Neanderthal woman’s face brought to life in stunning reconstruction

– Archaeologists have reconstructed the face of a Neanderthal woman named Shanidar Z using fragmented skull bones found in Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan. – The skull was crushed around 75,000 years ago, possibly due to rockfall, and was compacted over thousands of years under sediment. – Researchers used 3D printing and surface scanning techniques […]

Chinese astronauts return to Earth after 6 months on space station

– Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on April 30 after completing a six-month mission aboard China’s space station. – Their Shenzhou-17 spacecraft landed in Inner Mongolia after undocking from the Tiangong space station four days prior. – The astronauts – Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin – spent six months conducting scientific experiments […]

Einstein Probe X-ray telescope releases 1st images taken with ‘lobster vision’

– The Einstein Probe X-ray telescope, a joint Chinese-European space observatory, has released its first images taken using a novel “lobster-eye” design for its telescopes. – Like lobsters’ eyes, the telescope’s Wide-field X-ray Telescope (WXT) uses an array of small tubes to capture a wide 3,600 square degree field of view without moving. This allows […]

Bizarre sea creatures become ‘all-you-can-eat-buffet’ off SoCal coast

– Unusual jellyfish-like sea creatures known as Velella velellas have been washing up on beaches in Southern California recently. – Velella velellas are normally found floating on the surface of open ocean waters. They have oval, disc-shaped bodies with a vertical “sail” rising from the center. – Strong spring storms have likely pushed these creatures […]

China set to launch high-stakes mission to moon’s ‘hidden’ side

– China is planning to send an uncrewed robotic spacecraft in the coming days on a round trip mission to the far side of the moon, known as Chang’e 6. – This will be part of China’s three-phase robotic exploration of the moon, paving the way for a future crewed lunar landing and potential lunar […]