Science Mission Directorate Archives - Page 7 of 138

Bamboo skewer safely removed from a bird’s cloaca in New York 0
- Animals, Biology, Birds, Environment, SCIENCE, Science / Health, Science Mission Directorate, scientists, Space, Space Communications & Navigation Program, Space Launch System (SLS), Space Telescope, space-x-ipo, SpaceX, Wildlife
- September 17, 2026
Take a closer look at this great black-backed gull (Larus marinus) and you’ll soon notice something that does not belong there. The female bird has a bamboo skewer lodged in her cloaca, the rear openings birds use to excrete and reproduce. The bird was found with a piece of trash stuck in her cloaca. Image:
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Summer Goes Out With a Heat Dome – NASA Science 0
- Earth Observatory, Extreme Temperatures, Heat & Radiation, SCIENCE, Science / Health, Science Mission Directorate, scientists, Space, Space Communications & Navigation Program, Space Launch System (SLS), Space Telescope, space-x-ipo, SpaceX
- September 17, 2026
While the calendar indicated that astronomical summer was winding down, a swath of the south-central United States was sweltering under a heat dome in mid-September 2026. This map shows air temperatures in the contiguous U.S. on September 15, 2026, at 4 p.m. Central Time (21:00 Universal Time), modeled at 2 meters (6.5 feet) above the
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APOD: 2026 September 17 – A Treasure Chest in the Carina Nebula – NASA Science 0
- APOD, SCIENCE, Science / Health, Science Mission Directorate, scientists, Space, Space Communications & Navigation Program, Space Launch System (SLS), Space Telescope, space-x-ipo, SpaceX
- September 17, 2026
Explanation: This treasure chest is full of stars. The featured image was obtained with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and shows a dust pillar in the Carina Nebula inside our Galaxy, roughly 7500 light-years away. It is formed by interstellar gas and dust, and shaped by powerful stellar winds and radiation from neighboring stars like
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Bald eagles Shadow and Kaydee share sticks and ‘beaky kisses’0
- Animals, Birds, Environment, SCIENCE, Science / Health, Science Mission Directorate, scientists, Space, Space Communications & Navigation Program, Space Launch System (SLS), Space Telescope, space-x-ipo, SpaceX, Wildlife
- September 17, 2026
The bald eagle nest in Big Bear Valley is seeing a flurry of activity lately. Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) cameras have captured Shadow and Kaydee tending to the nest with stick deliveries and even spotted a few ‘beaky kisses’ exchanged in recent weeks. Late summer is typically a quieter time on the nest
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Medieval Russian talisman depicts Christian warrior saint and Medusa 0
- Archaeology, SCIENCE, Science / Health, Science Mission Directorate, scientists, Space, Space Communications & Navigation Program, Space Launch System (SLS), Space Telescope, space-x-ipo, SpaceX
- September 17, 2026
Archaeologists recently discovered a rare Russian medallion that depicts a dramatic cultural clash between medieval Christianity and ancient Greek mythology. Excavated about 400 miles southeast of St. Petersburg near the town of Staraya, the 11th century pendant appears to showcase a warrior saint on its face with the snake-topped head of Medusa on the back.
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Tyrannosaurus rex was warm-blooded, new study confirms 0
- Biology, Dinosaurs, Evolution, SCIENCE, Science / Health, Science Mission Directorate, scientists, Space, Space Communications & Navigation Program, Space Launch System (SLS), Space Telescope, space-x-ipo, SpaceX
- September 17, 2026
Contrary to the assumptions of early paleontologists, most dinosaurs weren’t lumbering slowpokes. Centuries of evolutionary reevaluation now indicates the ancestors of present-day birds didn’t simply keep a steady pace—many of them boasted impressive speed. These active lifestyles also forced scientists to reconsider another anatomical detail. Once thought universally cold-blooded, a lot of dinosaurs eventually evolved
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