Science Surge: From Space Missions to Lynx Recovery

Current science news highlights include the Boeing Starliner's delayed return, a remarkable recovery of the Iberian Lynx, the observed activation of a dormant supermassive black hole, and the discovery of the horned dinosaur Lokiceratops in Montana.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Boeing Starliner's return to Earth pushed to June 26

Boeing Starliner's return to Earth from the International Space Station with its first crew of astronauts has been pushed back to June 26, a NASA official said on Tuesday. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were launched aboard Starliner June 5 and arrived at the ISS following a 24-hour flight in which the spacecraft encountered four helium leaks and five failures of its 28 maneuvering thrusters.

European lynx species rebounds from brink of extinction

A species of lynx found in remote areas of Spain and Portugal has rebounded from near extinction, with its adult population growing more than tenfold since the start of the millennium. Wildlife experts are calling the recovery of the Iberian Lynx unparalleled among felines in an age of extinction in which species are vanishing at a rate not seen in 10 million years due to climate change, pollution and habitat loss.

Scientists witness a dormant supermassive black hole roar to life

At the center of the Milky Way galaxy resides a supermassive black hole four million times the mass of our sun called Sagittarius A* that some scientists have called a gentle giant because of its quiescence. But someday it could become a beast. Researchers said on Tuesday they have observed in real time a dramatic brightening at the heart of another galaxy apparently caused by a supermassive black hole awakening from dormancy and beginning to gorge itself with nearby material. It marks the first time this awakening process has been seen as it happens.

Dinosaur from Montana had horns like Norse god Loki's blades

About 78 million years ago in what was then a subtropical coastal plain - now the badlands of northern Montana - lived a four-legged plant-eating dinosaur built a bit like a rhinoceros with a fabulously ornate set of horns on its head. This newly identified dinosaur, called Lokiceratops rangiformis, was about 22 feet (6.7 meters) long, weighed around 5-1/2 tons and used a powerful beak at the front of its mouth to browse on low-growing vegetation such as ferns and flowering plants, scientists said on Thursday.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)