EarthSky News - July 16 - Top Stories This Week

July 16 Top Stories This Week by:

Wow! Juno's super-close Red Spot images Images from the Juno spacecraft's extremely close sweep past Jupiter's Red Spot. Massive iceberg breaks off Antarctica An iceberg about the size of Delaware split off from an Antarctic ice shelf between July 10 and 12. Strange radio signals from nearby star The scientists aren't saying "aliens," but the natural explanations have weaknesses. Last survivors on Earth? Scientists say tardigrades - 8-legged, marine micro-creatures - will survive until the sun dies. Planet 9 hypothesis alive and well Is there an unknown, massive planet on the fringes of our solar system?  Astronomers find smallest star yet It’s just a sliver larger than Saturn with a gravitational pull some 300 times stronger than what we feel on Earth. A universe of organisms living in your gut Trillions of microorganisms in your digestive system might influence your health, mood, weight. Tonight … Altair and Aquila the Eagle In the east, after dark on July evenings, look for the bright star Altair fairly close to the horizon. Altair is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila.

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Last quarter moon is July 16 The moon reaches last quarter during the day today. On Sunday morning, the line between light and dark on the moon - terminator line - was slightly convex. This photo shows a last quarter moon, with a straight terminator line. It's by Jenney Disimon in Sabah, North Borneo.

Will this be Earth's last survivor? The world’s most indestructible species may be the tardigrade. This water-dwelling animal – max size about 0.2 inches (0.5 cm) – is best seen under a microscope. Image via Eye of Science. Submit your photo to EarthSky here!

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