The galaxy NGC 6789 viewed through a 2-meter twin telescope
Ignacio Trujillo et al. 2025
Approximately 12 million light years from Earth lies an unusual galaxy. Its center has consistently formed new stars over the past 600 million years, yet the exact source of the fuel driving this star formation remains elusive.
The galaxy known as NGC 6789 was first identified in 1883, but it has only been in recent years that evidence of ongoing star formation has emerged. NGC 6789 is situated in a region dubbed the Local Void, located towards the Draco constellation, which is notably sparse in cosmic matter. It stands out as one of the few galaxies existing within this void, making it highly isolated compared to the majority of galaxies in the universe.
This isolation contributes to the enigma surrounding its star creation. Galaxies typically require gas to produce new stars, yet local voids contain very little gas. Being at least a billion years old, NGC 6789 should have depleted its initial reserves of gas; however, it has managed to generate approximately 100 million solar masses, equating to about 4% of its total mass, over the last 600 million years.
Ignacio Trujillo and researchers from the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics utilized the 2-meter twin telescope at the Teide Observatory in Tenerife to capture deeper images of galaxies than previously possible, aiming to uncover signs of events that might have introduced gas. If a merger with another galaxy or a previously undetected gas flow had occurred, it might have distorted the shape of NGC 6789.
However, the new images did not reveal any distortions. It is possible that NGC 6789’s formation left behind a substantial amount of gas or that there exists a faint gas pocket nearby that did not alter the galaxy’s shape at all. For now, the mystery remains unsolved.
As Texans look for solutions to flooding issues in the hill country, prominent meteorologists and policymakers are advocating for the creation of a disaster review board similar to the National Traffic Safety Commission, which investigates all civil aviation incidents and significant traffic occurrences.
The proposal for an independent committee to evaluate weather-related disasters is not a recent idea; however, it seems to have gained renewed momentum following floods in Texas that have claimed over 120 lives and left another 170 unaccounted for.
During a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday for the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Neil Jacobs expressed his support for the initiative when Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) inquired about how he would enhance public response to emergency weather notifications.
“We also need more data and need to conduct post-storm evaluations,” Jacobs stated. “I have been involved with some aviation incidents at the NTSB, and we’re looking at something similar here, requiring data to identify what went wrong, whether proper warnings were issued, and how to respond to weather-related disasters.”
Neil Jacobs in 2019. Get McNamee/Getty Images files
Lawmakers from both parties have taken the initiative.
In 2022, the House of Representatives passed legislation that included provisions for creating a Natural Disaster Safety Committee; however, it failed in the Senate.
Cassidy and Schatz did not respond immediately when asked whether they feel there is renewed momentum in Congress for establishing a disaster review panel. Notably, Porter is no longer serving in Congress.
In a communication to NBC News, the only meteorologist in Congress, Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), indicated he is collaborating with colleagues to initiate an NTSB-style program to investigate severe weather events.
A flooded home in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Michael Appleton / New York Daily News / Getty Image File
“It would be incredible if meteorologists had access to research reports that could inform their future actions, regardless of past mistakes,” Sorensen remarked.
Illinois also faced significant flooding this week, with around five inches of rain descending in just 90 minutes at Garfield Park on Chicago’s west side, leading to multiple rescue operations.
The floods in Chicago and Texas were among four extreme rainfall events occurring within a week, events researchers describe as once-in-a-thousand-years occurrences.
The notion of an independent disaster review board has circulated within meteorological and disaster management circles for years. Mike Smith, a meteorologist and former senior vice president at Accuweather, has championed this concept since the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Sometimes evolution can produce organisms that are very strange and wonderfully different from those we know that scientists are confused. Enter the Tully Monster, a soft-body sea creature swimming in the muddy estuary of today’s Illinois about 300 million years ago.
It was discovered in 1955 by an amateur fossil collector called Francis Tully. Mazon Creek Fossil Bed To the northeast of the state.
The Tully Monster appeared to have a torpedo shape with triangular tail fins and teeth at the ends of the long bent Absis, and it looked like someone had stabbed his back with a skewer, then his eyes at each end.
It uses the appropriate scientific terminology here. Tully took the fossil (below) to the Outdoor Natural History Museum in Chicago, where experts were covered in bamboo.
The fossils of the Tully Monster were discovered by Francistorley in a fossil bed in Mazon Creek, Illinois. – Photo credit: Aramie
Was it a worm? Was it a slug? Did you have a backbone? Is it an eel? They had no idea, so they called it Talimontherum Gregalium. This is the Latin word for “Tallie’s common monster.”
In 1989, the Tully Monster became the official state fossil of Illinois, but no one knew what it was. After that, two papers were written in 2016. It has been publishedboth suggest a Tally monster It was certainly a vertebrate.
The structure previously thought to be the intestine of animals was found to be a primitive skeletal-like structure called the notochord, but the pigments of the eye were determined to be vertebrates, like invertebrates.
Backbone made of cartilage, teeth made of keratin, single nostrils, dorsal fin, perhaps the Tully monster could be a distant relative of modern lamprey. The classification mystery has been solved. But not everyone is sure.
Skeptics pointed out that the pigment in the eye was not convincing, and that the notochord stretched out right in front of the eye, which was strange. Maybe it was a strange squid? Perhaps a strange squid?
After that, in 2023, Japanese researchers I looked closely at 153 museum specimens. If the previous approach was subjective and driven by researcher premonitions, this time a neutral, data-driven approach was used.
Using a 3D scanner, we created color-coded digital maps of the animal’s surface, leading to the fact that presumed vertebrate-like features such as gill pouches and fin rays, whether they were vertebrate-like or not at all. Furthermore, the Tully monster was shown to have segments not only in its body but also in its head area.
It was possible that the Tully monsters were ultimately vertebrates, as vertebrates were not known to have this particular feature arrangement.
Or is it possible? Today the ju umpire is still out and the joy of the Tully Monster is that it is just a mystery that continues to give. The best guess from the Japanese team is that it is “invertebrate strings.” This is a category that includes animals like eels, such as lancelets, but honestly, no one knows for sure.
Therefore, until consensus is reached, the Tully monsters remain in taxonomic range.
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Researchers assessed changes in weight and waist circumference in 67 students over the Christmas break. They asked students to take measurements on December 23, the day before the holidays officially began, and again at two designated locations during the holidays, and finally when the university’s general activities officially resumed on December 23. Measured on the 13th of the month.
(Presumably the students were honest and accurate. However, the study did not include the following: “This was an exploratory pilot study of self-reports. It is known that these reports tend to underestimate weight. ) The self-reported numbers show that: On average, students gained about 0.5 kg during their vacation and gained it back by the time they returned to campus.
The study states, “Overall, for both men and women, students who weighed more tended to gain more weight.” Research suggests that what students ate (not just the amount) may have played a significant role. “Students who were on a high-fat diet showed more significant weight changes.”
What kind of new hill of beans does this amount of pounds above and below equate to? The study found that “weight gain is not surprising, but it does show that young people may gain weight during the holiday period.” ” concludes.
What about the size of the student’s waistline (referred to in research as “abdominal circumference”)? It increased by about 1 centimeter on average and stayed that way. In other words, people tended to gain just a little bit more weight after the holidays.
A little moment on holiday
The little things that happen during the holidays are especially memorable because of their timing.
The same is true of a snake that bites a man’s genitals while defecating. GH Dijkema and his colleagues from Rhine State Hospital in the Netherlands reveal the details in a report called “.Scrotal necrosis after cobra (Naja annulifera) poisoning”.
At its core, this is a simple story. The research team condenses the basic facts into one sentence. “A 47-year-old otherwise healthy man was vacationing in a nature reserve in South Africa when a snake jumped out of the toilet and bit him on the genitals while he was using the toilet.”
Enough detail has been added to fill two and a half pages, punctuated by three photos of injured body parts. The authors also add some kind thoughts: In countries known for snakes, always flush the toilet before sitting down. ”
new holiday traditions
Some families like to get together to read aloud holiday stories, especially the Christmas stories written by Charles Dickens. But for families who are tired of hearing the same old words year after year, there is an alternative. Perhaps most beneficial is to take a business-like approach.
Yukyung Kim has identified a number of stories that you and your family can read aloud to each other as you look forward to the arrival of the new year, because no one will stop you.
Kim compiled this material as the main part of his master’s thesis at the University of Liberal Arts and Convergence Sciences in South Korea, which he titled “.Research on CEO New Year’s greetings: Research using text mining method”. As most holidaymakers know, “CEO” is an acronym for the phrase “Chief Executive Officer.”
Kim’s summaries of these New Year’s stories are more businesslike than those of Dickens’ Christmas stories. Mr. Kim said: “This study analyzed the New Year speeches of his CEOs of major Korean companies… [I] We analyzed 545 New Year’s speeches announced by the top 66 Korean companies by market capitalization from 2012 to 2021. ”
Many Korean CEO New Year’s greetings can be found on the Internet or by sending a request in a complimentary tone to the company headquarters. After a night of listening to families loudly proclaim these CEO stories, no matter what happens in the next few days, it will feel like the start of a vibrant year.
Muddy white christmas
Calcium carbonate (CaCO) is the reason we have a white Christmas in warm places, as opposed to snow covering the ground in colder climates.3) precipitates in calm water. CaCO3 It falls to the ocean floor and is covered with thick white lime mud.
As a Christmas Eve reading, the writing isn’t as good as Dickens (or Korean CEO), but you can have your relatives enjoy the lyrical parts. For example, “spatial heterogeneity in aragonite saturation is high in winter, and zones of peak bleaching are located in areas of locally increased saturation.”
Set to festive music and a cheerful atmosphere, a dramatic reading of Calcium Carbonate’s White Christmas will change everyone’s thoughts for the better.
Mark Abrahams hosted the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony and co-founded the magazine Annals of Improbable Research. Previously, he was working on unusual uses of computers.his website is impossible.com
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