Heavens

The placid appearance of NGC 4889 can fool the unsuspecting observer. But the elliptical galaxy, pictured in this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, harbours a dark secret. At its heart lurks one of the most massive black holes ever discovered.

Two new hominin fossils have been found in a previously uninvestigated chamber in the Sterkfontein Caves, just North West of Johannesburg in South Africa.

The two new specimens, a finger bone and a molar, are part of a set of four specimens, which seem to be from early hominins that can be associated with early stone tool-bearing sediments that entered the cave more than two million years ago.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (http://www.ucr.edu) -- Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have developed a new, more computationally efficient way to process data from the Global Positioning System (GPS), to enhance location accuracy from the meter-level down to a few centimeters.

A new record for the fastest ever data rate for digital information has been set by UCL researchers in the Optical Networks Group. They achieved a rate of 1.125 Tb/s as part of research on the capacity limits of optical transmission systems, designed to address the growing demand for fast data rates.

URBANA, Ill. - A University of Illinois researcher has identified four distinct approaches that dating couples use to develop deeper commitment.

"The four types of dating couples that we found included the dramatic couple, the conflict-ridden couple, the socially involved couple, and the partner-focused couple," said Brian Ogolsky, a U of I assistant professor of human development and family studies.

Tropical Storm 10S developed as NASA's Terra satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean. The tropical storm developed from tropical low pressure area 96S between Madagascar and La Reunion Island.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of newborn Tropical Storm 10S on Feb. 10 at 0620 UTC (1:20 a.m. EST). The image showed bands of thunderstorms wrapping into the well- defined low-level center from the northern and southern quadrants of the storm.

The tropical low pressure area previously known as System 97P has developed into a tropical storm named 11P in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean. NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead and gathered cloud top temperatures that showed powerful storms within, while NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided a visible image of the storm east of Vanuatu.

JUPITER, FL, February 10, 2016--Screening large "libraries" of compounds to find those with a desired biological activity is a powerful method for discovering new drugs, but requires a large, expensive and dedicated facility. Now, scientists at the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have devised the central component of a screening system that would be orders of magnitude smaller and cheaper.

ST. LOUIS - Younger Chinese teenage boys are less likely to start smoking than those born longer ago, according to research from Saint Louis University and Chongqing University.

The trend is significant because nearly one third of the world's smokers live in China. Two-thirds of Chinese men become daily smokers before they turn 25, with the vast majority starting the habit when they were between 15 and 20. By contrast, fewer than 4 percent of females in China smoke, which is why females were not included in the study.

The glowing region in this new image from the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope is a reflection nebula known as IC 2631. These objects are clouds of cosmic dust that reflect light from a nearby star into space, creating a stunning light show like the one captured here. IC 2631 is the brightest nebula in the Chamaeleon Complex, a large region of gas and dust clouds that harbours numerous newborn and still-forming stars.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For most women, expecting a baby brings intense joy --and a fair amount of worry.

But what about women who have lived through something awful enough to cause post-traumatic stress disorder?

Contrary to what researchers expected, a new study shows that pregnancy may actually reduce their PTSD symptoms. Or at the least, it won't cause a flare-up.

The news isn't all good, though.

Aerosols of the atmosphere are one of the most important factors influencing the level of radiation in the upper and lower layers of the atmosphere, and hence - the whole climate. However, the optical properties of the aerosols all over the world are not broadly studied yet. The data on its optical is majorly collected by satellites. Ground-based systems, though, provide us with more accurate information.

The Global Precipitation Measurement or GPM core satellite and NASA's RapidScat instrument aboard the International Space Station have provided forecasters with data that shows System 96S, a tropical low pressure area in the Southern Indian Ocean, is consolidating and developing into a depression.

On Feb. 8, 2016 at 4 a.m. EDT RapidScat saw System 96S' winds were near 21 meters per second (46.9 mph/75.6 kph) on the storm's southeastern side. The RapidScat instrument flies aboard the International Space Station and measures surface winds over the ocean.

Hundreds of hidden nearby galaxies have been studied for the first time, shedding light on a mysterious gravitational anomaly dubbed the Great Attractor.

Despite being just 250 million light years from Earth--very close in astronomical terms--the new galaxies had been hidden from view until now by our own galaxy, the Milky Way.

Using CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope equipped with an innovative receiver, an international team of scientists were able to see through the stars and dust of the Milky Way, into a previously unexplored region of space.

As a low pressure area continued to intensify in the Atlantic Ocean off the United States' East Coast, NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement or GPM core satellite gathered information about the precipitation the storm was packing.