Yes , 2016 was a dreadful year for many reasons . Even in its last moment , it seems to require to make us a heck of alot of grief .
Still , it ’s worth point out that alot of unspoilt thingshappened this yr too . Science , in special , has decode the macrocosm rather gorgeously , and we are impudent and smarter than we were back in 2015 .
So , to send off 2016 , here are 16 of the nerveless raw things we now jazz about the universe of discourse thanks to skill .
1 – There is a massivemetal dragoninside Earth ’s core group
This enigmatic , serpent - shaped , liquid branding iron beast is traveling around Earth ’s liquified outer core . Currently under Alaska , it encircles about half of the entire planet ’s circumference , and it ’s the quickest go thing beneath our feet .
It ’s also messing with Earth ’s magnetised plain , and it looks like speed .
There ’s in reality a lot we do n’t know about this metallic jet flow , but this daisy - chain of doom is ludicrously fascinating , and perhaps a piddling frightening .
2 – We know the secret to Pluto’sheart
New Horizons zip by the dwarf major planet Pluto back in 2015 , and some of the most singular figure of speech it sent back were of a basin that strongly resemble a cartoon heart . Ever since , scientists have been examine to work out what may have formed this spectacular lineament , and there areplenty of theoriesflying around .
The most compelling , however , appear to be that the still basin is a radioactive ocean of nitrogen icebergs . And if you have liquid feature at the surface of a mainly solid ice world , then you must still have a source of heat .
Pluto is too small to have keep any of its primordial ( formation ) heat , so the sea must be keep by the decay of radioactive elements from within . And , at just 1 million eld of age , Pluto ’s cardiovascular - like ocean is one of the young feature in the Solar System .
3 – An entire continent wasdestroyedby the Himalayas
Mount Everest . Nikita Serdechyy / Shutterstock
The collision of India with Eurasia about 40 to 60 million years ago actually forced down an intact continent ’s worth of tilt into the fiery , partially molten mantel . Seeing as the buoyancy of continent means that they unremarkably “ float ” on the mantle below , this is quite an impressive exploit .
4 – Greenland shark can live forup to 400 age
By carefully analyzing the development of the lenses in the eye of sharks , scientist discovered that a female Greenland shark might have been hold as far back as the reign of James I.
This would make her the oldest living vertebrate animal , and it ’s likely she ’s not alone in her old historic period – plenty of other Greenland sharks are probable to be just as elderly . For compare , the longest living human was 122 years previous .
The Greenland shark is , however , not the older living life material body on the planet . A deep - ocean dollar named Ming – name after the Chinese dynasty during which it was stomach – die in 2006 at the mature old years of 507 , for model .
5 – Asecond Earthmay survive in the star system nearest our own
An creative person ’s impression of Proxima b. ESO / M. Kornmesser
Back in August , astronomers announced that a planetary major planet , one that has exchangeable base temperatures to our own world , was detected orbiting the star nearest our own . Named Proxima b , it is more likely than most exoplanets to contain liquid piddle and perhaps even an atmospheric state .
This means that a 2nd home could be wait for us in our very own cosmic backyard . At just over 4 light - years away , it ’s as close as any extrasolar major planet is going to get to Earth – and perhaps , just maybe , there ’s already alien life on its control surface or beneath its waves .
6 – Dinosaurs may have beencooingto each other
A peculiar analysis of the outspoken chords of various living dinosaurs – the birds – suggested that their power to “ coo ” , or make noises without open their backtalk , might have evolved millions of years earlier than previously thought . In fact , this ability evolved at least 16 times severally in the grouping that stop snort , crocodiles , and long - dead dinosaurs .
This means that the ferociousT. rexor perhaps a terrifyingmegaraptormay have been capable to coo at each other , as well as roar .
7 – The Great Pyramid of Giza has anancient defense mechanism
It ’s not quite up toIndiana Jonesstandard , but the most celebrated ancient structure in the cosmos had a undercover defense against tomb looter . asunder from decoy sepulture chambers to trick sneaky thief , the Great Pyramid also bear a serial of grooves that were thought to moderate giant granite blocks .
These chunks of solid rock music could be slide into place by defenders of the tomb , either stop robber accessing the gravesites or immobilize them inside forever .
8 – Volcanoes will one day be bear inNew England
For some time , geophysicist have known that there is an anomalous warmth signature beneath the northeastern US . It was thought to be the embers of a static volcanic hot spot , but a new study has reveal that at least part of it is a separate rising plume of superheated cloth – one that ’s beyond a doubt alive and kicking .
This young flaming fount mean that it ’s highly likely that , in a few million years or so , there will be a mountain chain of babe volcanoes born in New England .
9 – There may be aninth planetat the bound of our Solar System
The demotion of Pluto from satellite to dwarf satellite back in 2006 bankrupt the childhood of millions . However , at the start of this class , the very same enquiry squad responsible for the grim change announce what amount to a celestial plot twist .
As it turns out , there ’s fairly strong collateral grounds that a Neptune - sized major planet may exist at the far death of our Solar System . If spotted and confirmed , this would mean that , once again , we have nine planet orb the Sun .
10 – TheMoonmight be spark seism
You betrayed us ! Triff / Shutterstock
It makes sentience when you think about it : the Moon ’s gravitative pulling is causing earthquake . Most research is pointing towards them touch off only very small shudder – those barely detectable by humans – but some studies advise that some of the large earthquake of the 21st century may have beenkickstartedby the dance of our lunar comrade .
11 – Antarctica is hidingthousands of meteoritesbeneath its crank
Not only is the reality ’s largest canon conceal beneath the white control surface of the Southern Continent , but it appear that a treasure trove of atomic number 26 meteorite are also stuck just below the ice .
A recent modeling study revealed that these metallic visitant to Earth , having been heat up by sun , may have slipped into the ice before being reburied , obscure them from view for millennia .
12 – We ’re middling certain we knowwhy women have sexual climax
The male orgasm has a clear procreative function , but the female equivalent has been the source of some secret for a considerable distance of time . After all , it ’s not needed for fertilisation to take place in human beings , no matter how awesome it may feel .
However , a new study suggested that the distaff orgasm used to trigger the showtime of ovulation , as it does in many corresponding mammals today . Over time , this subprogram became unneeded , and the female climax stuck around for twosome - tie reasons or else .
13 – China’sfounding mythwas lawful all along
Legends say that the very first unbroken billet of Chinese crowned head , the Xia , cooccur with a great alluvion that destroyed much of civilization at the time . unmistakably , archaeological and geological grounds suggests that this fable was in fact dead on target , properly down to the date it was say to have fall out .
14 – King Tut’sdaggeris literally out of this world
The iron meteorite used to organize a purple blade . TheLearningPhotographer / Shutterstock
King Tutankhamen was swallow up with an flowery dagger with an unusual chemical substance make-up . It turns out that this ornamental sword was forged from a meteorite that crashed down to Earth thousands of years ago . Not only that , but the iron space rock music itself was identified as the Kharga meteorite , one found back in the twelvemonth 2000 near Alexandria in Egypt .
15 – Io ’s atmospherecollapses at night
The innermost Galilean moon of Jupiter is a glorious volcanic hellscape , one that ’s enshroud by a sulfurous atmospheric state . Not only is this mantle of accelerator pedal fueled by the eruption of the very same volcano that dot its control surface , but a raw field found that the aura collapses every single time the moon enters Jupiter ’s shadow .
16 – Cats read thelaws of physics
We all know that true cat are vengeance - driven , death - dealing , angry , furry felines , but it appears that they may be smarter than we ’ve given them credit for . A rather bizarre report regard noisy box and shady stares concluded that our funny pets must have a canonic grasp of the laws of physics to go about their daily life sentence .
We were a little skeptical of this study ’s methodological analysis , but it did grant us an opportunity to use ludicrous images of computerized tomography in skill science laboratory .
