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NASA set a new target date for its Artemis launch the week of July 20–27, as astronomers found a way to look back at the earliest stars in the universe.
Scientists found a relative of the Tiktaalik (one of the earliest animals to move onto dry land) may have returned to the sea after its ancestors left. Analysis of its fins show it was more suited to swimming than walking, complicating the picture of tetrapod evolution.
Scientists discovered mammal ancestors developed warm blood quicker and more recently than thought. Studying fossils from around the skull’s ear canals (which are smaller in warm-blooded animals), they determined warm blood evolved at roughly the same time as whiskers and fur, 233 million years ago.
Astronomers developed a process to observe early stars through the thick hydrogen clouds surrounding them. The machine learning approach could filter out signal sources that interfere with observations, letting them see some of the first stars formed after the Big Bang.
NASA set new target dates for its Artemis I launch: August 29, September 2, and September 5. The announcement came after NASA completed a full-state booster test and addressed a fuel leak that occurred during the last SLS wet dress rehearsal.
This week marked the 50th anniversary of Landsat, NASA’s longest-running satellite observation of Earth. Among other uses, Landsat images have contributed to tracking and managing wildfire, like the Oak fire currently burning in California.
Researchers determined whale sharks use a type of seaweed as a major food source. That would make the more than 30-foot-long sharks the world’s largest omnivore.
Scientists determined extreme heatwaves will increase by 30 percentage points in the near future, two-thirds of which is due to human activity. Greenhouse gases can disrupt atmospheric circulation, leading to increased heatwaves.
Researchers found smoke plumes from wildfires are getting taller, increasing by 750 feet per year in some places, due to the same climate change conditions that drive fires themselves. Taller plumes could disperse more aerosols, degrading air quality more and over a larger area.