Science news 16 Feb, 2021

SpaceX launches 60 new Starlink internet satellites into orbit, misses rocket landing - Space.com

It was a rare miss for SpaceX's rocket landings.

NASA Previews Perseverance Mars Rover Landing - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Dinosaur-killing comet may have come from the edge of the solar system - CNET

The kind of space rock that wiped T.rex and friends from our planet might be more common than previously thought.

Neanderthals used stone tool tech once considered exclusive to Homo sapiens - Ars Technica

A child's molar from an Israeli cave links Neanderthals to the cave's stone tools.

Millie Hughes-Fulford, NASA Shuttle Scientist, Dies at 75 - The New York Times

As the space agency’s first female payload specialist, she conducted experiments about the impact of weightlessness on astronauts’ immune systems and loss of bone mass.

Planet Nine Might Be a Giant Illusion, Scientists Say, And Here's Why - ScienceAlert

A hypothetical mystery planet thought to be responsible for strange orbits in the outer Solar System just got dealt one of its biggest blows yet.

CO2 dip may have helped dinosaurs walk from South America to Greenland - Phys.org

A new paper refines estimates of when herbivorous dinosaurs must have traversed North America on a northerly trek to reach Greenland, and points out an intriguing climatic phenomenon that may have helped them along the journey.

Scientists find unexpected animal life far beneath Antarctica’s floating ice shelves - NBC News

Scientists discover types of sea-sponges living in the pitch-black seawater beneath half a mile beneath the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf

Don’t freak out—but a monster asteroid is going to be whizzing way too close to Earth soon - SYFY WIRE

2020 was basically a disaster movie and 2021 isn’t looking much better. As if that wasn’t dystopian enough, there is now a ginormous asteroid that will be passing uncomfortably close, uncomfortably soon.

Nature: Wasps watch over neighbouring nests in 'surprising act of selflessness' - Daily Mail

Researchers from the UK studied some 20,000 baby Neotropical paper wasps and their carers from 91 different colonies in Panama, including near the canal.

India and Australia were evolutionary neighbours, a link found in Bhimbetka shows - The Hindu

The age of fossil rock is determined using isotopes.

Light used to detect quantum information stored in 100,000 nuclear quantum bits - Phys.org

Researchers have found a way to use light and a single electron to communicate with a cloud of quantum bits and sense their behavior, making it possible to detect a single quantum bit in a dense cloud.

Unusual 'Milestone' Rock Found Standing Up On The Far Side Of The Moon - IFLScience

With all the excitement surrounding what is quickly becoming like a traffic jam in Mars's orbit, you may have forgotten about the cool things going on on t

At 132 astronomical units, 'Farfarout' is the most distant object we've ever found in the solar system - TechSpot

The team has since learned that Farfarout resides 132 astronomical units (AUs) from the Sun. A single AU is defined as the distance from the center of...

Incredible microscope images of molecules show what Titan's haze looks like up *very* close - SYFY WIRE

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn, and the second largest moon in the solar system, about the same size as Mercury. Unique among moons, it has a thick atmosphere — despite the lower gravity, the surface pressure is 1.5 times Earth's at sea level. Its atmosp…

China's Tianwen 1 enters Mars' polar orbit - DAWN.com

Checkout for the Latest and Top News from Pakistan and around the world

Russian cargo ship heads for space station, loaded with 2-and-a-half tons of supplies and equipment - CBS News

The Russian Progress cargo ship blasted off from Kazakhstan atop a Soyuz booster carrying 2-and-a-half tons of supplies and equipment.

Why do we breathe so loudly when we sleep? - Livescience.com

What explains loud "sleep breathing"?

Russian cargo ship launched to International Space Station - Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — An unmanned Russian cargo ship launched successfully Monday with a load of supplies for the International Space Station. The Progress MS-16 cargo ship blasted off as scheduled...

Capuchin monkey genome reveals clues to its long life and large brain - Phys.org

An international team of scientists has sequenced the genome of a capuchin monkey for the first time, uncovering new genetic clues about the evolution of their long lifespan and large brains.

Russia launches cargo ship heading for International Space Station – Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover landing this week will be must-see TV - CNET

The next robot on Mars will touch down Thursday, and the views will be truly otherworldly.

Live coverage: SpaceX plans Falcon 9 launch tonight from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now

China Discovers “Unusual” Shard on Far Side Of The Moon - Futurism

China’s Yutu 2 Rover discovered an unusual elongated rock on the surface of the moon — and they suspect it might be a shard from a meteor impact.

New AI 'Ramanujan Machine' uncovers hidden patterns in numbers - Livescience.com

The new AI can generate novel math ideas in need of proof.

'Super Eruption' at Yellowstone Park is Not The Biggest Concern, Volcano Expert Explains - Sputnik International

The 3,472-square-mile park known for its wildlife and geothermal features is located in the western United States. The park sits on a supervolcano - Yellowstone Caldera...

What It's Really Like to Sleep in Space, According to a Former Astronaut Who Spent 520 Nights Doing It - Travel+Leisure

Former astronaut Scott Kelly explains what it’s like to sleep in microgravity.

Don’t Tell Einstein, but Black Holes Might Have ‘Hair’ - WIRED

The general theory of relativity states that black holes have only three observable properties; additional ones, or “hair,” do not exist. Or do they?

We heart the Earth and sky | Earth - EarthSky

This Valentine’s Day, we find so much to love in the many heart-shaped objects created by Mother Nature that can be found right here on Earth or all the way to the deepest reaches of the sky.

Happy birthday to Galileo, born February 15 - EarthSky

One of our greatest astronomers, Galileo Galilei, was born February 15, 1564. His discoveries with the improved telescopes he made changed the way we view the universe - and got him in trouble with the church.

Science explains why we kiss | Human World - EarthSky

Why does kissing feel good? Watch this video to learn why humans are drawn to puckering up.

Mature Red-Bellied Lemur Seeks Soul Mate for Cuddles and Grooming - The New York Times

At the Duke Lemur Center, an innovative plan to keep the animals social late in life: pair them with lemurs of another species.

Moon 'milestone’: China's Yutu 2 rover discovers ‘unusual’ shard on lunar far side - Daily Express

MOON rover Yutu 2 has made its most remarkable discovery yet, after photographing a bizarre anomaly on the unexplored lunar far side.