Category: Science

Astronomers have precisely measured the mass of a rogue planet wandering through the Milky Way using a rare gravitational microlensing event. By combining observations from ground-based telescopes across three continents with data from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft, researchers determined the planet’s distance and found it to be about the mass of Saturn. The discovery pro…

Gravitational waves, first directly detected in 2015, have opened a new way of observing the universe. Now, physicist Ralf Schützhold of HZDR proposes going a step further—actively interacting with these ripples in spacetime using powerful lasers. His theoretical scheme builds on LIGO-style interferometers, where intense laser pulses bounce repeatedly along kilomet…

The elliptical galaxy NGC 4388, situated in the Virgo Cluster approximately 60 million light-years from Earth, features an intriguing long tail of glowing gas, as shown in a recent image uploaded to the Hubble site in late 2025. This galaxy, viewed edge-on from Earth’s perspective, displays a bright spur of ionized gas spilling out from […]

For a brief moment last year, northern Italy’s night sky offered a spectacle rarely seen in a lifetime. From his home in Possagno, nestled in the Alps, photographer Valter Binotto captured an image showing two of Earth’s rarest lightning phenomena occurring at the same time. Elves and sprites are forms of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs), […]

For decades, astronomers have studied galaxy formation, but the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has now revealed a galaxy with a dual personality, earning it the nickname “Jekyll and Hyde.” Known as Virgil, the galaxy shows a mild-mannered side, forming stars quietly, while its hidden core harbours a heavily obscured supermassive black hole that pours […]

The end of 2025 saw bright auroras over northern skies following a strong solar flare. In October 2024, NASA noted that the Sun had entered its solar maximum phase. Experts predicted that the most frequent and intense Northern Lights would likely occur throughout 2026. Even though solar activity has technically begun its gradual decline since […]

New research points to fragments of a comet exploding over North America approximately 13,000 years ago, sparking firestorms and rapid cooling that could have contributed to the extinction of mammoths. Scientists report finding telltale “shocked” quartz grains at classic Clovis sites dating to the Younger Dryas boundary, evidence of intense heat and pressure. Thi…

Space weather scientists are monitoring a coronal mass ejection expected to reach Earth around January 2–3, 2026. NOAA forecasts a G2-level geomagnetic storm, which is considered moderate but can still affect satellites, power grids and radio communications. While the event may bring vivid auroras to high latitudes, it also highlights the Sun’s increasing activity…

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has revealed that a vanished exoplanet near the star Fomalhaut was never a planet at all. Scientists discovered two rare, violent collisions between asteroid-sized bodies, producing glowing debris clouds that briefly mimicked planets. The findings offer a rare glimpse into how planetary systems evolve and how misleading dust can be.

Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have discovered SPT-CL J2215-3537, a massive galaxy cluster located 8.4 billion light-years away. Nicknamed the “Champagne Supernova” cluster, it is the most distant relaxed cluster ever observed, showing no signs of recent collisions. Its calm structure and active star formation challenge existing theories abou…

Skywatchers will be treated to a striking celestial event on January 3, 2026, as the Wolf Moon rises as a supermoon near Earth’s perihelion. Appearing larger and brighter than usual, the full Moon will climb the eastern sky at dusk, accompanied by the brilliant planet Jupiter. This rare alignment—last seen more than a century ago—offers […]

The Large Magellanic Cloud is a nearby dwarf galaxy glowing with star birth. Just 160,000 light-years away, it hosts vast nebulae like the Tarantula and historic events such as Supernova 1987A, offering astronomers a rare, close-up laboratory to study how stars form, evolve, and explode.

Astronomers have found that the young star V1180 Cassiopeiae shows a rare mix of accretion-driven brightening and dust-caused dimming. Based on nearly 25 years of observations, the study explains its long-standing variability and shows how early stellar growth is shaped by tightly linked accretion, extinction, and outflow processes.

Astronomers have identified dozens of runaway stars moving fast enough to escape the Milky Way. By tracking these hypervelocity stars, researchers can map the galaxy’s gravitational pull and better understand how dark matter is distributed across its vast halo, offering new insight into the unseen structure shaping our cosmic home.

Scientists using a quantum-powered haloscope have advanced the search for dark matter axions by probing higher mass ranges than before. The QUAX collaboration’s experiment, based in Italy, uses a microwave cavity and a strong magnetic field to detect faint axion signals. While no axions were found, the results help refine future dark matter searches.

The most sensitive radio search ever conducted on interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has found no signs of alien technology. Using the Green Bank Telescope, scientists scanned key radio bands during its closest approach to Earth. All detected signals were linked to interference, strengthening the view that 3I/ATLAS is a natural object.

Discovered on New Year’s Eve 2020, the Champagne Cluster is a striking pair of colliding galaxy clusters revealed through combined X-ray and optical observations. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory shows superheated gas stretched and distorted, exposing a massive cosmic collision hidden from visible light alone. Studied by UC Davis astronomers, the system offers a r…

NASA’s Curiosity rover has released a festive holiday postcard from Mars, blending a Martian sunrise and sunset into a single panoramic image. Captured on November 18, 2025, the view combines a blue-tinted morning sky with a golden afternoon hue, showcasing Gale Crater in striking detail. Created by stitching images taken hours apart, the artistic panorama […]

The TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, located about 39 light-years from Earth, hosts seven rocky worlds orbiting a cool red dwarf star. While several of these Earth-sized planets lie in the star’s habitable zone, new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope suggest their atmospheres may be too thin to support life. Earlier hints of methane around […]

China made spaceflight history by launching three Long March rockets within just 19 hours, setting a national record. The missions expanded broadband satellite networks and deployed new military and communications spacecraft, highlighting the country’s rapidly growing launch capabilities and ambitious space expansion efforts.

Astronomers have witnessed an extraordinary black hole outburst in the galaxy NGC 3783, where material was blasted into space at nearly 20% the speed of light. Triggered by an intense X-ray flare, the ultra-fast winds reveal how supermassive black holes can violently shape their surroundings and influence the evolution of entire galaxies.

Researchers in South Korea have developed a carbon-titanium composite that significantly enhances the performance of lithium-sulfur batteries. By embedding titanium monoxide nanoparticles into nitrogen-doped porous carbon, the team created a honeycomb electrode that improves conductivity, stabilizes sulfur, and prevents energy-sapping chemical losses. The new design d…

A powerful gamma-ray burst detected in July 2025 has stunned astronomers by lasting nearly seven hours, making it the longest GRB ever recorded. Named GRB 250702B, the event produced repeated pulses and unusual afterglows, raising theories about rare “middleweight” black holes tearing apart stars in deep space.

A massive sunspot complex has appeared on the Sun, covering an area comparable to the legendary Carrington Event region. Known as AR 4294-96, the active cluster features highly tangled magnetic fields that could unleash powerful solar flares and geomagnetic storms, potentially disrupting satellites, power grids, and global communications if Earth-directed eruptions oc…

Engineers at UC Santa Barbara have developed a revolutionary display that allows users to physically feel digital images in real time. The system uses optotactile pixels that expand when struck by light, forming raised bumps that match visual content. This wire-free design relies on heat-activated air pockets, opening new possibilities for interactive screens in smart…

SpaceX has launched 29 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from California, expanding its broadband constellation to more than 9,100 active spacecraft. The reusable Falcon 9 booster completed its 12th mission with a successful ocean landing, highlighting SpaceX’s push toward rapid, low-cost, global internet coverage.

NASA has successfully completed the full assembly of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, marking a major milestone for the next-generation infrared observatory. With its powerful wide-field camera and advanced coronagraph, Roman is expected to transform our understanding of dark energy, galaxy formation, and exoplanets once it launches later this decade.

A University at Buffalo team has redesigned the truncated Wigner approximation into an easy, plug-and-play template that lets scientists run complex quantum simulations on everyday laptops. The method works for open systems, slashes computing demands, and helps free supercomputers for the hardest quantum problems.

A new global map of glacier speeds, built from nearly a decade of satellite observations, shows that glaciers consistently move faster in summer and slower in winter. Meltwater acts as a natural lubricant, accelerating flow during warm months. Scientists warn that glaciers with strong seasonal shifts are likely to speed up long-term, adding to future […]

Engineers have transformed discarded crustacean shells into functional biohybrid robots by softening the shell segments, adding elastomers, and attaching motors. These recycled structures can lift weight, grasp delicate items, and even propel small swimmers. The project demonstrates how food waste can become a sustainable robotics resource, though challenges remain wi…