Supermassive black holes reside in some of the biggest galaxies in the universe, and many emit radio waves. They tend to be billions of times more massive that our Sun, and not even light itself can escape a black hole once it gets too close. But it’s not all darkness. Supermassive black holes power some ...
If you can get your hands on a telescope, there are few sights more spectacular than the magnificent sight of Saturn’s rings. Currently, Saturn is clearly visible in the evening sky, at its highest just after sunset. It’s the ideal time to use a telescope or binoculars to get a good view of the Solar ...
Our Sun is a steady and everlasting companion. Reliable like a clock, its apparent passage across the sky allows us to measure time. The Sun and its path is also the source of Earth’s seasons. But in many respects, our Sun is far from calm and unchanging. Close up, the Sun shows extensive variation and ...
The world is infatuated with artificial intelligence (AI), and for good reason. AI systems can process vast quantities of data in a seemingly superhuman way similar to your brain. However, current AI systems rely on computers running complex algorithms based on artificial neural networks. These use huge amounts of energy, and use even more energy ...
Australia is famous for its diverse and unique marsupials and infamous for its world-leading rate of mammal extinctions. In our latest research, we have added new names to the list of Australian marsupials — and at the same time, new entries to the grim catalogue of species driven to extinction since European colonisation. Our new ...
Excavations on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi have uncovered two unique and deadly artifacts dating back some 7,000 years — knives with tiger shark-tooth blades. These finds, reported in the journal Antiquity, are some of the earliest archaeological evidence globally for the use of shark teeth in composite weapons — weapons made with multiple parts. ...
Dingoes are an iconic Australian wild animal with close links to First Nations Australians throughout the mainland. Yet the origins and history of these animals are shrouded in obscurity. The question of whether dingoes are a truly wild or formerly domestic animal that has become feral has eluded a clear answer or consensus among scientists ...
About 7,000 years ago, a small group of Stone Age people sat around a fire, next to a small lake in what is now the Nefud Desert of northern Saudi Arabia. We found some of the tools they left behind – and on close inspection of the tools, we discovered these Stone Age herders were ...
Despite their public image as torpid, lumbering creatures, many dinosaurs were evidently warm-blooded, highly active animals, capable of prolonged and strenuous aerobic exercise. In new research, my colleagues and I determined how much energy minibus-sized dinosaurs called Maiasaura used while growing to adulthood. Our results, published in the journal Paleobiology, show Maiasaura was capable of ...
A substance called antimatter is at the heart of one of the greatest mysteries of the universe. We know that every particle has an antimatter companion that is virtually identical to itself but with the opposite charge. When a particle and its antiparticle meet, they annihilate each other — disappearing in a burst of light. ...