understanding

Most pristine trilobite fossils ever found, shaking up scientific understanding of long-extinct group

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Microtomographic reconstruction of the head and anterior trunk (“body”) limbs of the trilobite Protolenus (Hupeolenus) in ventral view. Credit: Arnaud Mazurier, IC2MP, Univ. Poitiers Researchers have described some of the best-preserved three-dimensional trilobite fossils ever discovered. The fossils, which are more than 500 million years old, were collected in the High Atlas of Morocco and … Read more

‘The early universe is nothing like what we expected’: James Webb telescope reveals ‘new understanding’ of how galaxies formed at cosmic dawn

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A series of glistening, golden dots in the center of the image show an ancient galaxy glowing in the early universe, surrounding by countless bright stars and galaxies

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has discovered what could be the earliest star clusters in the universe. JWST discovered the five proto-globular clusters – swarms of millions of stars held together by gravity – within the Cosmic Gems arc, a galaxy that formed just 460 million years after the Sun’s birth. Big bang. The … Read more

Strange structures discovered in the Pacific Ocean could change our understanding of Earth

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Scientists think they’ve found a window into the dawn of time on Earth, and it’s hidden beneath the Pacific Ocean. A team led by geophysicist Simon Lamb of the University of Wellington and scientist Cornel de Ronde of GNS Science said the key to our past lies in a remote corner of South Africa, far … Read more

Highly precise measurements challenge our understanding of Cepheids

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This article was reviewed according to Science fact checked peer-reviewed publication trusted source proofread OK! RS Puppis, one of Cepheid’s brightest variable stars, brightens and darkens rhythmically over a six-week cycle. Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-Hubble/Europe Collaboration. hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2013/51/3263-Image.html × close to RS Puppis, one of Cepheid’s brightest variable stars, brightens and darkens rhythmically … Read more

Highly precise measurements challenge our understanding of Cepheids

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RS Puppis, one of Cepheid’s brightest variable stars, brightens and darkens rhythmically over a six-week cycle. Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-Hubble/Europe Collaboration. hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2013/51/3263-Image.html “Classical Cepheids” are a type of pulsating star that brightens and darkens rhythmically over time. These pulsations help astronomers measure vast distances in space, making Cepheids crucial “standard candles” that … Read more

Scientists are discovering more Milky Way-like galaxies in the early universe, expanding our understanding of how galaxies formed

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This article was reviewed according to Science fact checked peer-reviewed publication trusted source proofread OK! Some of the spiral galaxies studied by the researchers in the study. Credit: Vicki Kuhn × close to Some of the spiral galaxies studied by the researchers in the study. Credit: Vicki Kuhn Scientists at the University of Missouri are … Read more

Scientists are discovering more Milky Way-like galaxies in the early universe, expanding our understanding of how galaxies formed

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Some of the spiral galaxies studied by the researchers in the study. Credit: Vicki Kuhn Scientists at the University of Missouri are peering into the past and discovering new clues about the early universe. Because light takes a long time to travel through space, they can now see what galaxies looked like billions of years … Read more

Why we’re one step closer to understanding how Earth got its oceans (opinion)

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photo showing earth against the blackness of space

Space enthusiasts will know: it’s easy to get caught up in a wealth of fascinating developments, from missions to the lunar surface to new discoveries in exoplanet science. But what really excites me as an astronomer right now is a largely overlooked development here on Earth that could have profound implications for how we explore … Read more

The James Webb Telescope sees two monstrous black holes merge at the dawn of time, challenging our understanding of the universe

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This image shows the environment of the galaxy system ZS7 as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope. A zoomed-in look at the merging black hole system is inset in yellow.

Astronomers have taken advantage of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to detect the furthest pair of colliding black holes in the known universe. The cosmic monsters – each estimated to be around 50 million suns in size – were discovered more than 13 billion light-years away, at a time just 740 million years after … Read more