Scientists pinpoint age of molten 'Einstein ring'

Medieval Hebrew document could reveal why Dead Sea Scrolls were found in Qumran | How radioactive is the human body? | Congress to NASA: What comes after the International Space Station? Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( September 27, 2021 CONNECT WITH LIVESCIENCE  [Facebook]( [Twitter](  [LIVESCIENCE]( [LIVESCIENCE]( Amazing science every day [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [WEBSITE](  [] Top Science News [] [Medieval Hebrew document could reveal why Dead Sea Scrolls were found in Qumran]( [Medieval Hebrew document could reveal why Dead Sea Scrolls were found in Qumran]( (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images) An ancient Hebrew document created more than 1,000 years ago and stashed away in Cairo may unlock a secret of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Scholars of the scrolls have long wondered why so many fragments of the mysterious manuscripts — more than 15,000 pieces of more than 900 original documents — were hidden in caves around Qumran, in the hills of the Judean Desert just west of the Dead Sea in Israel, seemingly far from any major settlements. Full Story: [LiveScience]( (9/27) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Life’s Little Mysteries [] [How radioactive is the human body?]( [How radioactive is the human body?]( (Andrew Brookes via Getty Images) A lifetime of reading comic books and watching Hollywood blockbusters may make some of us believe that radiation is a rare and dangerous thing that turns people either into superheroes or deformed monsters. In reality, though, radiation is all around us, all the time, even within our own bodies. But what, exactly, is radiation, and how much of it is in our bodies? Full Story: [LiveScience]( (9/27) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Space Exploration [] [Congress to NASA: What comes after the International Space Station?]( [Congress to NASA: What comes after the International Space Station?]( (NASA) The specter of NASA's 30-year space shuttle program loomed large as congressional representatives sought details about the agency's plans for orbital spaceflight after the International Space Station. Questions of how long the station — already over 20 years old — can last and how international and industry partnerships might drive activity in low Earth orbit (LEO) filled a two-hour hearing held by the House Science, Space and Technology's subcommittee on space and aeronautics on Tuesday (Sept. 21). Full Story: [LiveScience]( (9/26) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Astronomy & Astrophysics [] [Scientists pinpoint age of molten 'Einstein ring']( [Scientists pinpoint age of molten 'Einstein ring']( (ESA/Hubble & NASA/S. Jha/Acknowledgement: L. Shatz) New science from a stunning 2020 Hubble image illuminates the back story behind a shining loop of light. The circle, also called an Einstein ring after the famous physicist who predicted its existence, came about due to a galactic-scale illusion. The galaxy this so-called "molten ring" curls around is called as GAL-CLUS-022058s and it is located in the Southern Hemisphere constellation of Fornax, the Furnace. As scientists affiliated with the Hubble Space Telescope wrote in a statement, the big ring is actually a light smear created by a lensing effect that occurs when a foreground object with strong gravity magnifies the light of a more distant galaxy behind it. New research suggests that we are seeing the galaxy in the ring as it was about 9 billion years ago, when the universe was only about one-third its present age of 13.8 billion years. Full Story: [LiveScience]( (9/26) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Curious Creatures [] [Koala-hunting eagle terrorized Australia 25 million years ago]( [Koala-hunting eagle terrorized Australia 25 million years ago]( (Artwork courtesy of J. Blokland, Flinders University) Twenty-five million years ago, an eagle with half-foot long talons snatched ancient koalas out of trees in Australia, a new study suggests. Paleontologists discovered 63 fossilized bones from the ancient koala-hunter in 2016, while on an expedition to Lake Pinpa, a salt lake east of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. After thoroughly examining the bones, the team recently named the newfound eagle species Archaehierax sylvestris. The ancient raptor has no direct descendants living today, they determined. Since the bones date to the Oligocene epoch, which lasted from 33.9 million to 23 million years ago, the A. sylvestris specimen represents the oldest eagle fossil ever found in Australia, as well as one of the best preserved, the scientists reported Sept. 27 in the journal Historical Biology. Full Story: [LiveScience]( (9/27) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] ['Russian doll' set of stomach-bursting parasites released inside butterfly on remote Finnish island]( ['Russian doll' set of stomach-bursting parasites released inside butterfly on remote Finnish island]( (Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) An ecologist's blunder led to the release of a "Russian doll" set of stomach-bursting parasites onto a remote Finnish island, a new study has revealed. Thirty years ago, when ecologist Ilkka Hanski introduced Glanville fritillary butterflies (Melitaea cinxia) onto the island of Sottunga in the Åland archipelago, he planned to watch how a population of one species that had been placed inside a harsh habitat could survive. But he had no idea that a trio of nested parasites would come along for the ride — with two parasites living inside another parasite, which was itself nested inside some of the butterflies. Full Story: [LiveScience]( (9/27) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Daily Quiz [] POLL QUESTION: Which came first: Snake fangs or venom? (Learn the answer [here]() [Vote]( [Fangs]( [Vote]( [Venom](   [Sign Up]( | [Update Profile]( | [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Cookies Policy]( | [Terms and Conditions]( CONTACT US: [FEEDBACK](mailto:livescience@smartbrief.com) | [ADVERTISE]( © Future US, Inc. 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004