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World’s oldest DNA sheds light on mammoth evolution
A mammoth tooth uncovered from the Siberian permafrost yields the oldest DNA yet discovered and provides insight into the evolution of the giant beasts.
February 28, 2021
What is a quasar?
A quasar is an extremely bright, distant object visible to radio telescopes. The source is an active galactic nucleus fueled by a supermassive black hole.
February 28, 2021
Perseverance saw its own descent stage crash
The Mars rover images a plume of debris from the impact of the descent stage that helped the spacecraft land safely on the red planet.
February 28, 2021
Zodiacal light is a glowing pyramid after dark
From the Northern Hemisphere, look after true darkness falls for the elusive zodiacal light. It appears as a hazy pyramid of light extending up from the sunset point. Southern Hemisphere? Look before dawn!
February 28, 2021
Did you find the message hidden in Perseverance’s parachute?
The striped pattern on the parachute used by the Perseverance rover to land on Mars contained a hidden message. Internet sleuths were able to figure it out within a few hours.
February 27, 2021
What’s the coldest Earth has ever been?
Our planet’s history includes episodes of cold so extreme that glaciers reached sea level in equatorial regions.
February 27, 2021
Cosmic ray originated in cataclysmic event
Astronomers found a high energy neutrino - a cosmic ray - that apparently originated during a "tidal disruption event," that is, when a supermassive black hole shredded a distant star.
February 27, 2021
Parker Solar Probe captures a glimpse of Venus
The Parker Solar Probe turned its camera on Venus as the spacecraft flew by during a gravity assist.
February 27, 2021
Evidence for white dwarfs consuming Earth-like worlds
For the first time, astronomers have detected the vaporized remains of the crusts of long-dead Earth-like and Mars-like planets in the atmospheres of white dwarf stars.
February 26, 2021
Water worlds may be abundant in our galaxy
A new study suggests that our Milky Way galaxy is filled with planets like Earth, containing continents and oceans. If so, life might be common in the Milky Way.
February 26, 2021
