Our list of 10 Best Taylor Swift Rock Songs that rock hard celebrates one of the most influential and iconic artists of our generation. The songs on this list showcase Taylor Swift’s versatility as a musician and her ability to connect with fans through her music. With a career spanning since the early 2000s‚ she continuously amazes listeners with her fascinating songwriting‚ mesmerizing storytelling‚ and incredible versatility. She writes about love‚ heartbreak‚ resilience‚ and self-esteem‚ which makes her music relatable to everyone. Her dynamic songwriting allows her to experiment with her musical style while staying true to her roots. From The post 10 Best Taylor Swift Rock Songs appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

The JWST has confirmed the results of lesser telescopes as to how fast the universe is expanding. Instead of settling physics debates‚ this makes things worse‚ because the previous measurements contradict what astronomers think should be happening‚ based on the echoes of the Big Bang. This (probably) doesn’t mean we need to throw out most of what we think we know about cosmology‚ as some popular articles claim‚ but it does leave a significant problem to solve.Astronomers have come up with a number of methods to determine how fast the universe is expanding‚ a measurement with important implications for the age and future of the universe. Initially‚ these came with wide uncertainties‚ and while the core predictions varied‚ the error bars overlapped‚ so there was not too much to worry about. However‚ as our instruments have improved‚ and the number of sources studied increased‚ the discrepancies didn’t go away. This is now known as the “Hubble Tension”‚ a reference to the Hubble Constant‚ the number that defines the relationship between a distant object’s distance and speed.The JWST is able to perform one of the crucial measurements‚ the distance to far-off galaxies‚ with greater precision than any other instrument. Perhaps‚ some astronomers thought‚ it would provide an answer closer to the one obtained in other ways‚ resolving the Hubble Tension. Instead‚ it has backed up the results from other telescopes."Did you ever struggle to see a sign that was at the edge of your vision? What does it say? What does it mean? Even with the most powerful telescopes‚ the 'signs' astronomers want to read appear so small that we struggle too‚” said Professor Adam Riess of Johns Hopkins University in a statement. Riess shared the 2011 Physics Nobel Prize for demonstrating the expansion of the universe is accelerating. "The sign cosmologists want to read is a cosmic speed limit sign that tells us how fast the universe is expanding – a number called the Hubble constant‚” Riess explained. “Our sign is written into the stars in distant galaxies. The brightnesses of certain stars in those galaxies tell us how far away they are and thus for how much time this light has been traveling to reach us‚ and the redshifts of the galaxies tell us how much the universe expanded over that time‚ hence telling us the expansion rate."Riess won his prize for helping perform this measurement using Type Ia supernovas‚ whose intrinsic brightness at their peak is very consistent. However‚ this requires waiting for the right type of supernova to explode. Stars known as Cepheid variables provide an alternative‚ being much more abundant.The brightness of a Cepheid variable is related to the rate at which it expands and contracts‚ once again giving us a measurement that can be used to calculate their distance. Cepheid variables gave us our first inkling of the scale of the universe‚ revealing that distant galaxies lie far beyond the Milky Way.Not being as bright as supernovas‚ however‚ Cepheid variables can’t be seen in the most distant galaxies. Hundreds of millions of light-years away‚ however‚ they can calibrate supernova measurements‚ providing extra precision‚ but only if we can distinguish them from nearby ordinary stars. The JWST operates at wavelengths where this is easier to do than at Hubble’s range‚ and Riess and colleagues utilized this to measure more than 320 Cepheids‚ some in the relatively nearby galaxy NGC 4258 and in NGC 5584‚ which hosted a recent supernova. Their measurements show that a lack of confidence in Hubble’s precision was unwarranted – it was measuring these galaxies extremely well. What the two space telescopes found‚ however‚ is entirely out of step with predictions based on the cosmic microwave background.The Hubble Tension remains unresolved. “The most exciting possibility is that the Tension is a clue about something we are missing in our understanding of the cosmos‚” Riess added. "It may indicate the presence of exotic dark energy‚ exotic dark matter‚ a revision to our understanding of gravity‚ or the presence of a unique particle or field.” As if ordinary dark energy and dark matter were not puzzling enough.Four centuries later‚ Shakespeare remains correct: there are more things in heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in anyone’s philosophy‚ Horatio’s included.The study has been accepted by The Astrophysical Journal‚ and a preprint is available at ArXiv.org.An earlier version of this article was published in September 2023

The fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of King Solomon’s temple‚ one of the Old Testament’s most significant events‚ has been marked by the announcement of archaeological discoveries from the site. Digging on Mount Zion has uncovered ash from the fires that burned much of the city‚ arrows of the invaders‚ and an earring left behind in the panic. The earring is only the second piece of jewelry found from this era in all the digging conducted in and around Jerusalem.A siege of Jerusalem by Babylonian forces‚ ending in 586 or 587 BCE with the sacking of Jerusalem‚ was sufficiently important in Jewish history to be described repeatedly in the Bible. Much of the population of Judah was killed‚ and many others were taken to Babylon as prisoners‚ whose tortures were recorded in gruesome detail. Their exile lasted almost 50 years‚ and the temple’s destruction remains commemorated by the fast of Tisha B’Av‚ one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar.The Bible is not always a reliable historical document‚ but in 2017 layers of ash and smashed pottery were found‚ revealing it got this one largely right‚ even if it did somewhat exaggerate the proportion of the city that was burned.Further examination has now confirmed the layer as coming from the city’s destruction‚ and revealed some of its contents. Located on Mount Zion‚ outside the “old city” walls‚ the ash contains arrowheads of the Scythian-style‚ known to have been used by the Babylonians‚ and pieces of broken pots. It also contains rarer items‚ such as an earing made of a mixture of gold and silver‚ and lamps.Archaeological excavation is a slow process and so far only a small piece of the ancient city has been dug at this layer. Dr Shimon Gibson of the University of North Carolina thinks the site may be one of the "great man’s houses" referred to in the biblical Book of Kings as being burnt when the Babylonian armies stormed the city. It’s location‚ overlooking the Temple and with other superb views‚ would have made it prime real estate at the time.Ash layers can signal a dumping ground for the leftovers of hearth fires‚ but Gibson argues this doesn’t fit with the other findings. “Nobody abandons golden jewelry and nobody has arrowheads in their domestic refuse‚" he said in a statement timed for release on Tisha B’Av."It's the kind of jumble that you would expect to find in a ruined household following a raid or battle‚" Gibson added. "Household objects‚ lamps‚ broken bits from pottery which had been overturned and shattered… Frankly‚ jewelry is a rare find at conflict sites‚ because this is exactly the sort of thing that attackers will loot and later melt down."So many periods of history have laid down markers on top of each other in Jerusalem that excavations of many different eras are occurring side by side. This summer has also revealed basements from the time of King Herod and part of the defenses used to forestall Crusaders in 1099. An earlier version of this article was published in August 2019.

Around 600‚000 years ago‚ humanity split in two. One group stayed in Africa‚ evolving into us. The other struck out overland‚ into Asia‚ then Europe‚ becoming Homo neanderthalensis – the Neanderthals. They weren’t our ancestors‚ but a sister species‚ evolving in parallel.Neanderthals fascinate us because of what they tell us about ourselves – who we were‚ and who we might have become. It’s tempting to see them in idyllic terms‚ living peacefully with nature and each other‚ like Adam and Eve in the Garden. If so‚ maybe humanity’s ills – especially our territoriality‚ violence‚ wars – aren’t innate‚ but modern inventions.Biology and paleontology paint a darker picture. Far from peaceful‚ Neanderthals were likely skilled fighters and dangerous warriors‚ rivalled only by modern humans.Top predatorsPredatory land mammals are territorial‚ especially pack-hunters. Like lions‚ wolves and Homo sapiens‚ Neanderthals were cooperative big-game hunters. These predators‚ sitting atop the food chain‚ have few predators of their own‚ so overpopulation drives conflict over hunting grounds. Neanderthals faced the same problem; if other species didn’t control their numbers‚ conflict would have.Lion prides expand their populations- until the conflict with other prides. Hennie Briedendhann/ShutterstockThis territoriality has deep roots in humans. Territorial conflicts are also intense in our closest relatives‚ chimpanzees. Male chimps routinely gang up to attack and kill males from rival bands‚ a behaviour strikingly like human warfare. This implies that cooperative aggression evolved in the common ancestor of chimps and ourselves‚ 7 million years ago. If so‚ Neanderthals will have inherited these same tendencies towards cooperative aggression.All too humanWarfare is an intrinsic part of being human. War isn’t a modern invention‚ but an ancient‚ fundamental part of our humanity. Historically‚ all peoples warred. Our oldest writings are filled with war stories. Archaeology reveals ancient fortresses and battles‚ and sites of prehistoric massacres going back millennia.To war is human – and Neanderthals were very like us. We’re remarkably similar in our skull and skeletal anatomy‚ and share 99.7% of our DNA. Behaviourally‚ Neanderthals were astonishingly like us. They made fire‚ buried their dead‚ fashioned jewellery from seashells and animal teeth‚ made artwork and stone shrines. If Neanderthals shared so many of our creative instincts‚ they probably shared many of our destructive instincts‚ too.Violent livesThe archaeological record confirms Neanderthal lives were anything but peaceful.Neanderthalensis were skilled big game hunters‚ using spears to take down deer‚ ibex‚ elk‚ bison‚ even rhinos and mammoths. It defies belief to think they would have hesitated to use these weapons if their families and lands were threatened. Archaeology suggests such conflicts were commonplace.Prehistoric warfare leaves telltale signs. A club to the head is an efficient way to kill – clubs are fast‚ powerful‚ precise weapons – so prehistoric Homo sapiens frequently show trauma to the skull. So too do Neanderthals.Another sign of warfare is the parry fracture‚ a break to the lower arm caused by warding off blows. Neanderthals also show a lot of broken arms. At least one Neanderthal‚ from Shanidar Cave in Iraq‚ was impaled by a spear to the chest. Trauma was especially common in young Neanderthal males‚ as were deaths. Some injuries could have been sustained in hunting‚ but the patterns match those predicted for a people engaged in intertribal warfare- small-scale but intense‚ prolonged conflict‚ wars dominated by guerrilla-style raids and ambushes‚ with rarer battles.The Neanderthal resistanceWar leaves a subtler mark in the form of territorial boundaries. The best evidence that Neanderthals not only fought but excelled at war‚ is that they met us and weren’t immediately overrun. Instead‚ for around 100‚000 years‚ Neanderthals resisted modern human expansion.Why else would we take so long to leave Africa? Not because the environment was hostile but because Neanderthals were already thriving in Europe and Asia.It’s exceedingly unlikely that modern humans met the Neanderthals and decided to just live and let live. If nothing else‚ population growth inevitably forces humans to acquire more land‚ to ensure sufficient territory to hunt and forage food for their children. But an aggressive military strategy is also good evolutionary strategy.Instead‚ for thousands of years‚ we must have tested their fighters‚ and for thousands of years‚ we kept losing. In weapons‚ tactics‚ strategy‚ we were fairly evenly matched.Neanderthals probably had tactical and strategic advantages. They’d occupied the Middle East for millennia‚ doubtless gaining intimate knowledge of the terrain‚ the seasons‚ how to live off the native plants and animals. In battle‚ their massive‚ muscular builds must have made them devastating fighters in close-quarters combat. Their huge eyes likely gave Neanderthals superior low-light vision‚ letting them manoeuvre in the dark for ambushes and dawn raids.Sapiens victoriousFinally‚ the stalemate broke‚ and the tide shifted. We don’t know why. It’s possible the invention of superior ranged weapons – bows‚ spear-throwers‚ throwing clubs – let lightly-built Homo sapiens harass the stocky Neanderthals from a distance using hit-and-run tactics. Or perhaps better hunting and gathering techniques let sapiens feed bigger tribes‚ creating numerical superiority in battle.Even after primitive Homo sapiens broke out of Africa 200‚000 years ago‚ it took over 150‚000 years to conquer Neanderthal lands. In Israel and Greece‚ archaic Homo sapiens took ground only to fall back against Neanderthal counteroffensives‚ before a final offensive by modern Homo sapiens‚ starting 125‚000 years ago‚ eliminated them.This wasn’t a blitzkrieg‚ as one would expect if Neanderthals were either pacifists or inferior warriors‚ but a long war of attrition. Ultimately‚ we won. But this wasn’t because they were less inclined to fight. In the end‚ we likely just became better at war than they were.Nicholas R. Longrich‚ Senior Lecturer in Evolutionary Biology and Paleontology‚ University of BathThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

This article first appeared in Issue 17 of our free digital magazine CURIOUS.They say no two snowflakes are alike‚ but‚ when you think about it‚ how could anyone possibly know that? The truth is that you can’t‚ for reasons we’ll dive into later‚ but what we can know is that your chances of getting two identical snowflakes out in the wild are pretty much zero. Why? Because the process through which they form is so environmentally specific.Snowflakes can be any old fleck that falls from a winter cloud‚ but when we talk about the individual structure that gets slapped all over festive decorations‚ we’re talking about snow crystals. These delicate crystals form in specific patterns depending on the temperature and are the result of water freezing from a gas (vapor) straight to a solid (ice) without first becoming liquid. When a waterdrop freezes‚ that makes what we call sleet.The biggest snow crystals can take as long as 45 minutes to form‚ providing a big window for environmental conditions to change and shape their development. As it turns out‚ that classic Christmas “stellar” snowflake is just one of many forms these crystals can take‚ and within the minutiae exists near limitless variety.The shape of snowflakesA snowflake develops in stages‚ gradually increasing in diameter as it sprouts new branches‚ and the six-fold symmetry we see in snow crystals is due to the way water molecules are arranged within the lattice. The starting point is a three-dimensional hexagon‚ but this can be a long column or a flat plate. They typically develop slowly and symmetrically‚ but while maintaining a small size.The process of snowflake formation.Image credit: © IFLScienceHowever‚ six-sided isn’t the only shape on the cards.“Most snowflakes are hexagonal‚ but sometimes they're more triangular in shape‚ and on rare occasions‚ they're almost perfect equilateral triangles‚” Professor of Physics at Caltech Dr Kenneth Libbrecht told IFLScience. “They were first documented about 150 years ago and I've seen them outside many times. Why are they triangular? Part of the puzzle was that when you saw one‚ you were likely to see another‚ so they do cluster‚ and nobody had an explanation for that.”Fortunately‚ Libbrecht was able to come up with one. Over two decades‚ he has been chipping away at the many mysteries surrounding the science behind snow crystals. A leading achievement was the establishment of a model that could explain why different temperatures give rise to different crystal shapes‚ something that was a mystery when he first set out.“That was a puzzle it just seemed like somebody should solve. That’s an embarrassment to the scientific community that we don’t know how that works. I mean‚ this stuff falls out of the sky‚” he continued.Subscribe to our newsletter and get every issue of CURIOUS delivered to your inbox free each month.Triangular snowflakes cluster because they require a very narrow window of environmental conditions to occur‚ namely being at -14°C (7°F) with the right humidity‚ creating just the right amount of instability to give rise to an alternative crystal shape. Libbrecht’s model pointed him towards these parameters‚ and when he tried them out in the lab – hey presto‚ triangular snowflakes.That model hinged on the fact that the surface structure of ice depends on temperature‚ and it can undergo surface pre-melting where the top layer melts‚ changing the mobility of the molecules found here. While all falling snow crystals will experience surface pre-melting‚ they won’t go through it at the same time‚ as the microchanges in humidity and temperature they experience on the way down won’t be identical‚ as they don’t fall in an identical path at the same time.A lot of variation‚ then. So‚ is it time for the big question?Are no two snowflakes alike?“I like to say it’s a bit of a Zen koan‚” said Libbrecht – referring to the “paradoxical questions” Buddhist monks must address on their path to enlightenment. “Whether no two snowflakes are alike‚ it depends on exactly what you mean by alike. And what do you mean by a snowflake? In the lab‚ we make tiny‚ tiny little snowflakes the diameter of a human hair‚ and most of them are just simple hexagons‚ and they all look alike.”“Those tiny crystals are outside too‚ and if you see them‚ they’ll look alike‚ but they’re awfully small. If you look at these big stellar crystals‚ then no‚ they’re very complex. And the complexity comes from the conditions during which they grow[…] You can estimate how many different ways there are to make a snowflake‚ and it’s just an astronomically large number.”"The complexity comes from the conditions during which they grow."Image credit: Alexey Kljatov/Shutterstock.comLibbrecht compares it to shuffling a deck of cards and calculating the chance you’d make the exact same 52-draw again. We can’t say for certain that it would never happen‚ but the chances are so incredibly slim as to almost be impossible.The same is true of finding two wild “identical” snowflakes – which as Libbrecht points out in a moment‚ is probably the wrong word for it anyway. Besides the ridiculous odds of two crystals developing in the same way‚ your chances of catching them both outside? Now that’s definitely zero.Can two snowflakes ever be the same?It’s staggeringly unlikely that two snowflakes in the wild will fall in the exact same way‚ encountering the exact same conditions at the exact same time to wind up with the exact same structure. But what about in the lab? Well‚ Libbrecht did just that when he made what he calls “identical twins”.“I call them identical twin snowflakes because identical is a bit of a loaded word‚” he said. “Some people will interpret that as being identical down to the last molecule‚ and that’s never true. So‚ I like to say they’re a little like identical twin people: they are not exactly precisely alike‚ but they look far more alike than you would think.“The way it’s done is I just drop a crystal onto a piece of glass and then blow warm air down on top of it and then I can change the growth conditions just by changing the temperature and the humidity[…] Because they’re fixed‚ that’s a little like having two crystals follow the exact same path through the atmosphere.”“I can make them change and they will both change in the same way at the same time. It tells you that the growth is what we would call deterministic. It’s not extremely random. It’s mostly determined by the external conditions and if you can provide the same external conditions‚ then you will get very‚ very similar-looking snow crystals.”And if you ever found that out in the wild? Well‚ it’d be a Christmas miracle.How to ID snowflakesJust like birdwatching‚ snow crystal enthusiasts observe snowflakes to see what crystalline structures they can ID. Want to try it? Here are some of Libbrecht’s top tips:Wear something warm with a dark sleeve – you need a backdrop for your snow crystal to land on.Take a magnifier – 5X should do it and cost less than $5.Know your snowflakes – just like how you need to know the species to see the birds‚ you’ve got to know your snow crystal before you can spot them in the wild. Libbrecht wrote what he calls a “field guide to snowflakes”‚ or you can find photographs and videos of different kinds on his website.Then‚ all you need is some cold weather and a bit of patience.CURIOUS magazine is a digital magazine from IFLScience featuring interviews‚ experts‚ deep dives‚ fun facts‚ news‚ book excerpts‚ and much more. Issue 17 is out now.

If the idea of time traveling to the oceans of the Cretaceous has ever sounded like an appealing idea to you‚ you might be about to change your mind. Researchers have described a brand-new‚ 72-million-year-old species of mosasaur‚ that’s thought to have terrorized the ancient Pacific Ocean.The study describing the mosasaur came as a result of co-author Akihiro Misaki uncovering a near-complete fossil specimen of the species – named Megapterygius wakayamaensis – whilst hunting for ammonites in Japan’s Wakayama Prefecture. In fact‚ it’s thought to be the most complete mosasaur skeleton ever found in Japan or the northwestern Pacific.It took researchers five years to remove the sandstone surrounding the fossil‚ and they also had to make a cast whilst it was still in situ‚ in order to provide an accurate record of how all the bones were positioned in the skeleton.The result of that painstaking work‚ however‚ was the discovery of a species unique among mosasaurs‚ with rear flippers longer than its front ones and a rudder-like tail. “We lack any modern analog that has this kind of body morphology — from fish to penguins to sea turtles‚” said co-author Takuya Konishi in a statement. “None has four large flippers they use in conjunction with a tail fin.”The authors have theorized that the large front fins may have helped the mosasaur with rapid maneuvering‚ the rear fins with pitch to dive or surface‚ and the tail for acceleration. “It’s a question just how all five of these hydrodynamic surfaces were used. Which were for steering? Which for propulsion?” Konishi explained. “It opens a whole can of worms that challenges our understanding of how mosasaurs swim.”Either way‚ these features‚ combined with nearly binocular vision‚ likely would’ve made M. wakayamaensis a lethal hunter; mosasaurs are well known to have been apex predators. And like modern apex predators‚ great white sharks‚ the Wakayama mosasaur may also have had a dorsal fin.The researchers reached this conclusion based on the positioning of neural spines along the mosasaur’s vertebrae‚ in a fashion similar to that of some modern-day sea creatures. “It’s still hypothetical and speculative to some extent‚ but that distinct change in neural spine orientation behind a presumed center of gravity is consistent with today’s toothed whales that have dorsal fins‚ like dolphins and porpoises‚” said Konishi.Although M. wakayamaensis has its official scientific name‚ the researchers call it the Wakayama Soryu‚ meaning blue dragon. “In China‚ dragons make thunder and live in the sky. They became aquatic in Japanese mythology‚” Konishi explained.The Wakayama Soryu isn’t the only sea dragon to have been discovered as of late – check out Jörmungandr and its very angry eyebrows‚ and the super-sized‚ fork-tongued mosasaur found in Mexico.The study is published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

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