
Discovery about outer solar system during set-up up of planetarium show shocks astronomers
At the American Museum of Natural History last autumn, experts were hard at work preparing 'Encounters in the Milky Way', a deep dive into our home galaxy shaped by the movements of stars and other celestial objects.
They were fine-tuning a scene featuring what's known as the Oort Cloud, a theoretical region far beyond Pluto believed to be filled with icy relics from the solar system's formation that pass into the solar system as comets.
One evening while watching the Oort Cloud scene, scientists noticed something strange projected onto the planetarium's dome.
A new planetarium show created a backwards S-shaped spiral in a mock-up of the Oort Cloud, causing excitement among some scientists. Photo: AP
'Why is there a spiral there?' said the museum's Jackie Faherty.
The inner section of the Oort Cloud, made of billions of comets, resembled a bar with two waving arms, similar to the shape of our Milky Way galaxy.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Why China is surging ahead of Trump's America in green energy race
As US-China tensions continue, one contrast stands out sharply between the big power rivals – their approach to energy and climate issues. Advertisement Even as the Trump administration cripples green energy endeavours with executive orders and the ' Big Beautiful Bill ', China is building on its title as the world's largest renewable energy investor. According to the State Grid Energy Research Institute, China is expected to bolster its national power grid by a record 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity this year. The energy debate unfolds with the rapidly warming world needing more clean energy than ever, especially as advancing technology drives up demand. Artificial intelligence (AI) and other innovative technologies need substantial amounts of electricity to operate, as they rely heavily on data centres and powerful computing infrastructure. Countries worldwide are trying to increase energy production as they invest in new data centres that must be kept running round the clock, with the US and China leading the field. With technology rivalry a central driver of the broader US-China tensions, Beijing has forged ahead with renewable energy goals and boosted related investment in its pursuit of a global tech lead. 01:36 China's largest photothermal power facility drives development of new form of energy China's largest photothermal power facility drives development of new form of energy In contrast, the Trump administration is cancelling tax credits for what it calls 'unreliable 'green' energy sources like wind and solar' that 'compromise America's electric grid'.


South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Dino-era diet debate: Chinese pterosaur fossil rewrites menu of ancient flying reptile
Scientists in China and Brazil have found the first evidence of a plant-eating pterosaur, the ancient flying reptiles that coexisted with dinosaurs The rare find sheds light on the mysterious diets of the creatures that ruled the skies before birds and renews a contentious debate among palaeontologists. 'We report the first evidence of stomach contents of a pterodactyloid pterosaur,' the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Bulletin on July 1. The fossil of the Sinopterus atavismus – a species of pterosaur – was found in northeastern China. Its stomach was found to contain phytoliths, a rigid, microscopic mineral deposit that forms in some plants, as well as small quartz crystals possibly swallowed to aid digestion, the team said. Quartz is commonly present in gastroliths – or mineralised 'stomach stones' that many living animals, including birds and lizards, keep in their gizzards or stomachs to help grind up tough foods like plants. 'The first occurrence of phytoliths, associated with gastroliths, in the stomach contents confirms the herbivory of Sinopterus. It is the first time that such structures have been discovered in pterosaurs.'

The Standard
5 days ago
- The Standard
China's exports of rare earth magnets to the U.S. skyrocket in June
Samples of rare earth minerals from left, Cerium oxide, Bastnasite, Neodymium oxide and Lanthanum carbonate are on display during a tour of Molycorp's Mountain Pass Rare Earth facility in Mountain Pass, California June 29, 2015. REUTERS/David Becker/File Photo