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Deep in Texas, a plant-eating feathered dinosaur reemerges

By Guest PostMay 1, 2013Scienceaguja formation, asia, big bend, bird like caenagnathids, caenagnathus collinsi, carnivorous cousin velociraptor, darwin, deep in texas, dinosaur texacephale, evolutionary history, extinct dinosaurs, feathered dinosaur, fossil, ken barnes, larry millar, leptorhynchos, leptorhynchos elegans, leptorhynchos gaddisi, little jaw, national park, natural history, nicholas r longrich, North America, north american caenagnathids, peabody museum, plant eating, scott clark, species, terlingua, turkey sized herbivore, utah, west texas, western canada, yale university

A recently identified feathered dinosaur found deep in West Texas reinforces an emerging view that creatures like it were more diverse and widespread in North America than previously thought, according to a new study.

The species — a turkey-sized herbivore called Leptorhynchos gaddisi — belongs to a broader group of bird-like dinosaurs characterized by toothless beaks and long, slender claws, said researchers, who analyzed fossils found near Big Bend National Park at a site dating to about 75 million years ago. (more…)

NASA, Texas Astronomers Find First Multi-Planet System Around a Binary Star

By Guest PostSeptember 3, 2012Scienceaustin, bill cochran, binary star, caroline caldwell, faint star, giant magellan telescope, habitable zone, harlan j smith, het, hobby eberly telescope, jerome orosz, kepler 47, kepler mission, largest telescope, m dwarf star, mcdonald observatory, michael endl, multi planet, NASA, one system, planet, primary star, san diego, secondary star, solar system, space telescope, state university, stellar eclipse, sun, tatooine, telescope, texas, transit, university, west texas, william welsh, world

FORT DAVIS, Texas — NASA’s Kepler mission has found the first multi-planet solar system orbiting a binary star, characterized in large part by University of Texas at Austin astronomers using two telescopes at the university’s McDonald Observatory in West Texas. The finding, which proves that whole planetary systems can form in a disk around a binary star, is published in today’s issue of the journal Science.

“It’s Tatooine, right?” said McDonald Observatory astronomer Michael Endl. “But this was not shown in Star Wars,” he said, referring to the periodic changes in the amount of daylight falling on a planet with two suns. Measurements of the star’s orbits showed that daylight on the planets would vary by a large margin over the 7.4-Earth-day period as the two stars completed their mutual orbits, each moving closer to, then farther from, the planets (which are themselves moving). (more…)

Astronomers Test Einstein in a New Regime Using Pair of Burnt-Out Stars

By Guest PostAugust 31, 2012Sciencealbert einstein, apache point telescope, astronomer, austin, burnt out stars, canary islands, carlos allende prieto, don winget, dwarf stars, einstein, emission, energy, european space agency, fabric, Galaxy, gemini north telescope, general relativity, gran telescopio canarias, gravitational wave, hawaii, j j hermes, j0651, mcdonald observatory, milliseconds, moving object, mukremin kilic, NASA, new mexico, new regime, orbital decay, orbital period, otto struve telescope, ripple, space time, spain, sun, test, texas, theory, university, university of oklahoma, warren brown, west texas

AUSTIN, Texas — A team of astronomers led by researchers from The University of Texas at Austin has confirmed the emission of gravitational waves from the second-strongest known source in our galaxy by studying the shrinking orbital period of a unique pair of burnt-out stars. Their observations tested Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity in a new regime. The results will be published soon in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Last year, the same team discovered that the two white dwarf stars are so close together that they make a complete orbit in less than 13 minutes, and they should be gradually slipping closer. The system, called SDSS J065133.338+284423.37 (J0651 for short), contains two white dwarf stars, which are the remnant cores of stars like our sun. (more…)

Travelers and Shoppers Get A Picture Perfect Holiday

By Guest PostDecember 12, 2011Technologyairports, brooke burke charvet, dallas love field airport, epson printers, free holiday photos, free photo kiosks, fun, Microsoft, ray jones, santa, santa claus, santa in the airport, shopping malls, southwest airlines, US, west texas, windows

*Windows and Southwest Airlines team up to offer free holiday photos at select airports and shopping malls across the country.*

REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 12, 2011 — The holiday rush can be overwhelming. With shopping, traveling and holiday parties galore, people run around like crazy and still don’t have enough time to do everything they’d like with friends and family.

But with a little help from Santa, Windows and Southwest Airlines are hoping to relieve that stress and bring families some holiday cheer this season. With A Picture Perfect Holiday, Microsoft and Southwest Airlines are partnering to offer free holiday photos in convenient locations for the second year in a row. (more…)

U.S. Can Curb Carbon Emissions While Boosting Domestic Oil Production, Report Says

By Guest PostMay 31, 2011Environmentcarbon capture and storage, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon footprint, CCS, ccs projects, CO2, co2 eor, coal fired electricity plants, coal power plants, curbing emissions of carbon dioxide, domestic oil production, enhanced oil recovery, eor, ernest j moniz, industrial sources to oil field sinks, massachusetts institute of technology, MIT, natural sources, permian basin, scott w tinker, the university of texas at austin, us energy security, use of anthropogenic co2, west texas

AUSTIN, Texas — A report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and The University of Texas at Austin urges the U.S. to accelerate efforts to pursue carbon capture and storage (CCS) in combination with enhanced oil recovery (EOR), a practice that could increase domestic oil production while significantly curbing emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂).

For decades the oil industry has used CO₂ to extract oil from mature fields, often relying on purchased CO₂ from natural sources. The idea of seeking CO₂ from industrial sources, such as coal- and natural gas-fired electricity plants, has gained currency because of public concerns about carbon dioxide emissions. (more…)

Tag Archives: west texas

Deep in Texas, a plant-eating feathered dinosaur reemerges

NASA, Texas Astronomers Find First Multi-Planet System Around a Binary Star

Astronomers Test Einstein in a New Regime Using Pair of Burnt-Out Stars

Travelers and Shoppers Get A Picture Perfect Holiday

U.S. Can Curb Carbon Emissions While Boosting Domestic Oil Production, Report Says