A ring system detected around the Centaur (10199) Chariklo : Nature : Nature Publishing Group

A ring system detected around the Centaur (10199) Chariklo : Nature : Nature Publishing Group:


Hitherto, rings have been found exclusively around the four giant planets in the Solar System¹. Rings are natural laboratories in which to study dynamical processes analogous to those that take place during the formation of planetary systems and galaxies. Their presence also tells us about the origin and evolution of the body they encircle. Here we report observations of a multichord stellar occultation that revealed the presence of a ring system around (10199) Chariklo, which is a Centaur—that is, one of a class of small objects orbiting primarily between Jupiter and Neptune—with an equivalent radius of 124    9 kilometres (ref. 2). There are two dense rings, with respective widths of about 7 and 3 kilometres, optical depths of 0.4 and 0.06, and orbital radii of 391 and 405 kilometres. The present orientation of the ring is consistent with an edge-on geometry in 2008, which provides a simple explanation for the dimming³ of the Chariklo system between 1997 and 2008, and for the gradual disappearance of ice and other absorption features in its spectrum over the same period^4, 5. This implies that the rings are partly composed of water ice. They may be the remnants of a debris disk, possibly confined by embedded, kilometre-sized satellites.

Astronomers find most distant member of the solar system - Science

Astronomers find most distant member of the solar system - Science:

Mystery of planet-forming disks explained by magnetism

Mystery of planet-forming disks explained by magnetism

"The starlight-intercepting material lies not in a halo, and not in a traditional disk either, but in a disk atmosphere supported by magnetic fields," said Turner. "Such magnetized atmospheres were predicted to form as the disk drives gas inward to crash onto the growing star."
Read more at http://www.tgdaily.com/space-features/89456-mystery-of-planet-forming-disks-explained-by-magnetism#Dsz2CQbqP57Ze2cy.99

Scientists: ‘Nutcracker Man’ dined mainly on tiger nuts two million years ago | Science Recorder

Scientists: ‘Nutcracker Man’ dined mainly on tiger nuts two million years ago | Science Recorder

Paranthropus boisei, dubbed “Nutcracker Man” because of its big strong jaws and large flat molar teeth, lived in East Africa between 2.4 million and 1.4 million years ago during the Pleistocene epoch.

An early hominin, it’s the largest of the Paranthropus genus, also known as robust australopithecines.
Scientists have long debated the question of what Nutcracker Man ate and why it had such powerful jaws. While such jaws indicated a diet of hard food such as nuts, the flat teet appeared to be made for consuming soft foods. At the same time, the type of damage to the tooth enamel pointed to contact with something abrasive.

Now, a new study published in the online journal PLoS One suggests that our early human relative lived mainly on a diet of edible grass bulbs called tiger nuts, along with assorted side dishes of fruit, grasshoppers, and worms.


Read more: http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/scientists-nutcracker-man-dined-mainly-on-tiger-nuts-two-million-years-ago/#ixzz2qEnqHsmV

Stone Age people may have battled against a zombie apocalypse

Stone Age people may have battled against a zombie apocalypse | MNN - Mother Nature Network:

Archaeologists working in Europe and the Middle East have recently unearthed evidence of a mysterious Stone Age "skull-smashing" culture, according to New Scientist. Human skulls buried underneath an ancient settlement in Syria were found detached from their bodies with their faces smashed in. Eerily, it appears that the skulls were exhumed and detached from their bodies several years after originally being buried. It was then that they were smashed in and reburied separate from their bodies.

 

According to Juan José Ibañez of the Spanish National Research Council in Barcelona, the finding could suggest that these Stone Age "skull-smashers" believed the living were under some kind of threat from the dead. Perhaps they believed that the only way of protecting themselves was to smash in the corpses' faces, detach their heads and rebury them apart from their bodies.

 

But here's the creepy thing: many of the 10,000-year-old skulls appear to have been separated from their spines long after their bodies had already begun to decompose. Why would this skull-smashing ritual be performed so long after individuals had died? Did they only pose a threat to the living long after their original burial and death?

Caffeinated 'Vomit Drink' Nauseated North America's First City

Cahokia existed near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers from about 1050 to 1350 in what is now in St. Louis, East St. Louis and the surrounding five counties, and inspired short-lived settlements as far away as Wisconsin. The core of this society, Greater Cahokia, had as many as 50,000 residents in its heyday living amidst earthen mounds, some more than 100 feet (30 meters) in height, making it the largest prehistoric North American settlement north of Mexico.

http://www.livescience.com/22136-caffeinated-black-drink-first-city.html

Caffeine-loaded black drinks apparently dominated the heartland of America earlier than once thought — a beverage neither coffee nor cola, but instead brewed from holly leaves, researchers say.

The ancient people may have downed the brew before ritual vomiting as part of purification ceremonies, the scientists added.

4,600-year-old step pyramid uncovered in Egypt | Fox News

4,600-year-old step pyramid uncovered in Egypt | Fox News: "In Photos: 'Alien' Skulls Reveal Odd, Ancient Tradition"

Archaeologists working near the ancient settlement of Edfu, in southern Egypt, have uncovered a step pyramid that dates back about 4,600 years, predating the Great Pyramid of Giza by at least a few decades.

The step pyramid, which once stood as high as 43 feet, is one of seven so-called "provincial" pyramids built by either the pharaoh Huni (reign ca. 2635-2610 B.C.) or Snefru (reign ca. 2610-2590 B.C.). Over time, the step pyramid's stone blocks were pillaged, and the monument was exposed to weathering, so today, it's only about 16 feet tall.

Scattered throughout central and southern Egypt, the provincial pyramids are located near major settlements, have no internal chambers and were not intended for burial. Six of the seven pyramids have almost identical dimensions, including the newly uncovered one at Edfu, which is about 60 × 61 feet. [See Photos of the Newly Uncovered Step Pyramid]

The purpose of these seven pyramids is a mystery. They may have been used as symbolic monuments dedicated to the royal cult that affirmed the power of the king in the southern provinces.