Elevation-Dependent Phytolith Production in Norway Spruce: Toward a Quaternary “Phytolith Thermometer” (OA) - v Quaternary
https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/9/4/54

Dinevenator, a New Genus of Troodontid Dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of New Mexico (OA) - v Fossil Studies
https://www.mdpi.com/2813-6284/4/3/21

Book Review: Schwermann, A.; Sachs, S. Die Welt der Plesiosaurier. Paläontologische Abenteur; Knüppe, J., Illus.; LWL—Museum für Naturkunde: Münster, Germany, 2026; ISBN: 978-3-912101-02-7 (OA) - v Fossil Studies
https://www.mdpi.com/2813-6284/4/3/20

Pyrenees Paraselene
Credits: Patrick Lécureuil
#nature #space #astrophotography

Hubble and Chandra image of Arp 147, also known as IC 298.

The galaxy to the left likely crashed through the galaxy on the right, creating a ring and triggering a burst of star formation.

The pink dots are Chandra data. The points in the ring are so bright that they must be black holes with masses about ten times the Sun, pulling matter from companions.

Credit: NASA, STScI, CXC, MIT, S.Rappaport et al.
Source: https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2011/arp147/

#ArpGalaxy #Galaxy #Space #Astronomy #Hubble

A Wintry Shower
Credits: Jack Fusco
#nature #space #astrophotography

North of Orion's Belt
Credits: Terry Hancock
#nature #space #astrophotography

On Earth, we can see shear waves created by "Kelvin-Helmholtz instability," which can happen when two distinct layers of air blow past each other.

The same thing happens on the Sun, apparently, but with layers of plasma at 6000 degrees C.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/12/08/kelvin-helmholtz-wave-clouds-wyoming/ #science #nature #weather

The most amazing thing I saw this past week: Extreme-resolution images that show the surface of the Sun more clearly than ever before. For the first time, they reveal rippling "shear" waves where zones of solar plasma blow past each other at different velocities.

https://nso.edu/press-release/nsf-inouye-solar-telescope-enables-major-discovery-of-a-hidden-solar-process/ #nature #astronomy #space #science

Our view of the universe keeps getting bigger, richer, deeper.

The latest sky survey from DESI (an experiment studying dark energy) covers 4 billion celestial objects & contains 5.6 trillion pixels. And it's open to anyone, if you want to take a look.

https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2620/?lang #space #science #nature #tech

10-08-2026 Image Of The Day
https://app.astrobin.com/u/AstroHawk?i=reqvqm#gallery
Solar Flare animation from Australia, June 26, 2026 by AstroHawk
 #astrophotography

Image of Arp 81, also known as NGC 6621 and NGC 6622, from the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies by Halton Arp (1966).

In the original catalog, it was in the category: Spiral galaxies - Large, high surface brightness companions. The galaxies NGC 6621 (bottom) and NGC 6622 (top) are about mid way through a merger. A recent encounter pulled a long tail out of NGC 6621 that wraps behind the galaxy.

Source: https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Arp/Arp21.html

#ArpGalaxy #Galaxy #Space #Astronomy

Gravel Ejected from Asteroid Bennu
Credits: #NASA, GSFC, U. Arizona, OSIRIS-REx, Lockheed Martin
#nature #space #astrophotography

Are Gaps Data? Absence of Evidence in the Interpretation of Miocene Apes and Hominine Origins (OA) - v Fossil Studies
https://www.mdpi.com/2813-6284/4/3/19

When growth form fossilizes: the description of a new liverwort species of the family Metzgeriaceae from the Cretaceous Las Hoyas site, with insights into its architecture and life mode (OA) - v Palaeontology
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pala.70078?campaign=woletoc

Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs from southern Germany (OA) - v Palaeontologica Electronica
https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2026/5919-late-jurassic-ichthyosaurs-from-germany

When will politics move beyond pandering to a thug in Washington? https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/08/10/when-will-politics-move-beyond-pandering-to-a-thug-in-washington/

Three Galaxy Pairs
Image Credit & Copyright: Rafael Sampaio

Explanation: Each of these pairs of galaxies is different. The two galaxies at the top are likely not interacting, at least presently. However, the top galaxy with the blue stripe, NGC 4650A, is a polar ring galaxy and may be the result of a past galaxy collision. The two galaxies in the middle of the featured image appear like they could be interacting gravitationally -- but their relative speeds make this unlikely. Of these two, the larger galaxy, NGC 4650, is a spiral galaxy with a bright bar of stars across its center. The two galaxies at the bottom are actively interacting. Possibly in a billion years or so, NGC 4622A and NGC 4622B will merge and become one single galaxy. All of these galaxies are likely members of the larger Centaurus Galaxy Cluster.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260810.html #apod

The Cygnus Loop
Credits: ASU, #NASA
#nature #space #astrophotography

Contemplating the Sun
Image Credit & Copyright: Steven Gilbert

Explanation: Have you contemplated your home star recently? Featured here, a Sun partially eclipsed on the top left by the Moon is also seen eclipsed by earthlings contemplating the eclipse below. This spectacular menagerie of silhouettes was taken in 2012 from the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area near Page, Arizona, USA, where park rangers and astronomers expounded on the unusual event to interested gatherers. Also, faintly visible on the Sun's disk, just to the lower right of the dark Moon's disk, is a group of sunspots. A new solar eclipse will occur this week and give many people in northern North America, Europe, and northwestern Africa a new chance to contemplate a partially eclipsed Sun. A thin swath of Earth through Greenland and Spain will further experience a total solar eclipse. An open question is whether any meteors from the peaking Perseids will be visible during totality.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260809.html #apod