When you think of Antarctica, you probably envision a white and calm mass of ice that lies undisturbed. However, researchers discovered such a description isn’t too accurate. It turns out East Antarctica, an area always regarded as tranquil, is actually quite shaky from a geological point of view. A recent study has revealed phenomena like small earthquakes are actually quite common in the region.

Is Antarctica so geologically calm?

Researchers regarded East Antarctica as calm since it was quite difficult to measure any tectonic activity in the area. The mystery started when researchers discovered something interesting hiding beneath the ice sheet. Right underneath the surface, they could find an impressive mountain range that reminded them of other similar formations from other continents.

However, these mountains shouldn’t have been there. For such formations to come into being, two tectonic plates must smash. Also, their position on the continent was quite strange, since such movements don’t usually appear right in the middle. Therefore, researchers decided to investigate and see where they came from.

East Antarctica experiences small earthquakes relatively often

This way, they identified the presence of the small earthquakes in East Antarctica. The mountains came into being through some older geological processes that researchers managed to identify. After consulting a report on seismic activity from 2009, they got the first look into the intense geological activity of Antarctica.

However, they knew they shouldn’t stop here. Small earthquakes are a result of actual seismic activities, but sensors can pick up other stimuli and mistake them for such phenomena. Therefore, they attached some new sensors and made sure they reduced the effect of fake stimuli from the atmosphere or from the surface.

The final results revealed there had been 27 earthquakes during a year. They were all relatively small, but the average rate was of two earthquakes occurring every two weeks. This is extremely impressive, since researchers used to think Antarctica had no seismic activity at all. The study on these small earthquakes was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

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Researchers have been denying the existence of a ninth planet, as they said there was no scientific evidence to prove it. Now, they might have stumbled upon some pretty convincing facts that might make it possible for Planet Nine to exist. The evidence comes from a Trans Neptunian object with a strange orbit, meaning that a ninth planet could have distorted it.

The Trans Neptunian object has a weird orbit

Researchers have been really skeptical about the existence of a ninth planet in the Solar System. Conspiracy theorists used it to predict a possible end of the world, but there was no solid scientific evidence to show it was coming. Now, they have found something that might prove Planet Nine actually exists.

The Trans Neptunian object in question is 2015 BP519, and it performs an orbit around the Sun. However, researchers noticed something different. While all planets in the Solar System have different orbits, they still perform the movement around the Sun at the same angle. This object does at a different angle. This makes it the most extreme object of its type ever studied.

The existence of Planet Nine might explain that strange orbit

Researchers were baffled by the phenomenon, so they decided to perform some computer models. This way, they were trying to find out why the orbit of the object was different. Here, the interesting part comes in. By modelling the Solar System with only eight planets, the orbit looked different than it does. Afterwards, they made another theoretical simulation where they introduced Planet Nine as well. This produced the exact orbit as the one performed by the Trans Neptunian object.

Of course, conspiracy theorists shouldn’t get too excited. This isn’t proof that Planet Nine actually exists. However, the situation makes it more likely for it to exist than before. The study on the phenomenon is available in the pre-print archive arXiv.

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Scientists are usually optimistic when they find exoplanets situated in the habitable zones in their stars. This means they are at the optimal distance that allows water to exist in a liquid state, making it theoretically possible for life to exist. However, if their axes are tilted and their orbits strange, they might enter a snowball state.

Is the position of an exoplanet enough to tell if it’s habitable?

There are many factors that might influence the habitability of an exoplanet. One of them is its position from its parent star, but researchers have discovered more factors that influence it. The position of their axis and their orbit might be one of them, so they decided to see what happens if the two are tilted.

The main objects of many studies have been those exoplanets as close to their stars as Earth is to the Sun. Now, researchers wanted to see how a tilted axis can influence their habitability. They used to think those planets with a bigger tilt became warmer. Now, a recent study has revealed they actually cause a snowball state.

A tilted axis and an irregular orbit might plunge it into a snowball state

Whenever the planet with the tilted axis performs an irregular orbiting movement, it becomes a lot more likely for it to enter such a snowball state. If this happens, then any water present on it would freeze and it would be impossible for life to exist. This new hypothesis became apparent after researchers performed more advanced simulations.

In some cases, these irregularities might lead to the apparition of ideal temperatures for life. However, this can happen extremely rarely, and the snowball state hypothesis is a lot more common. Researchers also say that an ice age on an exoplanet would come out as a lot more severe than on Earth. This means that chances of finding life are getting more and more slim.

This study shows the position of an exoplanet is not enough to establish its habitability. The shape of its orbit and the angle of its axis are just as important, and they are often the decisive factor in this matter. The paper in question should soon appear in the Astronomical Journal, but it’s currently available on arXiv.

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Scientists suspect life must have existed on Mars, so they are constantly looking for ways to detect it. For their latest experiment, they used the streams in Dorset as a model, given their similarities to the Martian landscape. The St. Oswald Bay’s streams contained fatty acid traces, which is generally regarded as a sign of life. This means the same traces might be present on Mars as well, showing that the planet might have hosted life.

The Dorset streams were a great model for the Martian study

St. Oswald’s Bay contains most of the acidic streams in Dorset. This environment contains an interesting combination of rocks that served as a great model for the scientists. Among these rocks, there is a particular mineral called goethite, that easily turns into hematite. As you might already know, hematite is the rock that makes the Martian surface red.

Therefore, looking at the properties of these Dorset streams should highlight some valuable information on Mars. Life might be quite difficult to exist in the minerals even if they are present on Earth. Therefore, finding such traces here on our planet could mean life was also possible on Mars.

Researchers might really make some valuable discoveries on Mars

Fortunately, the hematite in Dorset contained traces of fatty acids, and this is an indicative of life. Then, through a study, researchers applied all these findings on their knowledge on planet Mars. At first, they calculated the concentration of acidic rocks on Mars and, then, assumed they contain as many fatty acids as those on Earth.

Judging from these measurements, researchers concluded that Mars rocks could have contained several thousands of metric tons of such acids. In other words, this is the equivalent of 12,000 pools of Olympic size. Also, researchers have even better news than that.

Whenever they looked for organic matter on Mars, they used equipment based on heat. The bad thing was that heat could destroy any kind of traces left by once-existing life. However, these minerals can resist heat, so the Dorset findings might really bring some valuable evidence about life on Mars.

The study was published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

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People can cause serious trouble even when they have no intention to do so. Some tourists who visited the Red Fleet State Park in Utah mistook dinosaur footprints for regular rocks and threw them in the lake. It took the park officials some time to realize what was happening, and they are now urging everyone not to pick up anything from the dinosaur track.

People mistook the dinosaur footprints for regular rocks

Disturbing ancient fossils sounds like a bad thing to happen, especially in a place where there are hundreds of dinosaur footprints. Discarding of them counts as vandalism, even if this happens without the person’s knowledge of the origin of the rocks. Now, park rangers and officials have issued a serious announcement asking everyone to leave the fossils alone.

This is not the first time when people are mistaking dinosaur footprints for rocks. Tourists have always been disturbing the fossils and throwing them in the nearby lake. However, this behavior became even more common over the past six months.

Park officials took serious measures to stop tourists from discarding the tracks

During this time, park officials assumed about 10 dinosaur footprints were destroyed. Some of those were extremely old and had a huge scientific value, so they decided to take serious measures. They added new signs along the dinosaur track where they asked people not to pick up any rocks.

Most of these dinosaur footprints had been preserved in sandstone and were probably left by a theropod from Early Jurassic, Dilophosaurus. Red Fleet State Park was most probably a swamp during those times, and these creatures were among the biggest predators of the era. Later, theropods started growing even bigger.

These footprints aren’t fossils in the technical sense of the way, but the law of the state regards them as such. However, they can help scientists discover more about the creatures that left them, so they shouldn’t be destroyed. Getting into contact with water can cause permanent damage on them, so throwing them in the lake is the least recommended thing to do.

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An interesting experiment involving 100,000 gamers successfully proved Einstein wrong. We are talking about the famous theory about the phenomenon called spooky action at a distance, which already enters the field of quantum mechanics. These volunteering gamers showed quantum entanglement worked, and also offered a possible explanation for it.

Scientists explained the spooky action theory through games and random numbers

Spooky action at a distance means that particles might issue an influence upon each other even when they’re really far away from each other. However, Einstein thought only one small part of it was a matter of quantum mechanics. Instead, he was convinced there must be some other explanation that better suits the phenomenon.

Researchers wanted to test the quantum hypothesis and performed some demonstrations of a phenomenon called quantum entanglement. However, they still couldn’t find an explanation, so Einstein’s unknown variables sounded plausible. Fortunately, the team of gaming volunteers brought a new light on the spooky action theory.

They played a series of games which generated random numbers, so there weren’t any variables that could influence the phenomenon. Afterwards, scientists took the numbers and used them for a series of quantum tests performed in different labs. Then, they measured the entangled particles that were involved in the process. Therefore, some truly random factors could generate some measurable particles.

The results challenge Einstein’s views of the universe

This spooky action experiment brought some solid evidence against Einstein’s local realism theory. This states that an action performed in a certain direction won’t produce a result in a different location. Judging from this theory, it means the universe is always the same, both when we’re looking at it and when we don’t.

However, quantum physics and mechanism function from a different principle. This means we might use quantum theory to explain how the universe is working, and everything happens randomly. There are no hidden factors or variables that might influence the final results.

“We showed that a key property of entanglement in space, so-called monogamy of entanglement, does not hold in the temporal domain,” say the researchers.

This landmark study on the spooky action theory and quantum entanglement was published in the journal Nature.

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When it comes to animals, being flashy might not help them survive but at least it helps them reproduce. Some might say we can translate the same features to humans as well, but the situation seems to be a bit different. A team of researchers from the University of Buffalo have discovered that people with flashy cars or other striking appearances are indeed attractive, but not for long-term relationships.

Women want a man who can provide for a long-term relationship

When you see a person driving a flashy car and exhibiting a cocky attitude, you might be driven towards them at first. However, if you are looking for a serious relationship, avoid such extravagant details. Researchers revealed these people appear more promiscuous and less reliable, so those who want a long-term commitment will stay away from them.

This study is related to a slightly older one where women were asked to compare the drivers of different cars. They regarded those men who drove a Porsche Boxster as extremely unreliable. Also, they thought these people probably didn’t want committed relationships, as compared to others who drove a Honda Civic, for instance.

It turns out women choose what they look at in men depending on what they want for the future. If they want a brief one-night stand, they are more likely to be interested in flashy displays and in the physical appearance. However, when it comes to something serious, they look for wealth.

Flashy cars can bring you one-night stands, but will never offer a committed relationship

However, this doesn’t mean owners of flashy cars have an advantage. Men can express their wealth by buying a durable vehicle that doesn’t stand out but does its job. On the other hand, the unreliable ones can opt for a used car belonging to a popular brand. Then, they can spend money to make it look more extravagant.

Researchers concluded that people automatically interpret people with flashy cars and other such luxuries as less interested in serious things. They are a lot more likely to choose them for flings, but these displays won’t bring you your true long-term love.

The study was published in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science.

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Stephen Hawking’s last paper has finally appeared in print and presents some theories on the Big Bang and the multiverse it created. This paper has been available on the internet since Hawking’s death, but it was submitted to the journal and awaited approval. Hawking wrote the paper in collaboration with a professor at the University of Leuven in Belgium, Thomas Hertog.

Hawking presented an interesting theory on the multiverse

One Big Bang theory claims our universe is actually part of a multiverse. This means that, when Big Bang happened, it created an infinity of universes. The same theory claims new ones keep appearing. However, such a huge number of universes makes quite a hard case for scientists. There are too many factors to consider, so it’s hard to tell why our universe ended up like this.

Hawking and Hertog cultivated the same idea. Its implications were that the multiverse actually evolved randomly, without a clear pattern, and this made the two scientists upset. Therefore, they put up this paper where they tried to reduce the number of universes. From all that are possible, they selected those who share some properties with our own.

The theory is really interesting, but it can’t be proved

There have been certain physical conditions available when the Big Bang occurred. These influenced the future properties of our universe as soon as it came into being after the Big Bang. Hawking and Hertog thought these properties might have materialized into other similar universes. By understanding this basic theory, we might learn more about this multiverse.

As soon as the paper went public, many people made suppositions that it could have earned Hawking the Nobel Prize. However, there are many who disagree. The theory indeed brings a new perspective on the multiverse and the birth of our own universe. However, all these claims cannot be verified at the moment. Since the two scientists didn’t discover how to find all these similar universes, the paper presents only speculations.

If you want to read Hawking’s last paper, you can find it in the Journal of High Energy Physics.

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The Hubble Space Telescope helped astronomers make a landmark discovery outside our Solar System. By using the powerful lenses of the telescope, they could spot traces of helium near WASP-107b. The cosmic body in question is an exoplanet, and it’s the first time when researchers spot the chemical element beyond the boundaries of the Solar System.

Scientists spotted helium in the atmosphere of an exoplanet

The European Space Agency released news about the remarkable discovery made with Hubble. By using Wide Field Camera 3, they could take a close look at the atmosphere of the exoplanet. This is how they observed this atmosphere contained traces of helium.

The observation was both unique and surprising, as helium is the second most common element in the universe. However, it was only spotted in the Solar System so far. The discovery is remarkable from another point of view as well. If Hubble could offer such good images of WASP-107b’s atmosphere, it means we can expand the study to other cosmic objects as well.

WASP-107b is an unusual exoplanet

WASP-107b is part of the Virgo constellation, at about 200 light-years away from our planet. Scientists described it as a super Neptune. The description comes from its properties, as the exoplanet has about the same diameter as Jupiter, but only a small part of its mass. As a result, it has one of the lowest densities every observed.

Its atmosphere is interesting as well. Given its proximity to the star, it performs a complete orbit in only 5.7 days. Therefore, it reaches temperatures of 932 degrees Fahrenheit which are definitely not friendly for life. The fact that it also contained helium was extremely interesting to observe.

Now that Hubble could take a look at the atmosphere of WASP-107b, it’s time to look at other exoplanets as well. Before this study came out, researchers used to look at the ultraviolet light present in atmospheres. This was a bit tough, since our own atmosphere blocks most of this radiation. Now, things have evolved and we might make more valuable discoveries.

The study on helium in WASP-107b’s atmosphere was published in the journal Nature.

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Recently, people have started coming up with all sorts of theories regarding Earth and its imminent destruction. Among them, there was one which claimed that Earth’s magnetic poles would flip. Researchers decided to explore the issue and discovered this is not likely to happen too soon.

Researchers fear the magnetic poles of Earth might flip

At the beginning of this year, people have started claiming that, in the next 2,000 years, the magnetic poles of our planet might flip. Of course, such an event could not go without huge consequences. The two poles create a unitary magnetic field that surrounds our planet and keep it safe from radiation. Switching poles might create a huge disruption in this field.

Once every 200,000 or 300,000 years, Earth might flip its poles. Now, NASA claims our planet might be nearing the end of such a cycle. Many researchers have noticed the magnetic field around Earth has got significantly weaker. A region near Chile, called the South Atlantic Anomaly, has degraded over the past 200 years. These signs put everyone in guard for an imminent magnetic pole reversal.

Studies show such an event won’t happen too soon

Fortunately, researchers come with good news. They developed a study and analyzed the data, and found out pole flipping might not happen too soon. To find out, they monitored the geomagnetic field of Earth, and then compared it with two other fields that were present more than 45,000 years ago. They chose these fields as they were extremely similar with the one Earth has right now.

Back then, these magnetic poles did not flip. There were some major disruptions that took place back in time, but none of them is similar to the current magnetic field. In fact, the one we have right now doesn’t have any disruptions at all.

Any small changes in the magnetic poles can have terrible effects. A few examples include great disruptions in the migration routes of animals, or deviations in satellite orbits. Even small disturbances in the field might have the same effect, but such events are not likely to happen too soon.

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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