Friday Headlines, February 5, 2016
THE LATEST IN THE GEOSCIENCES
Today’s round-up:
Icebergs on Pluto
Duck-billed Wildebeest
Possible icebergs spotted on Pluto
Pluto is a very interesting not-a-Planet. It has glaciers of nitrogen ice. And these nitrogen glaciers carry hills of water ice out into seas of frozen nitrogen.
New photos released by NASA from the New Horizons probe show chains of water hills being carried by nitrogen glaciers. This is one of many exciting new geological observations made by the New Horizons fly-by of Pluto.
Weird Ancient Wildebeest Sported Duck-Billed Dinosaur Nose
It’s not an antelope with a beak, but it is an extinct wildebeest-like animal that had elaborate nasal cavities and crests like those of the duck-billed dinosaur Parasaurolophus. It’s thought that the animal, called Rusingoryx atopocranion, may have used the crest for low-frequency vocalizations to communication with herd members in a way that predatory animals could not easily hear.
Penny Higgins - Storyteller • Artist • Scientist 