ScienceDaily: Quirky - December 27, 2023
Top quirky research news
Reindeer sleep while chewing their cud
Researchers report that the more time reindeer spend ruminating, the less time they spend in non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep. EEG recordings revealed that reindeer's brainwaves during rumination resemble the brain waves present during non-REM sleep, and these brainwave patterns suggest that the reindeer are more 'rested' after ruminating. The researchers speculate that this multitasking might help reindeer get enough sleep during the summer months, when food is abundant and reindeer feed almost 24/7 in preparation for the long and food-sparse arctic winter.
Hubble sights a galaxy with 'forbidden' light
A whirling image features a bright spiral galaxy known as MCG-01-24-014, which is located about 275 million light-years from Earth. In addition to being a well-defined spiral galaxy, MCG-01-24-014 has an extremely energetic core known as an active galactic nucleus (AGN) and is categorized as a Type-2 Seyfert galaxy. Seyfert galaxies, along with quasars, host one of the most common subclasses of AGN. While the precise categorization of AGNs is nuanced, Seyfert galaxies tend to be relatively nearby and their central AGN does not outshine its host, while quasars are very distant AGNs with incredible luminosities that outshine their host galaxies.
Researchers study a million galaxies to find out how the universe began
Researchers have analyzed more than one million galaxies to explore primordial fluctuations that seeded the formation of the structure of the entire universe.
𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦: 𝘕𝘈𝘚𝘈 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴/𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘬.𝘤𝘰𝘮
Organic compounds in asteroids formed in colder regions of space
Analysis of organic compounds -- called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) -- extracted from the Ryugu asteroid and Murchison meteorite has found that certain PAHs likely formed in the cold areas of space between stars rather than in hot regions near stars as was previously thought. The findings open new possibilities for studying life beyond Earth and the chemistry of objects in space.
Astronomers detect seismic ripples in ancient galactic disk
A new snapshot of an ancient, far-off galaxy could help scientists understand how it formed and the origins of our own Milky Way. At more than 12 billion years old, BRI 1335-0417 is the oldest and furthest known spiral galaxy in our universe. The researchers were able to not only capture the motion of the gas around BRI 1335-0417, but also reveal a seismic wave forming -- a first in this type of early galaxy.
NASA's Hubble watches 'spoke season' on Saturn
A new photo of Saturn was taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on October 22, 2023, when the ringed planet was approximately 850 million miles from Earth. Hubble's ultra-sharp vision reveals a phenomenon called ring spokes.
Supernova encore: Second lensed supernova in a distant galaxy
In November 2023, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope observed a massive cluster of galaxies named MACS J0138.0-2155. Through an effect called gravitational lensing, first predicted by Albert Einstein, a distant galaxy named MRG-M0138 appears warped by the powerful gravity of the intervening galaxy cluster. In addition to warping and magnifying the distant galaxy, the gravitational lensing effect caused by MACS J0138 produces five different images of MRG-M0138.
World's smallest 'fanged' frogs found in Indonesia
Researchers have identified a species of frog new to science. The Indonesian amphibian is the size of a quarter, unlike its two-pound cousins, and has tiny fangs. Nearly uniquely among amphibians, they lay their eggs on the leaves of trees, and the males guard and tend to the nests.