All stars, including the Sun, have a finite lifetime. Some neutron stars emit beams of radio waves into space – and it is around these “pulsar” stars that planets have been found. Diamond world Planet PSR J1719−1438b orbits a pulsar some 4,000 light years away, hurtling around its host in just over two hours. These are known to have a …
Forest pathologist Martin MacKenzie strode forward on a narrow path through California’s mythic bristlecone pine forest in the White Mountains near the Nevada border, methodically scanning gnarled limbs for the invaders that threaten the lives of some of the world’s oldest trees. In the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, U.S. Forest Service pathologist Martin MacKenzie checks on trees with ecologist Michele …
While every responsible citizen was fixated on election returns this week, my mind was high on a mountainside almost midway up California’s border with Nevada. Last month, there was news among dendrochronologists that researchers in Chile believe an ancient cypress there known as Gran Abuelo may be 5,400 years old, which, if confirmed, would beat Methuselah by about six centuries. …
