Back in 2017, scientists spotted a mysterious space rock. The problem was that it didn’t look like anything astronomers had ever seen. So, was it a rocky asteroid? An icy comet? Something else? Without being sure, they nicknamed it ‘Oumuamua and continued analyzing it. Now, a new study, which the journal Nature recently published, claims that as it flies away from us, the mystery might be unveiled. The mysterious space rock seems to actually be a comet.

Thanks to the powerful Hubble Space telescope, researchers tracked the rock’s trajectory as it was flying away from our planet. They managed to discover that its speed wasn’t just the result of gravity. It was going faster and faster which is a clear trademark of a comet that has gas puffing out of its end. ‘Oumuamua has sparked heated debates since it was discovered. Experts cannot seem to agree over its nature. Astronomers expected the first object to visit us from beyond our Solar System to be of this kind. However, that usual cloud of gas and dust surrounding comets wasn’t there. This prompted them to believe that it was made out of metal and rock: an asteroid.

‘Oumuamua it’s a foreign comet after all

It’s interesting that a few month ago, some researchers suggested that ‘Oumuamua was, in fact, a comet. The only difference was that it had a thick coat of carbon-rich grime, hence its icy heart. And the fact that it has exited our neighborhood made many astronomers certain about their presumptions. ‘Oumuamua is indeed a comet, but just a very weird one.

This recent paper did nothing else but track the object’s movement as it was going further away from Earth. And because it was moving faster than it should, it was clear that it had a tail like a comet. ‘Oumuamua is a comet, but one that has fascinated experts and normal people alike since it was first discovered.

Image source: wikimedia

According to a new study which the journal Nature recently published, it seems that scientists may have finally found the clearest evidence of alien life on Enceladus, Saturn’s moon. The idea is based on large organic molecules that have been blasted into space on it. Apparently, they contain all requirements for life as we know it. NASA’s spacecraft Cassini is the one that managed to obtain material samples from Enceladus’ icy surface. This happened before it plunged to its doom in Saturn’s atmosphere a while ago.

According to Dr. Frank Postberg, the leader of the study, this discovery blew everyone away. Usually, these complex organic molecules are not enough to indicate that there is indeed life there. However, they are essential elements in order for it to exist. A while ago, nobody was sure whether or not there was complex organic chemistry happening on Enceladus. Now they are certain about its existence. Other experts have also said that Enceladus is now the only body, apart from Earth, which simultaneously satisfies all the basic requirements for life. We might now be closer than ever to finding alien life outside our own world.

Clear evidence of alien life found on Enceladus

It’s worth noting that this discovery is only the culmination of entire years of data which Cassini gathered. Previous surveys found clear evidence of a giant water ocean lying just underneath the icy crust of Enceladus. According to Dr. Hunter Waite, a co-author on the new study, hydrogen is a major source of energy that supports microbes. These microbes also live on our planet, further proving that the conditions are indeed very similar.

It’s interesting that this incredible discovery comes right after NASA announced that they have found the basic ingredients for life on Mars. All things considered, we may now be closer than ever to finding more about aliens than we ever were before.

Image source: wikimedia

Most people like to believe that we are not alone in the universe. Just the fact that there are so many stars out there should mean that alien life surely exists. However, these remain dreams for now because extraterrestrial life forms do not seem very eager to contact us. For years, experts have been trying to solve the Fermi Paradox, which deals with whether or not we are indeed alone in the universe. They have proposed multiple theories. Aliens may be hiding from us, they may be waiting until we evolve, or they may have even done something that prevented them from contacting us.

Now, there is a new theory that might end all speculation, and it might disappoint a lot of people. According to a new study, which the pre-publication site arXiv recently published, alien life doesn’t exist at all and we are indeed alone in the universe. In it, a team of researchers from the Oxford University state that there is a very big probability that intelligent life in our observable universe doesn’t exist. Also, experts shouldn’t really be surprised if they’ll keep failing to detect signs of alien life.

Study suggests that alien life might not even exist

Moreover, their study suggests that alien life might not have even existed at all. The Fermi Paradox was inspired by a question that physicist Enrico Fermi posed during a 1950 lunch in the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. A group of scientists were talking. Their subject was a cartoon that showed aliens emerging out of a spaceship in New York City. Fermi suddenly asked, “Where is everyone?”. His doubt regarding the existence of alien life became famous and inspired what is now known as the Fermi Paradox. Ever since, experts have been trying to come up with answers to Fermi’s question. Unfortunately, they have all been unsuccessful.

Image source: pxhere

On Wednesday, something wonderful will make its appearance on the night sky: June’s strawberry moon. Lovely name aside, this phenomenon will actually be a full moon with a pretty color. Apart from this, it will be worth seeing because, unlike other ordinary full moons, this one will leave traces across the sky. But where did this name come from? Well, it came from its color which will actually be a shade of red or pink. Ancient traditions are saying that this moon kicked off the strawberry-picking season on the east coast.

It’s worth noting that the last time we saw such a pretty-colored full moon was back in 2016. However, the strawberry moon might bring some other things, for four zodiac signs in particular. Because of its Capricorn position, it may make some people feel like they’ve been thrown out of a moving train. It may sound bad, but it’s actually not a negative thing. Sometimes, we all need a little push before climbing up high. The strawberry moon will teach people to gain control over their emotions. This will help them avoid taking things too personally. Moreover, people might get a better sense of when it’s good to express feelings and when to shut up.

The spectacular Strawberry Moon

There are, in fact, four zodiac signs that might feel the effects of the strawberry moon to the fullest: Capricorn, Cancer, Libra, and Aries. It seems that these four signs are trendsetters by nature and natural-born leaders. They will be able to get a grip of this entire situation and also lead the others. Sure, they might be forced to control some powerful emotions during this time, but all will be good in the end. So, as the old saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Just enjoy the sight of the strawberry moon on Wednesday night and relax a little.

Image source: flickr

For some time, experts have gathered evidence that dolphins and some whale species are able to experience grief. They mourn their dead in the same way that humans do. One of the most incredible proofs of this was observed back in 2010, when people saw a killer whale pushing around her dead baby for six hours. Humpback whales are also crying over their dead while captive dolphins enter some kind of depressive state when a companion dies. Now, a new study, which the journal Zoology recently published, wants to find out whether or not dolphins and whales really experience this emotion.

In order to do this, Giovanni Bearzi of Dolphin Biology and Conservation and some of his colleagues gathered 78 scientific reports that dealt with grief-like behaviors in cetaceans. Of the 88 species that exist today, only 20 have been observed showing certain signs. They could mean that they were grieving a loved one. Most of these displays, 92.8%, actually came from dolphins. This should not come as a surprise because dolphins are some of the most social creatures out there. About 75% of the grief behaviors were seen in females over their dead calves. When it came to males, this behavior was extremely rare.

Are dolphins and whales able to experience grief?

According to the study, it seems that cetaceans with bigger brains and who live in more complex groups were more likely to show signs of grief. The fact that they have more complex brain structures could be defining when it comes to the ability to feel certain emotions, like grief.

It’s interesting that over the years, experts have witnessed numerous cases of grief in chimpanzees and baboons. This led them to believe that certain animals are indeed capable of felling this emotion. Usually, this behavior is present in species that live in large and complex ponds or communities. When they spend sometimes 60 years together, like dolphins, they surely mourn when a friend passes away.

Image source: pixabay

Now that yet another Jurassic Park movie is in theaters and has very big success, it’s the perfect time for scientists to come up with various ways to prove that dinosaurs were not exactly how we see them in movies. According to a new study, which the journal PLOS One recently published, most dinosaurs, including the infamous T. rex, were not able to stick out their tongues. This is weird because most reptiles today can do that. In order to reach this conclusion, researchers analyzed the mouth anatomy of certain extinct dinosaur species. Then, they compared it to their closest living relatives today, like alligators.

What they found amazed them. It seems that contrary to the common belief induced by modern depictions of dinosaurs, most of them were not able to stick their tongues out like snakes. They mostly had hyoid bones which closely resembled those of gators, and they keep their tongues stuck in one place. According to Julia Clarke, an author of this study, for a long time, experts have reconstructed these hyoid bones the wrong way. Most extinct dinosaurs had very short tongue bones. At the same time, in crocodilians, the tongue is stuck in place to the floor of the mouth.

Dinosaurs had immobile tongues, contrary to the common belief

What’s even more interesting is that not all extinct dinosaur species had immobile tongues. Some of them, like bird-like dinosaurs or flying reptiles had tongues that closely resembled those of modern birds. It may all be a factor that determined an evolutionary adaptation. Lead author Zhizheng Li says that when you cannot use your hands to catch prey, you turn to your mouth. This is probably what happened to those species too, and they evolved accordingly. Now, experts want to see how birds’ mouths and throats adapted over time. Also, how they ended up looking like they do today.

Image source: pixabay

A while ago, NASA discovered an unusual and mysterious rock formation on the surface of planet Mars. UFO hunters immediately came up with the theory according to which, that bizarre shape is actually an extraterrestrial spaceship. However, reality might be completely different, a study which the Journal of Geophysical Research recently published claims. Most likely, volcanic activity caused this rock formation on Mars. It most likely took place on the planet billions of years ago. Its official name is The Medusae Fossae Formation and was first discovered back in the 1960s.

The Mariner spacecraft is the one that noticed the existence of this strange formation and at the time, scientists were not sure what exactly caused it. According to Lujendra Ojha, who was part of the study, this is a massive deposit even on a solar system scale. There is no other known formation that is similar in any way with this one. It is indeed huge, measuring about one-fifth the size of the United States. It could even be the biggest explosive volcanic deposit in our entire solar system. The study characterizes the structure as relatively porous and of uncertain origin. This might include eolian, volcanic and even ice-related mechanisms.

The mysterious Medusae Fossae Formation on Mars

Mysterious Mars rock formation has explosive explanation https://t.co/ss1gBjFXWp pic.twitter.com/qkZzOTzrBW

— The New Science (@NewScienceWrld) June 19, 2018

In order to measure the formation’s density for the first time, the team of researchers used data from many Mars orbiter spacecraft. It seems that it is two-thirds as dense as the rest of the crust on the Red Planet. The most important theory the team has is that most likely, explosive volcanic eruptions which took place 3 billion-years ago caused the rock formation.

Moreover, because this formation has released high levels of water and carbon dioxide, it basically contributed to the creation of Mars’ hydrosphere and atmosphere.

Image source: flickr

Scientists have been trying to figure out the reason why planet Venus spins in such a bizarre manner and how much does a day last there. Thankfully, a recent study, which the journal Nature Geoscience recently published, might shed some light on that years-old mystery. The thing that baffles experts is that Venus spins very slowly. A single revolution takes the equivalent of about 243 days here on Earth. Moreover, this rotation is not always like this and the planet’s atmosphere moves a lot faster. A rotation lasts only about four Earth days.

Now, the Akatsuki spacecraft of JAXA, which is the Japanese space agency, offered some incredible images thanks to which experts may now know the cause of this phenomenon. It seems that the interaction between Venus’ atmosphere, which moves fast, and its surface, which has volcanoes and mountains, affects the speed of its spin. The idea is that Akatsuki recently spotted a bow-like shape atmospheric structure on Venus. However, even it kept disappearing and reappearing, it stayed in one place above the planet’s surface. It was always over some mountains. According to Thomas Navarro, the lead author of this study, Venus’ surface is bizarre because it’s difficult to see. At all times, a thick cloud covers it.

The reason behind the weird rotation of Venus

For this new study, the team of researchers managed to get a clear view of this strange shape. They analyzed pictures from Akatsuki at various wavelengths. It seems that mountain waves are actually the cause of the planet’s bizarre spin because of the wind’s different directions. Now, after finally learning the cause behind this unusual spin, researchers can understand how this angular momentum gets transferred between the planet and its atmosphere. At last, they can grasp a better understanding of the reason why Venus is the way it is.

Image source: pixabay

Princeton University Press has recently published a book called The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein: The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922-1923, which contains the travel diaries of famed physicist Albert Einstein. He reportedly wrote them between October 1922 and March 1923, and, among other things, they reveal his racist views. A clear example of this is the names he was giving to the Chinese people, calling them “filthy” or “obtuse”. It’s interesting that even if at the time his views seemed rather racist, he would later go on and advocate for civil rights in the United States. At one point, he even called racism a “disease of white people”.

It’s worth noting that this is the first time that his travel diaries have been published in English, as a standalone book. Back then, Albert Einstein travelled from Spain to the Middle East through Sri Lanka, or Ceylon back then. He then continued on to China and Japan. At one point, he called the people trying to sell their goods in Port Said in Egypt “Levantines…spewed from hell”. About the people of Colombo, Ceylon, he wrote that they were filthy, did little and needed little.

Albert Einstein’s racist views revealed by his travel journals

However, he had the most radical opinions about the Chinese people. He called China a “herd-like nation”, with its “spiritless” people. Einstein compared them with automatons and said that there was little difference between the Chinese men and women.

As a Jew, Albert Einstein emigrated to the United States in 1933. That was immediately after the rise to power of Adolf Hitler. In 1946, during a speech at the Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, he described racism as a “disease of white people.” Experts are now saying that his diaries further prove how much and how frequently he changed his views, an idea that was first brought forward a while ago.

Image source: pixabay

A riddle has been bugging scientists for years and it has to do with the way in which the giant Easter Island statues got their hats. It’s not a secret how the native Rapa Nui people built the statues, but nobody is sure how they managed to get the massive toppers, called pukao, up there. Now, the authors of a new study which the Journal of Archaeological Science recently published think they got it all figured out.

These ancient people somehow managed to cut the stone for the statues from a quarry. They moved these huge blocks throughout the island and created 887 of these impressive statues. Each of them has a 13-ton hat made of a different kind of stone which came from a different quarry. Talk about being passionate. For this study, a team of anthropologists and physicists united their forces under a common goal. According to Sean W. Hixon, the lead author of the study, people have come up with theories over the years. However, they are the first ones to provide archaeological evidence for a possible scenario.

The mystery of the Easter Island statues’ hats

The team began by looking for common features in all of the hats, supposing that they were all made and placed in a similar manner. They found that all of the 50 pukao they found have an indentation where they should be placed on the head. Also, they all sit on similarly-shaped bases.

This led the experts to believe that these people rolled the huge hats from the quarries. But they didn’t place them when the statue was lying down. Instead, they probably built some kind of ramp made out of dirt and rocks. After tilting the ramp at about 17 degrees, a team would pull the hats up using the technique called parbuckling. This allows something to be pulled up without having it roll back down.

Image source: maxpixel