Phys.org news
Phys.org / SpaceX launches, destroys rocket in astronaut escape test
SpaceX completed the last big test of its crew capsule before launching astronauts in the next few months, mimicking an emergency escape shortly after liftoff Sunday.
Phys.org / Rough seas delay escape test for SpaceX crew capsule
Rough seas prompted SpaceX on Saturday to delay the emergency escape test of its new crew capsule by a day.
Phys.org / Study verifies a missing piece to urban air quality puzzle
Despite the prominent health threat posed by fine particulate pollution, fundamental aspects of its formation and evolution continue to elude scientists.
Phys.org / Male sparrows are less intimidated by the songs of aging rivals
Few singers reach their sunset years with the same voice they had in younger days. Singing sparrows are no different. Duke University-led research reveals that elderly swamp sparrows don't sound quite like they used to—nor ...
Phys.org / XMM-Newton discovers scorching gas in Milky Way's halo
ESA's XMM-Newton has discovered that gas lurking within the Milky Way's halo reaches far hotter temperatures than previously thought and has a different chemical make-up than predicted, challenging our understanding of our ...
Phys.org / What is an endangered species?
What makes for an endangered species classification isn't always obvious.
Phys.org / Human-caused biodiversity decline started millions of years ago
The human-caused biodiversity decline started much earlier than researchers used to believe. According to a new study published in the scientific journal Ecology Letters the process was not started by our own species but ...
Phys.org / Climate may play a bigger role than deforestation in rainforest biodiversity
"Save the rainforests" is a snappy slogan, but it doesn't tell the full story of how complicated it is to do just that. Before conservationists can even begin restoring habitats and advocating for laws that protect land from ...
Phys.org / Scientists measure the evolving energy of a solar flare's explosive first minutes
Toward the end of 2017, a massive new region of magnetic field erupted on the Sun's surface next to an existing sunspot. The powerful collision of magnetic energy produced a series of potent solar flares, causing turbulent ...
Phys.org / Walking with atoms—chemical bond making and breaking recorded in action
Ever since it was proposed that atoms are building blocks of the world, scientists have been trying to understand how and why they bond to each other. Be it a molecule (which is a group of atoms joined together in a particular ...
Phys.org / Here and gone: Outbound comets are likely of extra-solar origin
Astronomers at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) have analyzed the paths of two objects heading out of the Solar System forever and determined that they also most likely originated from outside of the ...
Phys.org / Using machine learning to fine-tune views of the ancient past
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in China and two in the U.S. has developed a way to use machine learning to get a better look at the past. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group ...