Galaxy quakes could improve hunt for dark matter

A trio of brightly pulsating stars at the outskirts of the Milky Way is racing away from the galaxy and may confirm a method for detecting dwarf galaxies dominated by dark matter and explain ripples in the outer disk of the ...

Ancient Egyptians described Algol's eclipses

The Ancient Egyptian papyrus Cairo 86637 calendar is the oldest preserved historical document of naked eye observations of a variable star, the eclipsing binary Algol - a manifestation of Horus, a god and a king. This calendar ...

New drought atlas maps 2,000 years of climate in Europe

The long history of severe droughts across Europe and the Mediterranean has largely been told through historical documents and ancient journals, each chronicling the impact in a geographically restricted area. Now, for the ...

VISTA discovers new component of Milky Way

Astronomers using the VISTA telescope at ESO's Paranal Observatory have discovered a previously unknown component of the Milky Way. By mapping out the locations of a class of stars that vary in brightness called Cepheids, ...

Team finds weather extremes harmful to grasslands

Fluctuations in extreme weather events, such as heavy rains and droughts, are affecting ecosystems in unexpected ways—creating "winners and losers" among plant species that humans depend upon for food.

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