tldrdailynews.com logo
Tag

Isotopes

All articles tagged with #isotopes

Alaska Fossil Mix-Up: Whale Bones Misidentified as Mammoths for 70 Years
science14 hours ago

Alaska Fossil Mix-Up: Whale Bones Misidentified as Mammoths for 70 Years

Fossils housed for decades at the University of Alaska Museum of the North were long labeled as woolly mammoths, but new radiocarbon dating and isotope analyses show they are two whales (likely a Northern Pacific right whale and a common minke whale) dating to about 2,000–3,000 years ago, far younger than mammoths. Mitochondrial DNA confirmed whale identity. How they ended up inland remains unclear, with hypotheses including inland whale incursions, transport by ancient humans, or a museum mix-up; the study concludes the specimens are not mammoths.

via ScienceAlert|
#isotopes#mammoth#paleontology
Earth's Inner-Solar-System Roots: New Study Maps Our Planet's Origins
science1 month ago

Earth's Inner-Solar-System Roots: New Study Maps Our Planet's Origins

New isotopic analyses of meteorites and early Earth rocks indicate Earth formed predominantly from material from the inner Solar System, with Jupiter’s gravity acting as a barrier that limited outer-Solar-System material; the planet’s overall isotopic composition is homogeneous, while water (and some carbon) likely arrived later from outer-body sources.

via Yahoo|
#earth-origin#inner-solar-system#isotopes
Ancient interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS could be a 10–12 billion-year relic from the Milky Way
space1 month ago

Ancient interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS could be a 10–12 billion-year relic from the Milky Way

New JWST/NIRSpec analysis of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS finds an unusually low carbon-13 to carbon-12 ratio and significant deuterium enrichment, implying it formed very early in the Milky Way’s history. Modeling suggests 3I/ATLAS may be 10–12 billion years old, potentially originating from a thick-disk star system, making it one of the oldest interstellar visitors and perhaps a relic from a vanished stellar neighborhood. The age estimate is not yet peer‑reviewed and is available via a preprint, with researchers noting ongoing uncertainty but tantalizing clues about ancient planet formation beyond our galaxy.

via Space|
#3iatlas#carbon-12-to-carbon-13#deuterium
Desert Horsetail's Water Distillation Mimics Meteorite Signatures, Revealing Ancient Climate Records
science2 months ago

Desert Horsetail's Water Distillation Mimics Meteorite Signatures, Revealing Ancient Climate Records

A study led by Zachary Sharp shows the prehistoric smooth horsetail (Equisetum laevigatum) distills water so aggressively that its top-water oxygen-isotope signature resembles a meteorite, helping explain puzzling desert data. The researchers also show fossil phytoliths trap these integrated isotopic records, providing a sensitive palaeo-hygrometer to reconstruct Earth’s past humidity and climate millions of years ago, aided by a refined evaporation–isotope model; findings published in PNAS (2025).

via ZME Science|
#horsetail#isotopes#meteorite
JWST Finds Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS May Be Among the Galaxy’s Oldest Objects
space2 months ago

JWST Finds Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS May Be Among the Galaxy’s Oldest Objects

James Webb Space Telescope analysis of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS suggests it formed in a cold region of the Milky Way about 10–12 billion years ago, potentially making it older than Earth and possibly as old as the galaxy or even the universe. Its isotopic composition differs from solar-system comets, implying formation in a different stellar environment. The comet is now exiting the solar system after a close approach to Earth, with further travels past the outer planets as researchers continue to refine its origins.

via Live Science|
#3iatlas#interstellar-comet#isotopes
Bennu’s Amino Acids Point to Ice-Driven Origins of Life’s Building Blocks
science3 months ago

Bennu’s Amino Acids Point to Ice-Driven Origins of Life’s Building Blocks

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx samples from the 4.6-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu reveal amino acids, including glycine, can form in space and may arise in icy, radiation-exposed conditions in the early Solar System rather than only in liquid water; this suggests multiple pathways for the building blocks of life and shows Bennu’s isotopic signatures differ from the Murchison meteorite, indicating diverse origins for prebiotic molecules.

via Universe Today|
#amino-acids#bennu#glycine
Electric Dust Storms Forge Perchlorates on Mars, Rewriting Surface Chemistry
space4 months ago

Electric Dust Storms Forge Perchlorates on Mars, Rewriting Surface Chemistry

A new study argues that Martian dust storms generate electrostatic discharges that create high-energy electrons, driving reactions between atmospheric CO2 and ground chloride salts to form perchlorates and carbonates without liquid water. This electrochemical pathway also explains the observed isotopic imbalances, with lighter isotopes preferentially involved in these reactions. The research, demonstrated in lab chambers simulating Mars’ environment, suggests electrical processes are a key driver of Mars’ surface chemistry, poses ongoing challenges for future missions (due to perchlorates), and may have parallels on other dusty worlds.

via Universe Today|
#dust-storms#electrochemistry#isotopes
Proton-Neutron Surprises: Island of Inversion Spotted in Symmetric Molybdenum Nuclei
science4 months ago

Proton-Neutron Surprises: Island of Inversion Spotted in Symmetric Molybdenum Nuclei

A Nature Communications study shows Mo-84 and Mo-86 near the proton–neutron balance line (N≈Z) exhibit an island of inversion, with protons and neutrons engaging in particle-hole excitations that deform the nucleus. Using Be targets and Mo-92 beams, gamma rays were detected by GRETINA and TRIPLEX, revealing symmetry-breaking structure in these proton-rich isotopes—a finding that challenges traditional nuclear models and expands where inversions can occur.

via The Daily Galaxy|
#island-of-inversion#isotopes#molybdenum
Chang'e-6 Dust Reveals the Moon’s Hidden Interior After a Giant Collision
space4 months ago

Chang'e-6 Dust Reveals the Moon’s Hidden Interior After a Giant Collision

A new analysis of dust from the Moon’s far side collected by China’s Chang’e-6 mission finds heavier potassium isotopes than near-side samples, suggesting the South Pole–Aitken impact heated the Moon so intensely that lighter isotopes vaporized and escaped, reshaping the Moon’s mantle and leaving long-lasting hemispheric chemical differences and possibly triggering deep interior processes.

via The Daily Galaxy|
#change-6#far-side#isotopes
"Unveiling Secrets of Ancient Supernova Stardust in Meteorite"
space-and-physics2 years ago

"Unveiling Secrets of Ancient Supernova Stardust in Meteorite"

A rare dust particle found in an ancient meteorite has been determined to be older than the Sun, with a composition indicating it originated from an unusual type of supernova. The grain's isotopic ratios suggest it was formed by a hydrogen-burning supernova, a rare type of Type II supernova. This discovery provides valuable insights into the formation of the Solar System and the types of stars that contributed to its composition.

via IFLScience|
#isotopes#meteorite#presolar-grain