This week, Hubble spied the most distant galaxy ever detected; Britain had not one, but two, major archaeological finds reported; alligators and exomoons were in the news, and a major breakthrough in making solid, and extremely light objects (maybe even someday a space elevator) out of graphene was published.
Here are this week’s most popular stories – as voted by your clicks – from Science Rocks My World:
Hubble Sees Farthest Galaxy So Far [Video]
An international team of astronomers has pushed the Hubble Space Telescope to its apparent limits and detected the farthest galaxy ever seen, setting a cosmic distance record in the process. The galaxy, known as GN-z11, is a surprisingly bright galaxy that was in it’s infancy at the time the light Hubble detected arrived on its instruments was emitted from the galaxy 13.4 billion years ago…
Chance Discovery in UK is One of the Most Important Archaeological Finds in Decades
A chance finding of an ancient object by a British metal detector enthusiast has led to the discovery of a previously unknown Anglo-Saxon settlement which appears to be a monastic or trading center from the 8th century. The site, which was in fact an island in the 8th century, was discovered in a field outside of Little Carlton near Louth, Lincolnshire, and is yielding numerous artifacts from the settlement. Archaeologists from the University of Sheffield have deemed it one of the most important finds in decades…
Big Breakthrough Makes 3D Graphene Fabrication Possible [Video]
Graphene is the “rock star” of recently discovered materials, but efforts to make 3D objects out of graphene have proven very difficult.
The material, discovered in 2004, is 1 million times thinner than a human hair, 300 times stronger than steel, incredibly lightweight, and it’s the best known conductor of heat and electricity. So, it’s easy to image the potential applications, from basic everyday products all the way up to a space elevator…
Eying exomoons in the search for E.T.
By Bryan Gaensler, University of Toronto.
When I was young, the only planets we knew about were the ones in our own solar system.
Astronomers presumed that many of the other stars in the night sky had planets too, but this was sheer speculation. We could never know for sure, the thinking went, because such planets were ridiculously small and faint…
What Alligators Get for Guarding Birds’ Nests
Birds and alligators may not seem to be the likeliest of friends, but their interactions help both species to survive in Florida wetlands.
“We have known for some time that ibises, storks, spoonbills, and herons seem to always have alligators underneath their nests…”
Also From This Week, Check Out:
- Rediscovered Fossil Reveals How Enormous Abelisaur Was and Solves Mysteries
- A Fascinating New Theory about What Happened to the Neanderthals
- Mysterious chimpanzee behaviour may be evidence of ‘sacred’ rituals [Video]
- Is our Milky Way galaxy a zombie, already dead and we don’t know it?
- 11,000-Year-Old Pendant is a First for Britain
- 10 Amazing and Mysterious Monuments of the World [Video]
- Why kids are key to unlocking the potential of 3D printing
- Why Fast Radio Bursts Have Astronomers So Puzzled
- Breakthrough in Understanding Aging Skin Will Lead to New Anti-Aging Products