I'd intended to make a thread along these lines for awhile but well, I'm lazy! There's probably a cool science article on procrastination. Anyway here's a thread for us to talk about the latest (or our favourite older!) discoveries. If you want to throw down about history or science in general we can do that too.
A couple articles that caught my eye lately:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/09/what-61000-hidden-structures-reveal-about-maya-civilization/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark
Being able to use lidar like this is a big game-changer and they've already made some preliminary estimates based off what they've found (obviously still somewhat controversial)
They also found evidence of fortification and things that imply the Maya were more warlike than many thought they were. Obviously they'll have to do a lot more research to confirm the findings but this gives a huge new tool to the field.
http://www.astronomy.com/news/2018/10/voyager-2-spacecraft-approaches-interstellar-space
I love space stuff like this. The fact we now have a second Voyager that's entered interstellar space is so amazing to me.
A couple articles that caught my eye lately:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/09/what-61000-hidden-structures-reveal-about-maya-civilization/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark
Earlier this year, a team of archaeologists announced the discovery of more than 61,000 long-lost Maya roads, fortresses, drainage canals, and buildings hidden beneath the dense green canopy of northern Guatemala’s tropical forest. The findings were the result of an airborne laser, or lidar, survey of 2,144 square kilometers of the Maya Biosphere Reserve.
Being able to use lidar like this is a big game-changer and they've already made some preliminary estimates based off what they've found (obviously still somewhat controversial)
Garrison, with archaeologists Marcello Canuto and Francisco Estrada-Belli of Tulane University and colleagues, used the lidar survey data to estimate that a Mayan population of between 7 million and 11 million people lived in the central Maya Lowlands (parts of the Yucatan, Guatemala, and Belize) in the bustling Late Classic Period between 650 and 800 CE
They also found evidence of fortification and things that imply the Maya were more warlike than many thought they were. Obviously they'll have to do a lot more research to confirm the findings but this gives a huge new tool to the field.
http://www.astronomy.com/news/2018/10/voyager-2-spacecraft-approaches-interstellar-space
When it comes to space exploration, no one has the Voyager missions beat. On October 5, NASA reported that their Voyager 2 spacecraft is nearing our heliosphere’s outer borders, and could soon enter interstellar space. Data shows that the probe is detecting more and more cosmic rays from outer space — indicating a slow escape from the sun’s stellar bubble. If all goes as planned, the craft will follow in the footsteps of Voyager 1 and become the second human-made object to ever visit the interstellar medium.
I love space stuff like this. The fact we now have a second Voyager that's entered interstellar space is so amazing to me.