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Astronomers Identify The Largest Molecule Ever Found in a Planet-Forming Disk

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The largest molecule yet found in a roiling disk of dust and gas around a baby star has been identified, scientists report. In this swirling cloud, astronomers detected the signature of dimethyl ether, a molecule that contains nine atoms. This oxygen-bearing molecule can act as a building block for sugars and other biomolecules, which means … Read more

Largest shock wave in the universe is ’60 times larger than the Milky Way,’ new study finds

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What happens when two of the largest objects in the universe collide? Simple, says a new study: They create one of the largest shock waves in the universe. Located about 730 million light-years from Earth, Abell 3667 is a galaxy cluster in chaos. Actually composed of two clusters (or groups) of galaxies colliding into one another, Abell 3667 … Read more

Astronomers discover massive radio galaxy 100 times larger than the Milky Way

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Astronomers have discovered the largest radio galaxy ever, stretching at least 16 million light-years through space, new research shows.  The galaxy — named Alcyoneus after the son of Ouranos, the Greek primordial god of the sky — was discovered about 3 billion light-years from Earth by a “stroke of luck,” according to a statement from … Read more

Moons: Rocky planets much larger than Earth might not have natural satellites

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Astronomers have found lots of exoplanets but not much evidence of exomoons, and a new model might explain why Space 1 February 2022 By Alex Wilkins An artist’s impression of an exoplanet Shutterstock / Artsiom P Rocky planets much bigger than Earth might not be able to form large moons like our own, which is … Read more

Signs of an Unknown Solar ‘Tsunami’ Have Been Discovered Deep Inside Earth’s Ice

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Deep beneath the ice in Greenland and Antarctica, researchers have found signs of an enormous solar ‘tsunami‘ that once crashed against Earth’s atmosphere more than 9,000 years ago.   This ancient superstorm was triggered by a wave of hot plasma and magnetism from the Sun, and it is significantly larger than anything we have recorded … Read more

Newly Discovered ‘Mini’ Supermassive Black Hole Is Among The Smallest Ever Found

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Because they emit nothing we can detect, there are many things about black holes we simply do not know. Amongst the most perplexing are supermassive black holes, millions to billions of times the mass of our Sun. Since black holes form from the cores of massive dead individual stars, how do supermassive behemoths grow so … Read more

Researchers Find Evidence That Fracking Can Trigger an All-New Type of Earthquake

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Oil and gas extraction can trigger small, slow-moving, longer-lasting earthquake tremors, which scientists have documented in Canadian fracking fields for the first time. A team of researchers from the Geological Survey of Canada documented a new type of earthquake event resulting from slow ruptures near an active gas well. This helps to explain how near-imperceptible … Read more