Science News Roundup: A million solar eclipse enthusiasts expected at Niagara Falls; Secret planting operation boosts critically endangered Welsh shrub and more

By the 1960s, overcollection by 19th-century enthusiasts and grazing by sheep, goats and rabbits had reduced the number in the wild to just six. Twisted magnetic field observed around Milky Way's central black hole Astronomers on Wednesday announced that they have detected a strong and organized magnetic field twisted in a spiral pattern around the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, revealing previously unknown qualities of the immensely powerful object lurking at the center of our galaxy.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Scientists chronicle the earliest stages of a supernova

About 20 million years ago, in a galaxy not so far away, a large star exploded and sent elements representing the building blocks of life racing through space. About a year ago, by chance, as the light it emitted reached Earth, a team of scientists in Israel observed it and for the first time collected data on the earliest stages from such an explosion, known as a supernova.

A million solar eclipse enthusiasts expected at Niagara Falls

From vintage train rides costing almost $4,000 per person to hotel rooms listed at $1,600 a night, businesses in and around majestic Niagara Falls are preparing to cash in on the April 8 total solar eclipse - with around a million visitors expected. The dramatic waterfall, situated along the Canadian-U.S. border, is in the path of the eclipse, and many people are splurging on hotels and rentals in advance to experience the phenomenon at one of North America's natural wonders. Demand has pushed up prices of hotels as people making last-minute plans book the last of the available accommodations.

Secret planting operation boosts critically endangered Welsh shrub

At a secret location in the Welsh countryside, naturalists have planted 30 young specimens of a once-common plant that has been collected - and nibbled - almost to extinction. Cotoneaster Cambricus, Welsh Cotoneaster, only grows on wild and windy cliffs in North Wales. By the 1960s, overcollection by 19th-century enthusiasts and grazing by sheep, goats and rabbits had reduced the number in the wild to just six.

Twisted magnetic field observed around Milky Way's central black hole

Astronomers on Wednesday announced that they have detected a strong and organized magnetic field twisted in a spiral pattern around the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, revealing previously unknown qualities of the immensely powerful object lurking at the center of our galaxy. The structure of the magnetic field emanating from the edge of the black hole called Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*, closely resembles one surrounding the only other black hole ever imaged, a larger one residing at the center of a nearby galaxy called Messier 87, or M87, the researchers said. This indicates that strong magnetic fields may be a feature common to black holes, they added.

(With inputs from agencies.)