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Scientists are explorers of the unknown, seeking to understand the world as it exists now and millions of years ago.
It’s a complicated task and that means researchers sometimes get it wrong. And that’s okay. It’s actually great. Creative and systematic inquiry is how the science advances and we learn more about our planet Earth. Check out some cases where the pieces of the science puzzle didn’t fit together the first time.
fantastic creatures
With sharp teeth and bulging eyes, this tiny animal prehistoric trapped in a piece of amber made a big noise when it made headlines last year. Paleontologists thought the subject was a hummingbird-sized dinosaur.
But it turns out that the specimen was neither a bird nor a dinosaur, but a small lizard, with its beak-shaped snout crumpled over time.
According to the researchers, the skull was deformed as the amber, made from pieces of tree resin that dripped from the old bark, hardened around it, enlarging the birdlike features. A second specimen in amber that preserved scales and soft tissue showed characteristics similar to a lizard, but scientists said it was unlike any lizard alive today.
Look up
In another case where scientists initially didn’t get it right, the astronomers finally solved an ancient celestial mystery.
Betelgeuse, a bright star in the constellation Orion, dimmed in late 2019 and early 2020, a change visible to the naked eye that intrigued the space community.
Some thought the star was about to become a supernova – a powerful explosion at the end of its life and a phenomenon not witnessed since 1600.
But new images revealed exactly what was affecting the star.
secrets of the ocean
Sharks are one of the oldest creatures in the world. nature – they swam through Earth’s oceans long before the dinosaurs crawled around the planet. However, in the past there were many more toothy predators.
About 19 million years ago, about 90% of sharks from Ocean open died, discovered new research. That’s double the number that disappeared during the mass extinction that doomed dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
Scientists don’t know exactly why this event happened, but they do have some intriguing theories. Finding out more about this extinction could help researchers better understand the repercussions of the decline in today’s shark populations.
defying gravity
Think of a stressful day at work and then imagine wearing a 300-pound spacesuit to your job – and just a plate of glass separating you from infinity dark emptiness of the universe.
A powerful and much-needed update for the International Space Station, which has orbited Earth for more than two decades, went awry this week. Technical delays during a walk in the space nearly seven hours left the two astronauts without enough time to install the first two of the six panels on a new set of solar panels, according to NASA.
Near the end of its lifespan, the station and its role as the only place for a continuous human presence in space is coming to an end. China, which has long been excluded from the project, successfully launched three astronauts into orbit on Thursday (17). The three-man crew docked with Tianhe, the central module of the spacial station newcomer from China, launched in May.
It is China’s first manned mission in nearly five years and will last three months, making it the longest for the country’s ambitious space program. The space station is expected to be completed in 2022.
the weather has changed
I visited Lake Mead, a huge reservoir on the Nevada-Arizona border in the United States, as a teenager on a family trip in a trailer in the mid-1990s. Swimming in the clear blue water, I vividly remember a feeling deep under my feet. Not long after, 2000 was the last time Lake Mead was considered full.
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It is now at its lowest level since it was filled in the 1930s. This week, the reservoir was at 36% capacity – about 44 meters below “full”, a deficit roughly the height of the Statue of Liberty. Experts blame the drought fueled by climate changes and increasing demand for water among the 25 million people who depend on Lake Mead for supplies.
Scientists say the lake may never be full again.
This is a translated text, to read the original, in English, Click here.
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