Scientists Discover Bizarre and Ancient Fossilized Forest – Futurism

Calling Dr. Seuss. Strange New World

In a picturesque corner of England, along dramatic sandstone cliffs, researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Cardiff have uncovered a wondrous discovery: 390-million-year-old fossilized remains of the oldest forest ever found.

Tantalizingly, this forest is unlike anything you could see in today's natural environment. As detailed in a new paper in the Journal of Geological Study, the trees which look like giant 13-foot thistles are considered some of the first to appear in our planet's long history.

Another notable feature about these trees, known as Calamophyton,is that they had hollow trunks and were composed of smaller, multiple trunk-like strands ringing the hollow. The smaller trees would expand and eventually grow so thick and big that the entire structure would split apart.

"This was a pretty weird forest not like any forest you would see today, said Cambridge Earth Sciences professor and the paper's first author Neil Davies in a statement. "There wasnt any undergrowth to speak of and grass hadnt yet appeared, but there were lots of twigs dropped by these densely-packed trees, which had a big effect on the landscape."

Researchers found the ancient forest in South West England, specifically on the coast of Devon and Somerset counties. Fossilized remains includelogs, branches, stumps and other traces of these prototype trees.

The forest grew in the pivotal Devonian Period, approximately 359 to 419 million years ago, which was a remarkable time in Earth's history that saw the establishment of the first land animals and the first plants to reproduce by seeds.

The discovery adds further understanding to how the first forests shaped the land, the researchers explained. Shed branches from these trees helped build up sediment over the years and which in turn impacted the course of ancient rivers.

"The Devonian period fundamentally changed life on Earth," said Davies. "It also changed how water and land interacted with each other, since trees and other plants helped stabilize sediment through their root systems, but little is known about the very earliest forests."

More on fossils: Amazing Fossil Froze Dinosaur in Death Match With Prehistoric Monster

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Scientists Discover Bizarre and Ancient Fossilized Forest - Futurism

Nusantara: A New Capital City in the Forest – nasa.gov

Since the summer of 2022, the jungles of eastern Borneo have undergone rapid change. Roads have been carved into the landscape and buildings erected near Balikpapan Bay in Eastern Kalimantan, as Indonesia builds a new capital city.

According to government officials, development of the new capital on the island of Borneo was motivated in large part by the myriad of environmental challenges faced by Jakarta, Indonesias current capital. The citys metropolitan area is home to 30 million people and has expanded considerably in recent decades. Frequent flooding, heavy traffic, hazardous air pollution, and drinking water shortages are common occurrences. Jakarta is also quickly sinking. Excessive groundwater withdrawals have contributed to subsidence rates of up to 15 centimeters (6 inches) per year, and 40 percent of the city is now below sea level.

In 2019, Indonesias president announced that the administrative center of the country would be moving from the populous island of Java to the sparsely populated island of Borneo. Construction on the new capital city, called Nusantaraan old Javanese term meaning outer islands or archipelagobegan in July 2022 in an area of forests and oil palm plantations 30 kilometers (19 miles) inland from the Makassar Strait.

The images above show the site of Nusantara in April 2022 (left) and in February 2024 (right). They were captured by the OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager-2) on Landsat 9 and the OLI on Landsat 8, respectively. In the 2024 image, soil has been exposed for a network of roads carved into the forest. The initial stage of development involves constructing government facilities and other buildings for the expected initial population of 500,000 people, according to the project website.

Project plans stipulate that it will be a green, walkable metropolis, powered with renewable energy, with 75 percent of the city remaining forested. But some researchers worry this land use change could harm the forests and wildlife in the region. The stretch of land and coastal waters being developed are rich in biodiversity and home to mangroves, proboscis monkeys, and Irrawaddy dolphins.

Although the site has changed substantially over the past year and a half, the city is far from being finished. Construction is planned to be completed by 2045.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Emily Cassidy.

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Nusantara: A New Capital City in the Forest - nasa.gov

ULA’s first mission with its Vulcan rocket may slide to January launch window Spaceflight Now – Spaceflight Now

ULAs Vulcan rocket sits at the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) ahead of the start of a wet dress rehearsal tanking test on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. Image: ULA

The debut of United Launch Alliances Vulcan rocket may slip from late December into early January, according to the companys president and CEO, Tory Bruno. In a social media post on Sunday, Bruno said the planned Dec. 24 launch date is likely out.

The statement comes a couple days after the rocket conducted a Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR), where the vehicle was fully fueled and went the countdown was to proceed to the final seconds before cutting off. But Bruno said a couple of routine ground issues came up near the end of the test.

Ground teams were targeting a T-0 of 4:30 p.m. EST on Friday. Based on observations of venting during the operation it appeared the countdown reached its final four minutes before an abort occurred. The Vulcan vehicle left the launch pad and returned to the Vertical Integration Facility building at launch complex 41 Saturday afternoon.

Id like a full WDR before our first flight, so [Christmas] Eve is likely out, Bruno said in his post on X. He added that they are working on schedules but Spaceflight Now understands another test has been scheduled for as soon as Tuesday.

The primary payload onboard is Astrobotics Peregrine lunar lander, which will journey to the Moon. If the launch is able to happen during the December launch window (Dec. 24-26), the lander would touch down on the Moons surface at approximately 3:30 a.m. EST (0830 UTC) on Jan. 25, 2024.

Bruno said that the next launch window based on Peregrines needs opens on Jan. 8, 2024 and would likely last for four days. Dan Hendrickson, Astrobotics Vice President of Business Development, told Spaceflight Now back in October that the nominal time from launch to landing is between 30 and 39 days. It was not immediately clear if there is a different transit time for the early January launch window.

Shifting Moon race

With the launch potentially shifting to January, that changes the landscape for Moon-bound missions. Liftoff on Jan. 8 would mean Peregrine would launch just four days before the opening of the launch window for Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agencys (JAXA) Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is also making its way to the Moon and is set to land around 1520 UTC on Jan. 19.

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ULA's first mission with its Vulcan rocket may slide to January launch window Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now