Category: 7. Science

LOBAMBA, ESWATINI—Thousands of years ago, it was so essential that craftspeople in southern Africa had just the right colored stone to make their tools that they regularly traveled long distances to obtain them, according to a statement released by the University of Tübingen. A study recently examined objects from the National Museum in Lobamba, Eswatini, that were made from material such as red jasper, green chalcedony, and black chert. “Colorful and shiny materials seemed attractive to early humans,” said University of Tübingen archaeologist Gregor Bader. “They often used them for their tools.” These bright artifacts, some of which date to as early as 40,000 years ago, were originally discovered at the archaeological sites of Hlalakahle, Siphiso, Sibebe, and Nkambeni. The researchers used neuron activation analysis to determine the stones’ origins, and were surprised to learn that they were sourced in the Mgwayiza Valley, as far as 60 miles away from some of the sites where they were found. Not only did early humans go out of their way to collect perfectly colored lithic materials, the researchers discovered, their preferences changed over time. During the Mesolithic period, between 40,000 and 28,000 years ago, black and white chert and green chalcedony were preferred, while red jasper was more popular from around 30,000 to 2,000 years ago. Since these colored stones all appear close together in the same river deposits in the valley, different preferences over time must have been driven by deliberate choices. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Journal of Archaeological Science. To read about ocher mining 48,000 years ago in the Ngwenya Massif, go to “Around the World: Eswatini.”

For decades, scientists have puzzled over Uranus. Unlike its fellow giant planets, it seemed unusually quiet in terms of heat.

When NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft flew past the icy world in 1986, its instruments detected almost no internal warmth. That didn’t make sense. Planets the size of Uranus should still be radiating heat from their formation – so where was it?

Now, new research suggests the heat is there – just harder to detect. This new evidence helps resolve an old mystery and opens the door to better understanding not just Uranus, but how planets form, evolve, and interact with their environments.

Uranus is still losing ancient heat

The study comes from researchers at the University of Houston, working with planetary scientists across the globe.

It draws on decades of spacecraft data and advanced computer modeling. Together, the evidence paints a clearer picture: Uranus does release more energy than it gets from the Sun.

“This means it’s still slowly losing leftover heat from its early history, a key piece of the puzzle that helps us understand its origins and how it has changed over time,” said first author Xinyue Wang.

The findings also line up with those from a separate team led by Professor Patrick Irwin at the University of Oxford.

Not as hot as its neighbors

While Uranus does emit heat, it gives off far less than the other giant planets in our solar system. Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune all emit more than twice the energy they absorb from sunlight. Uranus emits only about 12.5 percent more.

The reason isn’t clear, but researchers believe Uranus may have a different internal structure or evolutionary history than its neighbors.

In other words, Uranus might be built differently on the inside – or it may have followed a unique evolutionary path over billions of years that shaped how it stores and releases heat.

The study also found that Uranus’s heat output varies with its seasons – and those seasons are extreme. Each one lasts around 20 years, due to the planet’s tilted spin and off-center orbit.

As Uranus makes its long journey around the Sun, its energy levels rise and fall.

Planning future Uranus missions

Scientists aren’t just curious about Uranus for curiosity’s sake. Understanding how the planet works could directly affect the planning of future space missions.

Liming Li, also a co-author of the study, believes the findings come at the right time. NASA is gearing up for a major mission to Uranus – one that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine ranked as a top priority for space exploration through 2032.

“This study could improve planning for NASA’s flagship mission to orbit and probe Uranus,” Li said.

“From a scientific perspective, this study helps us better understand Uranus and other giant planets. For future space exploration, I think it strengthens the case for a mission to Uranus,” Wang added.

Lessons for Earth

The research also holds lessons for Earth. The methods used – combining space data with physical models – don’t apply only to Uranus. They could be used to study heat flow on other planets, even ones outside our solar system.

“By uncovering how Uranus stores and loses heat, we gain valuable insights into the fundamental processes that shape planetary atmospheres, weather systems, and climate systems,” Li said.

“These findings help broaden our perspective on Earth’s atmospheric system and the challenges of climate change.”

The future of research in space

This study isn’t just about Uranus – it’s a preview of where space science is headed. As tools for modeling, data collection, and observation improve, scientists are gaining new ways to study planets across the solar system and beyond.

The methods used to analyze Uranus’s heat could help decode the atmospheres of other ice giants, exoplanets, and even newly discovered worlds in distant systems.

NASA’s upcoming Uranus mission is just one example of how this research will shape future exploration. By combining long-term data with modern computational models, scientists are building a deeper understanding of how planets form, change, and interact with their environments.

These advances don’t just push planetary science forward – they also strengthen our ability to study climate systems, design new technologies, and prepare for the challenges of Earth’s future.

The full study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

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On Wednesday (July 16), the largest Mars meteorite on Earth was auctioned off at Sotheby’s in New York City for $4.3 million.

The jagged, 54-pound (25-kilogram) chunk of the Red Planet is formally called NWA 16788. It was found in Northwest Africa, which is where the “NWA” title comes from — but, surprisingly, the bidding war to attain this cosmic relic wasn’t as enthusiastic as many expected. Before live bidding began, advance bids set the starting price of NWA 16799 at $2 million — during live bidding, however, things were slow. Still, the object sold for $4.3 million, which is higher than the original estimate that maxed out at $4 million. (Extra fees bring the lot price to about $5.3 million).

The largest known Martian meteorite has just been sold at auction for $5.29 million, selling well over the asking price of $2 million to $4 million. The hefty chunk of the Red Planet could help us learn more about our cosmic neighbor — if it’s allowed to be properly studied.

The meteorite, dubbed Northwest Africa (NWA) 16788, is around twice the size of a basketball and weighs 54 pounds (24.5 kilograms), making it “the largest known piece of Mars ever found on Earth,” according to Sotheby’s — the auction house responsible for selling the space rock.

Astrophotographer Greg Meyer has captured a spectacular image of the Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946) shining close to the dark shape of the Seahorse Nebula.

The majestic spiral arms of the Fireworks Galaxy can be found to the lower right of Meyer’s cosmic vista, surrounded by the foreground clouds of a dusty molecular cloud located within the Milky Way. The Fireworks Galaxy’s nickname stems from the 10 observable supernovas seen brightening its expanse over the past century; for comparison, our galaxy is only expected to manifest one or maybe two such events over the same period of time.

Katla is an active volcano in the south of Iceland, with at least 20 eruptions recorded in the last 1,100 years. 

On top of Katla sits Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which is where you will find the caves, formed by meltwater carving paths and tunnels through the ice, which then freezes over. 

The caves are in all different shapes and sizes. Looking at the many layers in the ice, like a tree and its rings, you can read the history of when the volcano erupted, due to layers of ash.

Depending on how light hits the ice, different colors and shades are revealed. The caves can also be unstable, and safety gear is required before entering.

The caves are constantly changing due to weather and glacier movement. It is highly recommended to go with a guide. 

A massive filament of plasma was explosively ejected from the Sun’s surface on July 15, leaving behind a “canyon of fire” on the Sun’s surface that spans 250,000 miles (over 402,000 kilometers).

As Space reports, the extravagant plasma ejection, which unleashed a coronal mass ejection (CME) out into space, was captured in exquisite detail by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).

NASA’s videos show how the filament, which NASA describes as “dark, thread-like features seen in the red light of hydrogen (H-alpha). These are dense, somewhat cooler, clouds of material that are suspended above the solar surface by loops in the magnetic field.”

When these filaments erupt, as they spectacularly did yesterday, they routinely launch significant amounts of solar material into space, which can sometimes lead to coronal mass ejections. These can sometimes strike Earth’s atmosphere, occasionally leading to brilliant auroras.

The filament that erupted from the Sun this week was especially powerful, leaving in its wake a 250,000-mile-long trench of super-hot, glowing plasma. To put the length of that “canyon of fire” into context, the Earth is less than 240,000 miles from the Moon. It’s a big scar on the Sun’s atmosphere.

Spaceweather.com, an essential resource for space weather enthusiasts and aurora-hunting photographers, explains that the canyon left behind on the Sun could have walls of plasma as tall as 12,400 miles (20,000 kilometers.

The “fiery chasm,” as Space describes it, results from the Sun’s powerful magnetic field violently realigning following an eruption.

When a 200,000-mile-long filament erupted on the Sun in 2013, NASA explained: “The 200,000-mile-long filament ripped through the sun’s atmosphere, the corona, leaving behind what looks like a canyon of fire. The glowing canyon traces the channel where magnetic fields held the filament aloft before the explosion.”

Once the filament erupts, the Sun quickly reacts, and its magnetic field brings the remaining plasma back into order, albeit with an altered appearance.

The eruption is not only beautiful, but it may also be a boon for astrophotographers. Aurora chaser and expert Vincent Ledvine says on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the CME resulting from the filament eruption is headed toward Earth. To check if auroras are in the offing, photographers should monitor Spaceweather.com and the NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

Image credits: NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

Researchers have pulled the perfectly-preserved skull of an ice age horse from a mine in Yukon, Canada, new pictures show.

Based on the soil around the skull and the depth of sediments where it was found, experts estimate that the horse lived about 30,000 years ago — but more precise radiocarbon dating could narrow this down, a spokesperson for the Yukon Paleontology Program said.

Scientists have identified more than 50 ice age horse species to date, but it remains unclear which one the skull belongs to. Horses that lived in what is now Yukon during the last ice age (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago) were relatively small, standing about 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall at the shoulders, Cameron Webber quoted experts as saying in an email to Live Science.

“While the physical characteristics of the skull and the size and shape of the teeth can provide clues to its evolutionary history, the specific species of this horse cannot be identified without more in-depth genetic information,” Webber said. “Ancient DNA analysis will be needed if an accurate species identification for this find is desired.”

Researchers at The University of Osaka have developed a novel method for generating ultrahigh magnetic fields via laser-driven implosions of blade-structured microtubes. This method achieves field strengths approaching one megatesla—a breakthrough in compact, high-field plasma science.

Ultrastrong magnetic fields approaching the megatesla regime—comparable to those found near strongly magnetized neutron stars or astrophysical jets—have now been demonstrated in theory using a compact, laser-driven setup. A team led by Professor Masakatsu Murakami at The University of Osaka has proposed and simulated a unique scheme that uses micron-sized hollow cylinders with internal blades to achieve these field levels.

The technique—called bladed microtube implosion (BMI)—relies on directing ultra-intense, femtosecond laser pulses at a cylindrical target with sawtooth-like inner blades. These blades cause the imploding plasma to swirl asymmetrically, generating circulating currents near the center. The resulting loop current self-consistently produces an intense axial magnetic field exceeding 500 kilotesla, approaching the megatesla regime. No externally applied seed field is required.

This mechanism stands in stark contrast to traditional magnetic compression, which relies on amplifying an initial magnetic field. In BMI, the field is generated from scratch—driven purely by laser-plasma interactions. Moreover, as long as the target incorporates structures that break cylindrical symmetry, high magnetic fields can still be robustly generated. The process forms a feedback loop in which flows of charged particles—composed of ions and electrons—strengthen the magnetic field, which in turn confines those flows more tightly, further amplifying the field.

“This approach offers a powerful new way to create and study extreme magnetic fields in a compact format,” says Prof. Murakami. “It provides an experimental bridge between laboratory plasmas and the astrophysical universe.”

Potential applications include:

• Laboratory astrophysics: mimicking magnetized jets and stellar interiors
• Laser fusion: advancing proton-beam fast ignition schemes
• High-field QED: probing non-linear quantum phenomena

Simulations were conducted using the fully relativistic EPOCH code on the SQUID supercomputer at The University of Osaka. A supporting analytic model was also constructed to reveal the fundamental scaling laws and target optimization strategies.

Funding: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO)

Simulations: Performed using the SQUID supercomputer at The University of Osaka

There are a lot of worlds beyond the orbit of Neptune. Some are dwarf planets, while many others are much smaller rocks floating in the colder edges of our Solar System. But they do not orbit randomly. In particular, several bodies are in a complex dance with Neptune, including Pluto – but none quite like the newly discovered 2020 VN₄₀.

Celestial bodies are known to synchronize. This is a phenomenon known as resonance. Basically, whether they orbit a star or something else, worlds can organize themselves with a rhythm, and the number of orbits they do is in proportion. For example, Pluto and Neptune are in a 3:2 resonance. Neptune does three orbits for every two of Pluto.

It is also very stable, and Pluto and Neptune can never collide because, during Pluto’s closest approach (which is closer to the Sun than the orbit of Neptune), Neptune is on the other side of its orbit. Many trans-Neptunian objects have something similar, but not 2020 VN₄₀.

This world orbits with a 10:1 resonance. Neptune takes about 165 years to do one lap around the Sun. 2020 VN₄₀ instead takes 1,648 years. But if this was not weird enough, the closest approach to the Sun of this small world happens when Neptune is close by.

“This new motion is like finding a hidden rhythm in a song we thought we knew,” co-author Ruth Murray-Clay, from the University of California Santa Cruz, said in a statement. “It could change how we think about the way distant objects move.”

“This is a big step in understanding the outer Solar System,” added Rosemary Pike, lead researcher from the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard & Smithsonian. “It shows that even very distant regions influenced by Neptune can contain objects, and it gives us new clues about how the Solar System evolved.”

There is no danger of 2020 VN₄₀ colliding with Neptune, as the orbit of this distant world is very inclined with respect to the plane of the Solar System, at over 33 degrees. This resonance is short-term stable; it would not survive on a billion-year timescale.

The object was discovered in 2020 and tracked over many months. The discovery is part of the Large inclination Distant Objects (LiDO) survey, which aims to classify and understand peculiar objects that exist at the edge of the Solar System.

“It has been fascinating to learn how many small bodies in the Solar System exist on these very large, very tilted orbits,” explained Dr Samantha Lawler of the University of Regina, a core member of the LiDO team. 

“This is just the beginning,” added Kathryn Volk of the Planetary Science Institute. “We’re opening a new window into the Solar System’s past.”

A paper discussing this result is published in The Planetary Science Journal.