Best of week 38 / 2024

Earth to have new mini-moon for two months

A pair of asteroid dynamics researchers from Universidad Complutense de Madrid Ciudad Universitaria have found that a small asteroid will make one orbit around the Earth starting this month before departing back into other parts of the solar system.

Paleontologists discover fossil birds with teeth had seeds in their stomachs, indicating that they ate fruit

For paleontologists who study animals that lived long ago, fossilized remains tell only part of the story of an animal's life. While a well-preserved skeleton can provide hints at what an ancient animal ate or how it moved, irrefutable proof of these behaviors is hard to come by. But sometimes, scientists luck out with extraordinary fossils that preserve something beyond the animal's body.

Most detailed study yet of seismic activity links fault strength to likelihood of large earthquakes

Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, with thousands of small earthquakes occurring each year, and the continuous threat of a "big one." Currently, predicting when major earthquakes will occur isn't possible, but by studying the numerous small earthquakes that occur, seismologists in Japan hope to understand more about the processes in the Earth's crust that lead to major quakes.

Odds of asteroid 99942 Apophis striking Earth slightly higher than thought

An astrophysicist at the University of Western Ontario finds that the odds of the asteroid 99942 Apophis striking Earth are slightly higher than previously thought. In his study, published in The Planetary Science Journal, Paul Wiegert took a new look at the possibility of a smaller asteroid striking Apophis and changing its trajectory to a collision course with Earth.

Observational study supports century-old theory that challenges the Big Bang

A Kansas State University engineer recently published results from an observational study in support of a century-old theory that directly challenges the validity of the Big Bang theory.

Geoscientists detect rapid uplift at unique volcano in Tanzania

When a volcano is about to erupt, the surrounding land puffs up like a squeezed balloon. The technical term is "transient deformation," and Virginia Tech researchers have detected and tracked this short-lived movement for the first time using satellite observations of Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active Tanzanian volcano.

Voyager 1 team accomplishes tricky thruster swap

Engineers working on NASA's Voyager 1 probe have successfully mitigated an issue with the spacecraft's thrusters, which keep the distant explorer pointed at Earth so that it can receive commands, send engineering data, and provide the unique science data it is gathering.

Ancient DNA from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) refutes best-selling population collapse theory

Rapa Nui or Te Pito o Te Henua (the navel of the world), also known as Easter Island, is one of the most isolated inhabited places in the world. Located in the Pacific, it lies over 1,900 km east of the closest inhabited Polynesian island and 3,700 km west of South America.

Archaeologists discover an ancient Neanderthal lineage that remained isolated for over 50,000 years

A fossilized Neanderthal discovered in a cave system in the Rhône Valley, France, represents an ancient and previously undescribed lineage that diverged from other currently known Neanderthals around 100,000 years ago and remained genetically isolated for more than 50,000 years.

Genetic analysis reveals new giant fanged frog species in Philippines that is nearly identical to even larger species

Researchers from the University of Kansas have published findings in the journal Ichthyology & Herpetology describing a new species of fanged frog, named Limnonectes cassiopeia, from the Philippine island of Luzon.