:40 UTC
Pilabara Impact Crater
© Curtin University
Curtin University researchers have discovered the world's oldest known meteorite impact crater, which could significantly redefine our understanding of the origins of life and how our planet was shaped.

The team from Curtin's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA) investigated rock layers in the North Pole Dome — an area of the Pilbara region of Western Australia — and found evidence of a major meteorite impact 3.5 billion years ago.

Study co-lead Professor Tim Johnson, from Curtin University, said the discovery significantly challenged previous assumptions about our planet's ancient history.

"Before our discovery, the oldest impact crater was 2.2 billion years old, so this is by far the oldest known crater ever found on Earth," Professor Johnson said.

Researchers discovered the crater thanks to 'shatter cones', distinctive rock formations only formed under the intense pressure of a meteorite strike.

The shatter cones at the site, about 40 kilometres west of Marble Bar in WA's Pilbara region, were formed when a meteorite slammed into the area at more than 36,000km/h.

This would have been a major planetary event, resulting in a crater more than 100km wide that would have sent debris flying across the globe.
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Nuke

Research finds tardigrade protein shields mouse cells from radiation

Laura Tran, PhD
The Scientist
Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:52 UTC
microscopic creature: Tardigrade
© N. Carrera, Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas
A hardy tardigrade, also known as a water bear or moss piglet. These strange micro-animals are less than half a millimeter long and live in moist environments such as moss. They're known for their incredible hardiness: A tardigrade can go without food and water for decades and then bounce back with no harm done.
Boosting cells with a tardigrade protein reduced DNA damage after radiation, offering potential protection for healthy tissue during cancer treatment.

Tardigrades, or water bears, are microscopic animals with incredible survival skills — they can withstand extreme temperatures and the vacuum of space. They can also tolerate high doses of radiation. Researchers previously discovered that tardigrades can survive more than 1,000 times the lethal dose for humans.1 So, how do these tiny creatures protect themselves so well?

The answer lies in a damage-suppressing protein (Dsup) that binds to DNA and minimizes harmful strand breaks.2 Inspired by tardigrades' remarkable radiation tolerance, researchers explored whether this mechanism could help patients with cancer better tolerate radiation therapy.
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Fish

Drone footage captures narwhals using their tusks to explore, forage and play


PhysOrg
Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:13 UTC
drone footage narwhale behavior tusks
© O'Corry-Crowe, FAU/Watt, DFOThe Arctic's iconic narwhal, renowned for its long, spiral tusk, is one of nature's most fascinating creatures. Yet, few have witnessed how these elusive animals use their tusks in the wild.
The narwhal (Monodon monoceros), an iconic whale of remote Arctic waters, is widely known for its long, spiral tusk, which is really an elongated tooth. The tusk, which is predominantly found in males and can grow up to 10 feet long, is one of the most fascinating traits in nature and the inspiration for myths such as the unicorn. It is believed to play a role in competition for mates, including mating displays. The tusk may have other uses and its function is still debated, primarily because few people have observed how these elusive animals use their tusks in the wild.

Limited field observations also mean that little is known about many other aspects of the behavior of this highly gregarious Arctic whale, including social and reproductive behaviors, how they adapt to changing environmental conditions, or whether narwhals engage in behaviors that are not linked directly to fitness, like play.

Using drones, researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, and Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans, in partnership with Inuit communities in Nunavut in Canada's High Arctic, provide the first evidence of narwhals using their tusks in the wild to investigate, manipulate and influence the behavior of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), including delivering sufficient force with their tusks to stun and possibly kill the fish. Researchers captured 17 distinct behaviors, which shed light on the dynamics between the narwhal, its prey and avian competitors.
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Telescope

Huge 'reflective disk' discovered on Mars

Jake Carter
anomalien.com
Sun, 02 Mar 2025 03:02 UTC
disk mars
© Jean Ward/NasaReflective Martian disk appears embedded in the Martian surface, top edge reflecting light, bottom edge mirroring the surrounding terrain.
A recent analysis of a photograph captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has revealed intriguing anomaly on the Martian surface.

The image, labeled F02_036488_2211_XI_41N335W, was taken on May 9, 2014, and depicts a monitoring site in North Arabia Terra, a region east of Deuteronilus Colles. The anomaly was discovered by imaging specialist Jean Ward.

The object, described as a massive reflective disc, measures approximately 240 meters (787 feet) in diameter — comparable to two or three football fields.

The second anomaly, located nearby, resembles a large ring measuring roughly 120 meters in diameter.

While the nature of these objects remains unknown, theories range from natural formations, such as pools of frozen water ice, to more speculative possibilities like artificial structures or spacecraft.
second disc
© Jean Ward/NASAThe second anomaly resembles a large ring measuring approximately 120 metres in diameter.
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Beaker

Bubbles that break rules: A fluid discovery that defies logic


PhysOrg
Tue, 25 Feb 2025 18:41 UTC
bubbles fluid dynamics physics
© Nature CommunicationsGalloping bubbles
A team led by researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill have made an extraordinary discovery that is reshaping our understanding of bubbles and their movement. Picture tiny air bubbles inside a container filled with liquid. When the container is shaken up and down, these bubbles engage in an unexpected, rhythmic "galloping" motion — bouncing like playful horses and moving horizontally, even though the shaking occurs vertically.

This counterintuitive phenomenon, revealed in a new study published in Nature, has significant implications for technology, from cleaning surfaces to improving heat transfer in microchips and even advancing space applications.

These galloping bubbles are already garnering significant attention: their impact in the field of fluid dynamics has been recognized with an award for their video entry at the most recent Gallery of Fluid Motion, organized by the American Physical Society.
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Info

New findings date Los Chocoyos supereruption to 79,500 years ago, and show Earth bounced back within decades

Bob Yirka
Phys Org
Sat, 01 Mar 2025 16:41 UTC
Marine Sediment
© Communications Earth & Environment (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-02095-6Major oxide geochemical analysis of ice and marine sediment core tephra shards analyzed that correlate with LCY ash.
An international team of Earth and life scientists, hydrologists, chemists, and physicists, has found evidence showing that the Los Chocoyos supereruption occurred approximately 79,500 years ago and that the planet bounced back from its chilling effects within decades.

In their paper published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, the group describes how they studied ice core samples obtained from places in Greenland and Antarctica to learn more about the global impact of the ancient volcanic eruption.

Prior evidence has shown that a massive eruption occurred in what is now Guatemala's Atitlán volcanic system tens of thousands of years ago, spewing ash far into the atmosphere. So much ash was emitted, it has been thought, that it led to an ice age. Today, the eruption is known as the Los Chocoyos supereruption.
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Satellite

James Webb telescope spots 2 alien planets disintegrating before our eyes - "cataclysmic"


Live Science
Wed, 26 Feb 2025 21:15 UTC
JWST spot disintegrating planeta
© NASAAn artist's concept depicts a comet-like tail of a possible disintegrating planet as it crosses its parent star.
In world-first observations, the James Webb Space Telescope is watching two distant alien planets "spilling their guts into space" as they rapidly disintegrate — and scientists are elated at what they've found.

Astronomers have directly observed two worlds beyond our solar system shedding their outer layers into space for the first time. The new observations offer an unprecedented glimpse into the interiors of planets — a view that has long remained elusive, even for Earth.

The first "disintegrating" exoplanet is a Neptune-size rocky world called K2-22b, which zips around its star so closely that it completes an orbit in just nine hours. Scientists say the star's heat literally roasts the planet: K2-22b's surface reaches temperatures of more than 3,320 degrees Fahrenheit (1,826 degrees Celsius), which is hot enough not just to melt rock, but to vaporize it. Recent observations of K2-22b using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) revealed that the evaporated rock has been sculpted into an extended, comet-like tail.

"It's a remarkable and fortuitous opportunity to understand terrestrial planet interiors," study co-author Jason Wright, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State, said in a statement.

Comment: Space.com adds:
Material blasts away from these planets in a dynamic, chaotic process that changes the strength of the transit signal each time a disintegrating planet crosses the face of its star. The planets also form a characteristic trail of dust, much like that of a comet when it passes close to the sun.

"The disintegrating planet orbiting BD+05 4868 A has the most prominent dust tails to date," Marc Hon, MIT team leader, said in the statement. "The dust tails emanating from the rapidly evaporating planet are gigantic. Its length of approximately 5.6 million miles (9 million kilometers) encircles over half the planet's orbit around the star every 30 and a half hours."

The tail of BD+05 4868 Ab is so significant in density and size that when it crosses the face of its star, it blocks 1% of the star's light, and the transit signal it creates lasts 15 hours.

The dust trail of BD+05 4868 Ab is divided into two distinct sections: one that leads the planet in its orbit around its star and one that follows it. The MIT team thinks this is a result of dust grains with different sizes. The trail leading the planet consists of larger grains, comparable to desert sand, while the following trail has finer grains resembling soot particles.

The planet only has around the equivalent of the moon's mass left intact, and at the rate it is losing matter, that means it will soon be gone entirely.

"The rate at which the planet is evaporating is utterly cataclysmic, and we are incredibly lucky to be witnessing the final hours of this dying planet," Hon said.

The two teams have jointly submitted a JWST proposal to study BD+05 4868 Ab in the same manner as K2-22b, meaning the future of this doomed exoplanet is bright.

"What's also highly exciting about BD+05 4868 Ab is that it has the brightest host star out of the other disintegrating planets — about 100 times brighter than K2-22 — establishing it as a benchmark for future disintegrating studies of such systems," MIT team member Avi Shporer said in the statement. "Prior to our study, the three other known disintegrating planets were around faint stars, making them challenging to study.

"The data quality we should get from BD+05 4868 A will be exquisite. These studies have proven the validity of this approach to understanding exoplanetary interiors and opened the door to a whole new line of research with JWST."

The BD+05 4868 Ab research is available on the paper repository site arXiv, as is a paper discussing the K2-22b findings.


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