[ May 6, 2016 ] Falcon 9 succeeds in middle-of-the-night launch and landing Falcon 9 and other top stories.

• [ May 6, 2016 ] Falcon 9 succeeds in middle-of-the-night launch and landing Falcon 9

  

  SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket streaks due east from Cape Canaveral after lifting off at 1:21 a.m. EDT (0521 GMT). Credit: SpaceX A Japanese communications satellite rode a Falcon 9 rocket into space from Cape Canaveral early Friday, reaching an on-target orbit as the launcher’s first stage booster nailed a high-speed landing on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean, logging another achievement for SpaceX’s cost-cutting reuse initiative. The successful satellite deployment marks the Falcon 9’s fifth conse..

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• These ancient Asian primate fossils might be the missing pieces of a major evolutionary puzzle

  

  Lower jaw fossils from the ancient primate Yunnanadapis folivorus, one of several species newly discovered in southern China. (K. Christopher Beard) For decades, scientists thought that the story of human evolution was fairly straightforward: We and our primate ancestors evolved in Africa over millions of years, then started crossing continents and traversing seas to reach all the places we’re found today. Simple (ish). But then, in the 1990s, researchers in China made a surprising discovery..

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• Just how massive is one supermassive black hole? 660 million times the Sun

  

  In a galaxy far, far away, a supermassive black hole sits at the center with a gravitational pull that sucks in everything from planets to stars to light. And for the first time, scientists knows precisely how massive it is. Scientists have been able to measure precisely the mass of a supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy called NGC 1332, roughly 73 million light years away from Earth. The findings suggest the black hole has a mass 660 million times greater than the mass of the sun..

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• Mercury is about to pass in front of the sun, and it should be incredible to watch

  

  A satellite image of one of Mercury's previous transits. (NASA) It happens around 13 times a century: From our perspective, Mercury – the smallest planet in our solar system – will pass in front of the sun. On Monday, most of the world (including the United States) will be able to see the planet as a tiny black dot passing slowly in front of its host star. You shouldn't stare directly into the sun (ouch), but by watching online or using a telescope with a special filter, you can see Mercury ..

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• Secrets Of The Mariana Trench, Caught On Camera

  

  Deep in the ocean, a mission is underway to explore the "unknown and poorly known areas" around the Mariana Trench. "Despite decades of previous work in the region," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says, "much of the [trench] and surrounding areas remain unexplored." A deep-sea anglerfish within the pillow basalts in the Mariana Trench area. You can see its round lure between its two eyes. This fish is an ambush predator that waits for prey to be attracted by..

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• New Horizons sets sights on its next target, a mysterious object at solar system's edge

  

  Scientists still are analyzing the images and observations of Pluto that the New Horizons mission captured in unprecedented detail last July, but they also are looking ahead to an even closer look at a space object with which they are even less familiar.Known as 2014 MU69, the object is thought to be unchanged since the birth of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Scientists plan to use the same cameras and other instruments that showed the world a ruddy, textured Pluto to reveal more about..

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• China's Hainan Island Home To 35 Tons Of Dead Fish

  

  China's Hainan Island Home To 35 Tons Of Dead Fish Twitter | People's Daily | China News Around 35 tons of dead fish have washed ashore on Hainan Island in China, as bodies covered vast areas of Hongcheng Lake. Biologists are struggling to understand what may have wiped out the vast population of marine animals. One possible explanation is the creatures may have been killed as they passed through the pumping system used on the lake. The animals may have been carried in an estuary by a tidal s..

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• Swarm of earthquakes strikes Mount St. Helens

  

  At this point, "there is absolutely no sign that it will erupt anytime soon, but the data we collect tells us that the volcano is still very much alive," the U.S. Geological Survey said.Although there are no signs of an imminent eruption, the volcano is recharging, scientists say.Mount St. Helens is in Washington state, 95 miles south of Seattle and about 55 miles northeast of Portland, OR. The earthquakes have been measured at a magnitude of 0.5 or less and the largest was at 1.3. They've been..

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• Fossils shed light on 'bizarre' reptile

  

  Image copyright IVPP A crocodile-sized creature that lived 242 million years ago was the first known vegetarian marine reptile, according to new fossil evidence.Two specimens unearthed in China reveal details of the animal's skull and how it fed.Named Atopodentatus, scientists say its hammer-shaped skull helped it to feed on underwater plants.Only a handful of marine reptiles, living or extinct, are known to be herbivores.Dr Nick Fraser of National Museums Scotland, who worked on the fossil..

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