These science claims from 2019 could be big deals — if true
Findings in need of more proof include dinosaur fossils from the day a giant asteroid struck Earth and jets from stellar smashups
Discoveries about dinosaurs’ death knell, a watery exoplanet, a new hominid species and more are keeping us on the edge of our seats. But these reports require more proof before they can earn a spot on our list of top stories of the year.
Dino doomsday
When an asteroid smashed into Earth about 66 million years ago, it triggered an immense earthquake. A fossil site in North Dakota records the mayhem in the hours after impact, scientists reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. But what’s more tantalizing is what the researchers may have left out of their scientific paper. Robert DePalma, a paleontologist at the University of Kansas in Lawrence and an author on the paper, told the New Yorker that the team found fossilized dinosaurs, pterosaurs and even feathers at the site (SN: 4/27/19, p. 10). Because so few dinosaur fossils from just before the impact have been found, some scientists think that the animals were already dying out. If dinosaur fossils do exist at the site, that’s more evidence that the asteroid impact was to blame.
Soggy skies
Water vapor detected in the atmosphere of an exoplanet 110 light-years away from Earth had astronomers saying K2 18b is the first known planet orbiting a distant star that might have liquid water (SN: 10/12/19 & 10/26/19, p. 6). K2 18b might even have water clouds and rain, scientists suggest. Observations with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, slated to launch in 2021, could help determine if and how much liquid water, thought to be a key ingredient for life, K2 18b has. But even if the exoplanet is awash in the wet stuff, that doesn’t mean the planet is habitable (SN Online: 10/4/19).
What lies beneath
A cache of tiny animal carcasses was dredged up from Antarctica’s perpetually ice-covered Lake Mercer, scientists revealed this year. The find was a surprise because this extreme environment was thought to be friendly only for microbes (SN: 2/16/19, p. 11). The limits of habitability may be less narrow than previously thought. But it’s also possible that the remains — including what look like tardigrades, crustaceans, spiders and worms — were carried into the lake by ice or water.