Tag Archives: tails

Astronomers Find Collapsed Exoplanets Sporting Comet-Like Tails

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Using data from NASA’s transit exoplanetary survey satellite (TESS), MIT astronomers discovered a rocky exoplanet orbiting the bright K-Dwarf Star BD+05 4868A and observed variable transport depths, a feature of comet-like tails formed by the dusty effects expressing the distemination planet. This exoplanet-specific is the presence of a dust tail that is prominent in both subsequent and major directions, contributing to the extinction of starlight from the host star.

Impressions of the collapsed exoplanet artists around a giant star. Image credits: Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT.

BD+05 4868A also known as TIC 466376085 or hip 107587, is about 140 light years away from the Pegasus constellation.

A new descattering named BD+05 4868AB approaches the star towards the sun at about 20 times the mercury, completing its orbit every 30.5 hours, but about the mass of mercury.

In close proximity to BD+05 4868A, the planet is roasted at about 1,600 degrees Celsius (3,000 degrees Fahrenheit) and may be covered in boiling magma in space.

Just as planets bubble around the stars, it strips off a huge amount of surface minerals and effectively evaporates.

MIT astronomer Marc Hon and colleagues discovered BD+05 4868AB using NASA’s Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

The signal that turned the astronomer over was a unique transport with a dip that all orbits were deeply fluctuating.

They confirmed that the signal is a tough orbital planet that has long been chasing comet-like fragments.

“The tail range is huge, extending up to 9 million km long, or about half the entire planet’s orbit,” Dr. Hong said.

“The planets collapse at a dramatic rate, and each time a star orbits the star, it appears to be throwing away the amount of material equivalent to Mount Everest.”

Researchers predict that the planet could completely collapse within about 1 to 2 million years.

Dr. Avi Shporer, an astronomer at MIT, said:

Of the almost 6,000 planets astronomers have discovered so far, scientists know only three other collapsed planets beyond our solar system.

Each of these crumbling worlds was discovered over a decade ago using data from NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. All three planets were found with similar comet-like tails.

The BD+05 4868AB has the longest tail to date and has the deepest transits from four known collapsed planets.

“That means that its evaporation is the most devastating and disappears much faster than other planets,” Dr. Hong said.

Team’s result It will be published in Astrophysics Journal Letter.

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Markhon et al. 2025. A crumbling rocky planet with a prominent comet-like tail around a bright star. apjlin press; Arxiv: 2501.05431

Source: www.sci.news

Unusually short, stiff, pointed tails in Jurassic pterosaurs.

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Skifosoura Baybaritsa is a type of pterosaur that lived in what is now southern Germany about 149 million years ago, bridging the gap with earlier organisms. monophenestratan pterosaur and after that pterosaur.

Two people's lives restored Skifosoura Baybaritsa In flight. Image credit: Gabriel Uguet.

For 200 years, paleontologists have divided pterosaurs into two major groups: the early non-pterodactyls and the later, much larger pterodactyls.

Early pterosaurs had short necks, short heads, short bones at the wrists of the wings, fifth toes and long tails, but pterosaurs had the opposite: long necks, large heads, long wrists, and long tails. It had a short fifth finger. Toes and short tail.

However, it was unclear which parts of the body changed between these groups.

In the 2010s, a series of intermediate species called Darwinopterans were discovered, showing that their heads and necks changed before the rest of their bodies.

This was a great example of an intermediate individual filling an evolutionary gap.

But it also meant that we didn't really know what was happening before and after these changes.

Skifosoura Baybarica I'm going to sit between these earlier. Darwinopteran and pterodactyloid.

Although it retains a very pterodactyl-like head and neck, it has also been shown to have longer wrists and shorter toes and a tail than early Darwinpterans, but these are not as extreme as seen in pterodactyls. Not.

“This is an incredible discovery,” said lead author Dr. David Horne, a paleontologist at Queen Mary University of London.

“This will really help us understand how these amazing flying animals lived and evolved.”

“We hope this study will provide a basis for further future research on this important evolutionary transition.”

“Pterosaurs have long been symbols of a unique past life,” says co-author Dr. Adam Fitch, a paleontologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Skifosoura Baybaritsa This represents an important new form for elucidating the evolutionary relationships of pterosaurs and, by extension, how this lineage arose and changed. ”

Almost complete, but fragmented specimen Skifosoura Baybaritsa It was discovered in 2015 in the Schaudiberg quarry near Mülheim, Bavaria, Germany.

Although specimens are preserved in three dimensions, most pterosaurs tend to be crushed flat. When alive, it had a wingspan of about 2 meters (6.6 feet), which is thought to have been similar to that of large birds such as golden eagles.

Co-author Dr René Lauer of the Lauer Foundation said: “The specimens were disjointed and often had overlapping bones of varying quality.''

“Digital photographs of the specimens taken in both visible and ultraviolet light greatly aided the process of identifying these elements and better analyzing details that cannot be discerned in normal sunlight alone.”

“The Lauer Foundation is proud to have the opportunity to bring this important specimen to science and further our understanding of pterosaur evolution,” added co-author Dr. Bruce Lauer of the Lauer Foundation. .

In addition to indicating the intermediate position of Skifosoura Baybaritsait has also been shown to be a species of Scottish pterosaur. dearkfits into a mirror position between early pterosaurs and the first Darwinopterans.

“In other words, we now have a complete evolutionary sequence from early pterosaurs to pterosaurs. dearkto the first Darwinopteran Skifosoradown to the pterodactyls,” the paleontologist said.

“Although not all specimens are complete, we are now able to track increases in head and neck size, wrist extensions, toe and tail reductions, and other features step-by-step across multiple groups. .”

“This is a great example of the evolution of a group whose transition has so far been far from clear-cut.”

“both deark and Skifosora It also suggests that the changes that allowed pterosaurs to reach giant sizes were also present in these transitional species. ”

of study Published in today's magazine current biology.

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david william elliott horn others. A new large monophenestratan reveals an evolutionary transition from pterosaurs to pterosaurs. current biologypublished online on November 18, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.023

Source: www.sci.news

Why do our ancient animal ancestors possess tails?

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WASHINGTON — Tails were once a feature of our ancient animal ancestors. Why did they disappear?

Around 20 to 25 million years ago, during the split between apes and monkeys, the evolutionary branches of our family tree shed their tails. Scientists have been puzzled about the reasons behind this change since the time of Darwin.

Now, a group of researchers has pinpointed at least one crucial genetic mutation that played a role in this transformation.

“We identified a single mutation in a highly important gene,” explained Beau Xia, a geneticist at the Broad Institute and one of the authors of the study that was recently published in Nature magazine.

By comparing the genetic makeup of six types of great apes, including humans, and 15 species of tailed monkeys, researchers found significant genetic differences between the two groups. To test their hypothesis, they used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to alter the same genetic spot in mouse embryos, leading to the birth of tailless mice.

Xia cautioned that there may be other genetic factors contributing to the loss of tails.

An intriguing aspect of this evolutionary change is whether the absence of tails conferred an advantage to our ape ancestors and ultimately to humans. Was it a random mutation or did it serve a purpose in survival?

“It could have been purely coincidental, but it may have provided a significant evolutionary benefit,” suggested Miriam Konkel, an evolutionary geneticist at Clemson University who was not part of the study.

Various theories speculate on the advantages of being tailless. Some suggest that it may be linked to the development of upright walking in humans.

Rick Potts, who leads the Human Origins Project at the Smithsonian Institution and was not involved in this study, believes that the absence of tails in some apes could be due to their vertical posture even when still in trees. This transition might have been the initial step.

Although not all great apes are land dwellers, orangutans and gibbons are examples of tailless apes that continue to live in trees. Their movements differ significantly from monkeys, as they do not need tails for balance while moving among branches.

Study co-author Itai Yanai, a biologist at New York University, acknowledges that losing the tail was a major change. However, the true reasons behind it remain a mystery that can only be unraveled with a time machine.

Source: www.nbcnews.com