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☆ Stonehenge’s Altar Stone: Research rules out Scottish site as source
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

That research, published in the journal Nature, overturned a century-old idea that the stone came from current-day Wales. The Altar Stone, the largest of the bluestones used to build Stonehenge, lies at the heart of the ancient monument in southern England. “The Altar Stone is anomalous in many ways to both the bluestones and the sarsens at Stonehenge,” Bevins said. But discovering that Wales was unlikely to be the origin site for the Altar Stone was a game changer, Bevins said. The researchers compared their findings with samples from the Altar Stone and found no mineralogical connection between the rocks.

Persons: Nick Pearce, ”, Richard Bevins, ” Piecing, ” Bevins, Bevins, Paul Williams, Stenness, T Schaeffer, “ Organizations: CNN, Archaeological Science, Aberystwyth University “, UK’s Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth University Locations: Scotland, Wales, Orkney, England, Orkney’s, Aberystwyth, Wiltshire, Salisbury, Woods, Marlborough, Preseli, British, Orkney's, Shetland, Caithness, Sutherland, Inverness, Aberdeenshire, Britain

☆ Swallowed eels escape via predator fish’s gills
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Dark sleeper fish (Odontobutis obscura) can gulp down young Japanese eels (Anguilla japonica) whole, but the swallowed eels can wriggle back up through the digestive tract and out of the stomach, swimming to freedom through the bigger fish’s gills, scientists recently discovered. “Witnessing the eels’ desperate escape from the predator’s stomach to the gills was truly astonishing for us.”A Japanese eel exhibits circling behavior along a predator's stomach wall in this X-ray video footage. But while they observed swallowed eels wriggling tailfirst from dark sleepers’ gills, “we had no understanding of their escape routes and behavioral patterns during the escape because it occurred inside the predator’s body,” Hasegawa said via email. Once a predator swallowed an eel, the sated fish was quickly moved to a special tank where the X-ray video camera was ready to roll. On average, it took about 3 ½ minutes for a swallowed eel to reappear and swim away.

Persons: ”, Yuha Hasegawa, Yuuki Kawabata, ichthyologist Kory Evans, “, ” Evans, ’ Hasegawa, Kazuki Yokouchi, Nagasaki University —, ” Hasegawa, Prosanta, Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, Graduate School of Fisheries, Environmental Sciences, Japan’s Nagasaki University, “, biosciences, Rice University, Japan Fisheries Research, Education Agency, Nagasaki University, Louisiana State University, LSU Museum of Natural Science, Scientific Locations: Anguilla, Houston

☆ Polaris Dawn crew conducts historic spacewalk during SpaceX mission
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Jackie Wattles | Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Editor’s note: Relive the SpaceX Polaris Dawn historic commercial spacewalk as it happened. The Polaris Dawn crew can see a sunrise and sunset about every 106 minutes. Polaris Dawn crew members are seen within the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Instead, the Polaris Dawn crew will receive their life support from long hoses attached to their spacecraft. Polaris Dawn crew member and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis is seen during the first commercial spacewalk.

Persons: —, Polaris Dawn crew’s, Jared Isaacman, Scott “ Kidd ” Poteet, Anna Menon, Sarah Gillis —, Isaacman, “, ” Isaacman, Gillis, ” Mennon, Bill Nelson, ” Nelson, Hatch, we’ve, Garrett Reisman, Sarah Gillis, Elon Musk, ” What’s, they’re, ” Organizations: SpaceX Polaris, CNN, Polaris, SpaceX, Shift4, US Air Force, NASA, Space, ISS Locations: wiggling, U.S

☆ Mega El Niño events may have caused planet’s greatest mass extinction
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The El Niño of 252 million years ago would have originated in the Panthalassic Ocean, a body of water much larger than today’s Pacific that could hold more heat, which in turn would have strengthened and sustained El Niño effects. The planet had experienced similar episodes earlier but they hadn’t triggered a mass extinction. A prolonged and intense El Niño also explained why extinctions had begun on land before they occurred in the ocean, the study said. This data showed how temperature rose at different latitudes as the mass extinction unfolded. El Niño events today are known to cause coral bleaching and mass mortality of fish, the study noted, but the ecological impact and future trajectory of El Niño events in a warming climate are unknown.

Persons: ”, Paul Wignall, David Bond, Paul Wignall El, Alex Farnsworth, El, ” Wignall, Niño, “, Yadong Sun, Niños, Wignall, Farnsworth, Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Chiarenza, wasn’t Organizations: CNN, University of Leeds, El, University of Hull, UK’s University of Bristol, China University of Geosciences, University of Bristol, Royal Society Newton International, University College London’s, supervolcanoes Locations: what’s, Russia, United Kingdom, Ellesmere, El, Pacific, Wuhan

☆ Cave discovery may explain why Neanderthals disappeared, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Grotte Mandrin is the only known site to have been home to alternating groups of both Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis. “The Thorin population spent 50,000 years without exchanging genes with other Neanderthal populations,” Slimak said in a news release. DNA from Homo sapiens fossils from that time show that these early arrivals interbred with Neanderthals — traces of those encounters remain in present-day human populations. Archaeologists have excavated more of Thorin’s remains: 31 teeth, part of the jaw and five finger bones, so far. It’s the only known site to have been home to alternating groups of both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, plus the earliest evidence of bow and arrow use outside Africa.

Persons: Ludovic Slimak, Thorin, ”, Slimak, “, Mandrin, ” Slimak, Ludovic, sapiens, Chris Stringer, wasn’t, ” Stringer, ” It’s, Grotte Mandrin Organizations: CNN, France’s National, for Scientific Research, Paul Sabatier University, Genomics Locations: Rhône, Toulouse, Western Europe, Europe, Grotte, Malataverne, France, Thorin’s, Africa

☆ Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest showcases mesmerizing photos
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The phases of Venus, the Aurora Australis and the International Space Station transiting the Sun all feature as category winners in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. Ryan Imperio was named the overall winner for his photograph capturing the progression of Baily’s beads during the 2023 annular eclipse, according to a Thursday statement from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, which runs the competition. “These are a challenge to capture due to their brevity and the precise timing needed.”Imperio said that he didn’t expect to win the competition. “The images selected each year are absolutely astonishing and I am both thrilled and honoured to have my photo among them,” he said in the statement. Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter.

Persons: Ryan Imperio, ” Imperio, ”, Ed Bloomer, Victoria Lane Organizations: CNN, Space, Astronomy, Royal Observatory Greenwich, Royal Observatory, Royal Museums Greenwich, National Maritime Museum Locations: Victoria, London

☆ Battle of Waterloo: Amputated limbs and butchered horses uncovered in ‘gore’ pit
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A pile of amputated limbs and the remains of several military horses have been excavated at the site of the Battle of Waterloo. The gruesome discovery was made at a farm in Belgium by Waterloo Uncovered, a UK charity that combines archaeology with veteran care. Veteran support charity Waterloo Uncovered is carrying out a targeted excavation at Mont-Saint-Jean farm in Belgium, which served as the Duke of Wellington's field hospital during the battle in 1815. Chris van Houts/PAThe trench is thought to have been designed to clear the hospital of gore after the battle. Photo12/Universal Images Group/Getty ImagesAccording to Waterloo Uncovered, its projects use the “unique lived experience of veterans and serving personnel to help interpret their discoveries.”Abigail Boyle, CEO of Waterloo Uncovered, said in the release: “It may seem counterintuitive to put injured veterans back on a battlefield, but it’s actually extremely beneficial.

Persons: Napoleon Bonaparte, Duke, Wellington’s, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Jean, Tony Pollard, Chris van Houts, ” Pollard, ” Thousands, ” Abigail Boyle, it’s Organizations: CNN, Waterloo, University of Glasgow Locations: Belgium, Waterloo, Brussels, Mont

☆ See giant gas bubbles move on the surface of a nearby star
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-11 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Astronomers have observed the detailed motions of giant gas bubbles on the surface of a nearby star for the first time, which rise and fall like the inside of a lava lamp. The images show the surface of the star R. Doradus, a red giant star 180 light-years away in the Dorado constellation. The telescope enabled them to collect high-resolution images of the star’s surface over the course of a month. Convection bubbles can be seen moving on the surface of R. Doradus, as seen by the ALMA telescope in Chile. While convection bubbles have been spotted before on the surface of stars, the new observations tracked the motion of bubbles in a way that wasn’t possible earlier.

Persons: ”, Wouter Vlemmings, Vlemmings, ‘, ” Vlemmings, Theo Khouri, Chalmers, ALMA, Behzad Bojnordi, Claudia Paladini, Paladini, ” Paladini Organizations: CNN —, Chalmers University of Technology, NASA, Chalmers, Energy, European Southern Observatory, Sun Locations: Sweden, ALMA, Chile

☆ Nuclear clocks could surpass precision of atomic ones
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-10 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

For this nuclear clock, the scientists used ultraviolet light to excite nuclear particles in an atom of thorium-229 embedded in solid crystal. For decades, atomic clocks have been used in GPS technologies, for space exploration and for keeping international time. The study of physics itself could be revolutionized by using nuclear clocks alongside atomic clocks, according to Zhang. “If the nuclear clock and the atomic clock transition frequency ratio is changing over time, it would be an indication of new physics.”Though there is still much progress to be made before nuclear clocks surpass the performance of atomic clocks — or replace them — these findings hint that such a time isn’t far off, Kolkowitz said. “As better UV laser sources are developed and as some of the mysteries and tricks of nuclear clocks get worked out, I expect that eventually some of the kinds of experiments we are currently doing in my lab to test relativity and search for new physics with atomic clocks will instead be performed with nuclear clocks,” Kolkowitz said.

Persons: ”, Chuankun Zhang, Zhang, Olga Kocharovskaya, Kocharovskaya, ” Zhang, Shimon Kolkowitz, Kolkowitz, ” Kolkowitz, What’s, Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, National Institute of Standards, Technology, University of Colorado, Texas, M University, NASA, University of California, Scientific Locations: University of Colorado Boulder, Berkeley

☆ SpaceX to launch Polaris Dawn, one of its riskiest missions yet
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-10 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The mission, dubbed Polaris Dawn, was set to take flight as soon as 3:38 a.m. This launch attempt comes after several issues hampered the Polaris Dawn crew’s efforts to get off the ground in late August. Because carrying out a spacewalk will create a drain on oxygen supplies, the Polaris Dawn mission will have only enough life support for five or six days in space. If successful, Polaris Dawn would beat that record by about 20 miles (32 kilometers). Polaris Dawn may also mark the farthest any woman has ever gone into space.

Persons: Van Allen, Elon Musk, Jared Isaacman, Isaacman, Scott “ Kidd ” Poteet, Anna Menon, Sarah Gillis —, cumulatively Organizations: CNN, Polaris, SpaceX, Twitter, Kennedy Space Center, Falcon, US Air Force Locations: Florida

☆ Two NASA telescopes capture closest pair of supermassive black holes
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-10 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Two telescopes have spotted the closest pair of supermassive black holes to date. Active galactic nuclei are supermassive black holes that release bright jets of material and high winds that can shape the very galaxies where they are found. Astronomers discovered these black holes dancing around one another at the center of a pair of colliding galaxies called MCG-03-34-64, which is 800 million light-years away. Astronomers serendipitously found the black holes when Hubble’s observations revealed three spikes of bright light within the glowing gas of a galaxy. Both supermassive black holes once served as the centers of their respective galaxies, but a galactic merger brought the two objects much closer together.

Persons: Chandra, serendipitously, ”, Anna Trindade Falcão, Hubble, Falcão, “, Karl G, ” Falcão, haven’t, LISA Organizations: CNN, Hubble, Astronomers, Astrophysical, Center, Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, NASA, ESA, European Space Agency Locations: Cambridge , Massachusetts, Socorro , New Mexico

☆ NASA’s Europa Clipper gets the green light to launch
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-09 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The approval was a relief to the Europa Clipper team after the discovery in May of a possible issue with transistors on the spacecraft. Europa Clipper carries 10 science instruments that could determine whether life is possible on another place in our solar system besides Earth. Now, Europa Clipper has been approved to launch, with no changes to the mission plan, goals or trajectory. Exploring an ocean worldWhen Curt Niebur, Europa Clipper program scientist, began working at NASA in 2003, he faced the task of pushing a Europa mission forward. Each year, the effort to get Europa Clipper designed and built has seemed more difficult, he said.

Persons: NASA’s, we’re, ”, Nicola Fox, Jupiter’s, Jordan Evans, Evans, “, ” Evans, Curt Niebur, ” Niebur, It’s, we’ve, That’s, Niebur, Laurie Leshin Organizations: CNN, Clipper, NASA, Europa Clipper, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight, Science, JPL, “, Juno Locations: Pasadena , California, Laurel , Maryland, Greenbelt , Maryland, flybys, Europa, gush

☆ Fossils show that massive pterosaurs could fly millions of years ago
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-09 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The newly discovered fossils preserved 3D structures within the delicate wing bones, which typically are found flattened like pancakes within rock layers. CT scans of the fossils provided a rare glimpse inside the wing bones belonging to two species of pterosaurs, including one new to science. These are not unlike those found in the wing bones of modern birds that flap their wings to fly, Rosenbach said. In contrast, spiral ridges within Arambourgiania’s wing bones resembled the interiors of vulture wing bones, which are thought to resist the forces associated with soaring. “They represent the largest animals with the capacity to fly,” Rosenbach said of the extinct reptiles.

Persons: Kierstin Rosenbach, It’s, Tal Inab, “, philadelphiae, Jordan, Rosenbach, ” Rosenbach, Kierstin, Monique Perez, Stacy Kaneko, Danielle Goodvin, Jeff Wilson Mantilla, ”, Michael Benton, Benton, “ It’s, Dr Organizations: CNN, University of Michigan, University of Michigan’s, of Paleontology, University of Bristol Locations: what’s, Jordan, Africa, Ann Arbor, Arambourgiania, United Kingdom

☆ Boeing Starliner capsule is back on Earth while crew will hitch a SpaceX ride home in 2025
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-07 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The spacecraft successfully launched and delivered NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station in June. But what seemed like an eight-day jaunt turned into months of questions surrounding Starliner’s ability to return the crew safely to Earth. NASAAfter nearly three months, the Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth without the two test pilots after undocking from the space station Friday night and parachuting into the New Mexico desert early Saturday. Starliner is the first US-made capsule to parachute to a ground landing, rather than splashing into the ocean. It remains to be seen how and when Starliner will be certified to carry astronauts regularly to space.

Persons: Boeing’s, —, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, jaunt, Starliner, Williams, “, Butch, Suni, ”, Steve Stich, mako, Guillermo López, Wells, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Radian Aerospace, NASA, International Space Station, Boeing, Starliner, European Union, Spanish, NSF, Cornell University, CNN Space, Science Locations: Seattle, New Mexico, Cod, Massachusetts, Zamora, Philippines, Luzon, Scotland

☆ Boeing Starliner capsule returns home from space — without astronauts on board
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-06 | by ( Jackie Wattles | Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Relive the Boeing Starliner capsule’s return home as it happened. CNN —Boeing’s Starliner capsule returned from the International Space Station Friday evening — concluding its nearly three-month stay in space. This screengrab taken from a video shows Boeing Starliner as it touches down in White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico, at 12:01 a.m. Boeing and NASA teams work around NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Starliner spacecraft after it landed uncrewed at White Sands, New Mexico, on September 7. NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, left, and Scott Tingle look inside NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Starliner spacecraft after it landed uncrewed at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, in New Mexico, on September 7.

Persons: CNN —, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Starliner, —, “, ”, Williams, Calypso, ” Williams, you’ve, uncrewed, Aubrey Gemignani, Mark Nappi, Steve Stich, we’ve, ” Stich, we’d, ” Stitch, Butch, Suni, NASA Starliner’s, Wilmore, Stitch, Stich, Mike Fincke, Scott Tingle, NASA ‘, …, Ken Bowersox Organizations: Boeing, CNN, International, NASA, NASA's Boeing, SpaceX, White, Space Operations, Software Locations: Sands, , New Mexico, terra firma, Starliner, White Sands , New Mexico, New Mexico

☆ Pregnant shark monitored by scientists eaten by a larger predator
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-06 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Habitat loss, overfishingand their fate as bycatch in fishing nets have threatened porbeagle shark populations. Northwest Atlantic porbeagle sharks are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. The team pieced together several factors that indicated the shark had been eaten and the tag excreted by a larger predator that gobbled up the shark, Anderson said. Unusual suspectsPorbeagles belong to a family called lamnid sharks, which also includes great white sharks and mako sharks. Gutteridge, who was not involved in the study, agrees that a white shark is the most likely culprit.

Persons: ”, Brooke Anderson, ” Anderson, —, Jon Dodd, Anderson, porbeagles, “, porbeagle, James Sulikowski, Shortfin, chow, It’s, Adrian Gutteridge, ” Gutteridge, they’re Organizations: CNN, Marine Science, North Carolina Department of Environmental, International Union for Conservation of, Marine Stewardship Council, International Union for Conservation, Specialist Locations: Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Bermuda, Canada, New England, Atlantic

☆ Common food dye can make skin transparent in mice, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-05 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“But when we put them together, we were able to achieve transparency of the mouse skin.”Once the dye had completely diffused into the skin, the skin became transparent. In mice, the researchers were able to observe blood vessels directly in the surface of the brain through the transparent skin of the skull. Guosong Hong/Stanford UniversityThe transparent areas take on an orangish color, Ou said, similar to that of the food dye. 5 dye, a common food coloring, was used at a low concentration in the study, and its effects were easily undone, according to the researchers. “However, a partially transparent (mouse) will already enable numerous research opportunities to answer questions relating to development, regeneration, as well as aging.”

Persons: Wells, ”, Zihao Ou, ” Ou, “, Hong, Ou, Guosong Hong, Stanford University Christopher Rowlands, Rowlands, wasn’t, Jon Gorecki, Gorecki, tartrazine Organizations: CNN, University of Texas, NSF, Stanford University in, Stanford University, US Food and Drug Administration, California, Environmental Health, Stanford, Imperial College London Locations: H.G, Dallas, Stanford University in California, California, bioengineering, Ou

☆ Ancient asteroid 20 times larger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs likely hit Jupiter’s moon Ganymede
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-05 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Jupiter’s moon Ganymede may have shifted on its axis when a massive asteroid smashed into it about 4 billion years ago, according to a new study. Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, is even bigger than Mercury and the dwarf planet Pluto. The crater left behind on Ganymede was 25% the size of the Jupiter moon, according to the study. Understanding how the impact altered the moon could reveal insights into its intriguing internal structure, Hirata said. “I want to understand the origin and evolution of Ganymede and other Jupiter moons,” he said.

Persons: ”, Naoyuki Hirata, Hirata, what’s, mission’s, It’s, Adeene Denton, Denton, “, we’re Organizations: CNN, Mercury, Kobe University, Pluto, Laboratory, University of Arizona, Sputnik Locations: Japan, Chicxulub, Mexico

☆ Asteroid 2024 RW1 burns up in Earth’s atmosphere over Philippines
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-04 | by ( Monica Garrett | Steve Tuemmler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A roughly 1-meter (3-foot) asteroid burned up in Earth’s atmosphere over the Philippines near Luzon Island early Wednesday afternoon, according to NASA. This screen grab taken from a video shows an asteroid burning up in the night sky as witnessed from Gonzaga in Cagayan province, Philippines, on September 4. Allan Madelar/FacebookThe Catalina Sky Survey discovered the object, initially called CAQTDL2 but now named 2024 RW1, this morning. “This is just the ninth asteroid that humankind has ever spotted before impact,” ESA tweeted. The object was harmless as it was small enough to burn up in the atmosphere upon entry.

Persons: Allan Madelar Organizations: CNN, NASA, European Space Agency, Sky Survey, ESA Locations: Philippines, Luzon, Gonzaga, Cagayan province

☆ Perseverance rover begins steep climb to study the oldest parts of Mars
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

This ascent is something scientists have been looking forward to for years, long before Perseverance landed on Mars. Turning back Martian timeThe impact that created Jezero Crater also generated a lot of heat, partly from the energy of the object that slammed into Mars. The crater rim site of Pico Turquino, as the hydrothermal rocks are called, provides another, different possibility. A panorama shows the area Perseverance will climb in the coming months to crest Jezero Crater’s rim. “For now, we’re just going to pursue our crater rim investigation.

Persons: ”, Thompson, Perseverance, Pico, Hazel Hill, Briony Horgan, “, Horgan, Ken Farley, Pico Turquino, ” Farley, Farley, Steven Lee, ” Lee, ” Horgan, we’re Organizations: CNN, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, JPL, Caltech, University of Arizona, Purdue University, Mars, California Institute of Technology, ASU Locations: Pasadena , California, Mars, Dox, ”, West Lafayette , Indiana, Pico, Jezero

☆ Boeing Starliner astronauts: NASA set to decide how they’ll return
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-24 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The fate of two NASA astronauts — who have been in limbo aboard the International Space Station for about 80 days because of issues plaguing their Boeing Starliner spacecraft — may soon become clear. The space agency routinely delays news conferences, however, if discussions take longer than expected. Still, the federal agency funded SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner at the same time in 2014. The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, topped by a Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, lifts off on an uncrewed test flight on December 20, 2019, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. If the Starliner capsule is ultimately certified, it could join SpaceX’s Crew Dragon in making routine trips to the space station to rotate staff.

Persons: —, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Williams, Wilmore, ”, Mark Nappi, we’ve, Ken Bowersox, Bowersox, Starliner, Joe Raedle, SpaceX’s Organizations: CNN, NASA, Space, Boeing, Engineers, NASA NASA, SpaceX, International, Soyuz, United Launch Alliance, V Locations: Cape Canaveral , Florida

☆ Menga Dolmen: Engineering behind Neolithic monument revealed
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-23 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Each of the 32 colossal stones that make up the Menga Dolmen, a 5,600-year-old megalithic monument in southern Spain, is many times bigger than the largest megaliths at Stonehenge, the most famous Neolithic wonder. The upright stones that make up the walls of the chamber were not perfectly vertical, tilting inward at a gentle angle to make the building narrower at the roof than at the floor and creating a trapezoid-shaped chamber. The team calculated that each of the upright stones lean inward at a largely uniform angle of 84 to 85 degrees. The upright stones that form the walls also lean sideways against one another at a consistent angle. The Menga Dolmen sits atop a hill near Antequera, Spain.

Persons: ”, Leonardo García Sanjuán, “, it’s, “ I’d, Mike Parker, Pearson, ” Parker, Pearson wasn’t, José Antonio Lozano Rodríguez, plumb, Miguel Ángel Blanco, García Sanjuán, Parker, Leonardo García, We’ve Organizations: CNN, Boeing, Spain’s University of Seville, University College London, Oceanographic Center Locations: Spain, Europe, Antequera

☆ Chandrayaan-3 mission finds new evidence to support lunar theory
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-23 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Pragyan made 23 measurements as it rolled along a 338-feet (103-meter) region of the lunar surface, located within 164 feet (50 meters) of Chandrayaan-3’s landing site, for about 10 days. The rover’s data marks the first measurements of elements within lunar soil near the south polar region. NASAThe first lunar samples collected during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 led researchers to the theory that the moon was once a molten ball of magma. The Pragyan rover, seen on Earth before being sent to the moon on Chandrayaan-3, used analytical tools to study lunar soil. APXSPOC, PRLPersistent lunar mysteriesThe mission proves why it is crucial to send spacecraft to different lunar regions to understand the history of the moon, Vadawale said.

Persons: Pragyan, Noah Petro, Artemis III, Petro, Santosh Vadawale, Vadawale, “, Shiv Shakti, ”, ” Petro Organizations: CNN, NASA, Mercury, Apollo, Reconnaissance, Artemis, Physical Research Locations: India, Aitken, Ahmedabad

☆ ‘ManhattAnt’: What to know about the invasive ant that’s ‘taken over’ NYC
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-23 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Researchers first spotted the insect, dubbed the “ManhattAnt,” while doing a survey on ants in New York City in 2011. By comparing the New York ants with the European ones, Seifert was able to confirm the ant’s identity. Because the nests work together instead of against one another, they can spread faster and easily dominate an area by outcompeting native species, he added. “One of the things we know about a lot of invasive ant species is they displace the native species, and the native species that they’re displacing usually have very specialized roles in the ecosystem, so you’re sort of disrupting that ecosystem when these species get introduced,” Moreau said. Time will tell whether the ant has become more than just a nuisance and is disrupting the ecosystem, Penick said.

Persons: North America —, ”, Clint Penick, Samantha Kennett, Becca Senft, Penick, Corrie Moreau, Moreau, Bernhard Seifert, Seifert, Kennett, ” Moreau Organizations: CNN, New Yorkers, Auburn University, Apple, Cornell University, Clemson University Locations: North America, Manhattan, European, Europe, New York City, Alabama, Long, New Jersey, Maine, Georgia, New York, Germany, York, South Carolina

☆ DNA analysis of Jamestown burials reveals governor’s family scandal
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-23 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Recently, DNA analysis of two skeletons from unmarked graves in a Jamestown church revealed that both people were related to West. That connection led researchers to documents proving that one of the men — Captain William West — was illegitimate, born to Thomas West’s spinster aunt, Elizabeth. An X-ray scan (left) of the spangled military sash fringed in silver (right) found in the grave of Captain William West. Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation (Preservation Virginia)Unmarked burials in colonial JamestownResearchers found four unmarked graves at Jamestown in 2014, in an Anglican church that the colonists used from about 1608 to 1616. MPI/Archive Photos/Getty ImagesWhile there wasn’t enough DNA to show immediate family ties, Wenman and Captain West both shared the haplogroup H10e.

Persons: Thomas West, Captain William West —, Thomas West’s, Elizabeth, Captain West, James Fort, ”, Christine Lee, Lee, Captain William West, Sir Ferdinando Wenman, —, Kari Bruwelheid, ” Bruwelheid, Éadaoin Harney, William West’s, ’, Ferdinando Wenman’s, ” Harney, West’s, Mary Blount, West “, West, Governor Thomas West, Ferdinando Wenman, Michael Lavin, ” Lavin, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, Jamestown Rediscovery, Preservation, University of Mississippi, spangled, Jamestown, Smithsonian National Museum of, Harvard University, MPI, Governor, Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation, Scientific Locations: Jamestown , Virginia, Jamestown, England, Preservation Virginia, Wenman, West, Washington ,, North America

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