NASA/Joel Kowsky
NASA completed its first-ever asteroid deflection test the week of September 22–28, as the Artemis I SLS was removed from the launch pad.
Researchers at the European Southern Observatory detected a “hot spot” orbiting the black hole at the center of the Milky Way at one-third the speed of light. Likely a bubble of gas, the hot spot is thought to originate from a flare interacting with the disk of gas around the black hole.
Researchers determined that two genes mammals inherited from viruses roughly 120 million years ago (RTL5 and RTL6) likely protect the brain from deadly bacteria and viruses. The study was done in mice, but RTL5 and RTL6 are also present in humans.
NASA crashed its DART spacecraft into Dimorphos, a 525-foot-wide asteroid 6.8 million miles from Earth. The DART mission is the first test of whether asteroids can be deflected away from our home planet this way, but its results won’t be known until after another satellite is sent to observe in 2024.
NASA rolled the SLS for its Artemis I mission back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center ahead of Hurricane Ian. Just a few hours later, a fire broke out in the building, but there were no reported injuries or damage to the rocket.
Researchers discovered 436-million-year-old fossils of a fish with one fin running the length of each side of its body. This provides evidence that separate pectoral and pelvic fins evolved from these single fins, known as the fin-fold hypothesis. The finding illustrates the evolution of limbs that led to arms and legs in land animals.
Scientists confirmed a theorized protective “shield” of ionized gas called the Magellanic Corona actually exists, using observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. The corona keeps the Milky Way from siphoning gas from the nearby Magellanic Clouds, allowing them to keep making stars.
Researchers developed a robotic capsule that maneuvers through the small intestine’s mucus barrier to deliver drugs that currently require injections. Insulin was used in the study, but the device could be used for other drugs that target the small intestine, stomach, or colon.