A new study suggests that people from the Pitted Ware Culture (PWC) in ancient Scandinavia likely built boats from animal skins, possibly seal hides, to fish, hunt, and trade. The PWC was a Neolithic group of hunter-gatherers who lived between 3500 and 2300 BC in regions near the Baltic and North Seas. Their survival heavily depended on the seas, where they relied on maritime activities, particularly seal hunting, as evidenced by the large quantities of seal bones discovered at their inhabited sites.

Seal Hides and Maritime Travel

Mikael Fauvelle, a researcher at Lund University in Sweden told Live Science, seals were not only hunted for food but also played a key role in making watercraft. Seal hides, along with oil extracted from their blubber, may have been used to construct and maintain boats.

Archaeologists have found traces of seal oil inside pottery, showing that these people had significant quantities of it. Boats made from such materials were sturdy enough for long voyages, which was essential given their reliance on sea travel, as per a study published in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology.

Long-Distance Trade and Seafaring Technology

The PWC’s boats had to cover large distances between islands like Gotland and Åland, making seal-hide watercraft ideal for these journeys. Primitive alternatives, such as canoes made from hollowed logs, would not have sufficed for such expansive travels. The boats may have been large enough to transport up to a dozen people and animals, including deer and bears.

Evidence from Rock Art and Fragments

Though physical evidence of these boats remains scarce, small fragments found in northern Sweden and rock art depicting boats offer clues. Some images show vessels with harpoon rests resembling animal heads. These drawings, along with boat frame fragments, suggest that the PWC were advanced in their seafaring techniques.

Recent astronomical discoveries suggest that our solar system could be much larger than previously thought, with the potential existence of a second Kuiper Belt beyond the one we know. Using the powerful Subaru telescope, astronomers have spotted 11 new objects orbiting far beyond the known Kuiper Belt, indicating the presence of a second belt, tentatively named “Kuiper Belt 2.”

What is the Kuiper Belt?

The Kuiper Belt is a distant region of our solar system located beyond Neptune, stretching from about 33 to 55 astronomical units (AU). It contains icy bodies and comets that orbit the sun, and it was the primary target for NASA’s New Horizons mission, which famously explored Pluto in 2015.

Beyond the known Kuiper Belt lies a vast, unexplored region of space, where scientists now believe more mysterious objects may exist.

New Discoveries Beyond the Kuiper Belt

Using Subaru’s Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC), scientists found 239 Kuiper Belt objects since 2020. However, the most significant discovery was 11 objects located between 70 and 90 AU from the sun, suggesting the existence of a second, more distant belt. This new belt could extend as far as 13.5 billion kilometers (8.4 billion miles) from the sun.

Notably, there is a gap between 55 and 70 AU where no objects have been found, further supporting the idea of a distinct second belt.

Implications for Our Understanding of the Solar System

This discovery could reshape our understanding of how the solar system formed. For years, scientists believed that the Kuiper Belt was unusually small compared to similar belts found in other planetary systems. However, the identification of Kuiper Belt 2 suggests that our solar system may be more typical and that its primordial nebula was larger than initially thought.

The discovery of Kuiper Belt 2 is still under investigation, but it hints at the possibility of more dwarf planets and even the long-theorized Planet Nine. As astronomers continue to observe these distant objects, we may uncover even more surprises in the outer reaches of our solar system as a preprint.

Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites are causing significant disruption for astronomers worldwide. Scientists from the Netherlands, particularly the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), have reported that the growing network of Starlink satellites is interfering with radio waves used for vital space research. The satellites, designed to provide high-speed internet in remote areas across the globe, are blocking signals that allow astronomers to observe deep space objects, including black holes, exoplanets, and galaxies millions of light-years away.

Impact on Astronomical Research

According to Professor Jessica Dempsey, Director of ASTRON, the interference from Starlink’s second-generation satellites (V2) is much stronger than the earlier versions. She highlighted that the electromagnetic radiation emitted by these satellites is up to 32 times stronger than what was detected from previous models, making it increasingly difficult for scientists to gather important data.

The satellites, currently orbiting Earth at around 550 kilometres above the surface, are creating substantial noise in the radio spectrum, blinding radio telescopes from capturing faint signals from space. This unintended interference is threatening the ability to explore and study distant cosmic phenomena.

Scientists Urge Action from SpaceX

There are currently over 6,400 Starlink satellites in orbit, with numbers expected to surpass 100,000 by 2030. This rapid growth has raised concerns among astronomers. Cees Bassa, lead author of a study on Starlink’s effects, likened the radiation from the satellites to the brightness of the full Moon, drastically overpowering the faint stars astronomers aim to observe. Robert Massey, Deputy Executive Director of the Royal Astronomical Society in the UK, emphasised the urgency of addressing this issue, calling for SpaceX to take immediate action.

Astronomers suggest that simple steps, such as shielding the satellite batteries or improving the design to reduce radiation emissions, could significantly mitigate the interference. Without such measures, they warn that ground-based astronomy could face severe limitations, making it harder to study the universe.

Professor Dempsey noted that the situation is an existential threat to astronomical research if left unresolved. Scientists believe that as the largest satellite provider, SpaceX could set a precedent for responsible space operations.