James Webb Telescope confirms supermassive black hole escaping from host galaxy at 2 million miles per hour, researchers announce
A shock wave in the far reaches of space could be a precursor to the first known runaway supermassive black hole to escape from its host galaxy at 2.2 million miles per hour (3.6 million kilometers per hour). The possible confirmation from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), published on the preprint server Arxiv on […]
A new theoretical “collision clock” reveals the possibility that orbiting satellites will start colliding with each other within three days
In a worst-case scenario, Earth-orbiting satellites could start colliding with each other within three days, setting off a runaway cascade that could render low Earth orbit (LEO) unusable, a new preprint study warns. According to the researchers’ new CRASH Clock, this is 125 days earlier than it would have been in an emergency just seven […]
Vera C. Rubin Observatory discovers record-breaking giant asteroid in first seven days of observations
Scientists analyzing the first images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have discovered the fastest-spinning asteroid of its size ever. This record-breaking space rock, called 2025 MN45, is approximately 2,300 feet (710 meters) wide and larger than most skyscrapers on Earth. This giant rock rotates in about 113 seconds, making it the fastest-spinning asteroid known […]
Rare 2,000-year-old war trumpet found in Britain that may be related to Celtic Queen Boudica
Archaeologists have discovered a rare 2,000-year-old war trumpet in England that may have been used in Queen Boudica’s war against Rome. The war trumpets, also known as carnics, were part of metal artefacts discovered in west Norfolk last year ahead of house construction. The treasure was announced on Wednesday (January 7) by Preconstruct Archeology, the […]
A 60,000-year-old poison arrow from South Africa is the oldest poison weapon ever discovered
Several 60,000-year-old arrowheads excavated from a rock cave in South Africa are the world’s oldest evidence of the existence of poisonous weapons, a new study has found. This discovery postpones confirmation of the use of poisonous weapons by hunter-gatherers by more than 50,000 years. In a new study, scientists chemically analyzed the tips of 10 […]
Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA may be embedded in his art, and scientists think they’ve succeeded in extracting some of it
Scientists have announced that they may have extracted Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA from a Renaissance painting for the first time. Trace DNA embedded in a red chalk sketch called “Saint Son”, which some claim was created by da Vinci, shows similarities to genetic material recovered from letters written in the 1400s by Frosino di ser […]
NASA telescope combines 100 maps of the universe into one: ‘Every astronomer will find something of value here’
Six months after first setting its sights on space, NASA’s SPHEREx spacecraft has unveiled its first complete cosmic all-sky mosaic. The first of at least four such maps expected from SPHEREx, the new map, which combines more than 100 individual exposures, promises to reveal unprecedented night sky detail. “It’s incredible that SPHEREx has collected so […]
The 9,500-year-old crematorium of a hunter-gatherer woman is the oldest of its kind in the world
The 9,500-year-old remains of a woman in Malawi set a new record and is Africa’s oldest evidence of intentional cremation, as well as the oldest known cremation of an adult still ‘in situ’, or in its original location, a new study finds. The crematorium is located in a hunter-gatherer cemetery at the foot of Mount […]
Greenland’s giant ice dome disappeared 7,000 years ago – and is melting at today’s temperatures
Parts of Greenland’s ice sheet completely melted about 7,000 years ago at temperatures close to those expected by the end of this century, a new study shows. Prudhoe Dome, a 1,640-foot-thick (500-meter) ice cap that currently covers 965 square miles (2,500 square kilometers) of northwestern Greenland, melted during warm temperatures during the early Holocene, exposing […]
One of Siberia’s last shamans was an 18th-century woman whose parents were related, a DNA study reveals
The mummified bodies of centuries-old indigenous Siberians reveal secrets about their genetics over a long period before, during and after the Russian conquest of their land, including that the female shaman buried in a red woolen dress had closely related parents, a new study has found. Archaeologists have recovered more than 100 naturally mummified bodies […]