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Dual spacecraft capture both hemispheres of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS at once

The Southwest Research Institute-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) instruments aboard ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft and NASA’s Europa Clipper made unique observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in late 2025. SwRI leads the UVS instruments on both spacecraft, simultaneously imaging both hemispheres of the comet and detecting the comet’s ultraviolet emissions.

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Recreating dying stars reveals hydrogen’s key role in cosmic dust formation

Silicon carbide (SiC) dust is one of the most important ingredients in cosmic dust, the tiny particles floating throughout the cosmos that eventually give rise to new planets and stars. This compound of silicon and carbon is forged in the atmospheres of dying stars, especially carbon-rich ones, but exactly how has long remained a mystery. […]

Quantum geometry provides theoretical limits on measurable properties of solids

Two RIKEN physicists have established new theoretical limits for experimentally measurable quantities by viewing solids through a lens of quantum geometry. Their results shed light both on the physics of solids and on quantum mechanics.

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NASA bets big on nuclear engines to cut journey times to Mars

Nasa is developing ways to use nuclear power to send spacecraft to their destinations. Nuclear propulsion could greatly reduce the journey time to Mars, perhaps cutting a voyage of more than six months to three or four months.

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Tiny forces, big effects: How particle interactions control the flow of soft materials

Sitting in a restaurant, you reach for the ketchup bottle, eyeing the basket of fries in front of you. You give the bottle a shake, then a tap. For a moment, nothing happens—the ketchup clings stubbornly to the glass. Then, all at once, it lets go and rushes out, sometimes in a steady stream, sometimes […]

Twisted liquid-crystal structures unlock on-demand skyrmions at room temperature

Researchers have recently found a new way to summon useful structures in magnetic materials using light, heat, and electric fields. This new method, described in a new study published in Physical Review Letters, may lead to more energy-efficient and flexible technologies for data storage and optical devices.

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BWC: Suspect flees after shooting Tenn. officer in the face during traffic stop

After Memphis Police Officer Torres-Molina searched the man and removed a firearm, he attempted to detain the suspect in a cruiser; the suspect then pulled out a second handgun and shot the officer

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Were Martian tides strong enough to shape its ancient landscape?

You’re an anaerobic microbe sunbathing on a Martian beach billions of years ago listening to the small waves hit the shoreline as you take in the perchlorates in the Martian regolith. This is because while Mars is warm and wet, it still lacks sufficient oxygen, so anaerobic life like yourself doesn’t need oxygen to survive. […]

Mostly empty foam overturns assumptions of electron beam stopping

When physicists fire beams of fast electrons at materials, they often need to know exactly how much energy those electrons will lose as they travel through. Through new research published in Physical Review Letters, a team led by Ke Jiang at Shenzhen Technology University in China has found that porous, mostly empty foam materials can […]

Torpedo bats may shift baseball’s sweet spot, acoustic analysis shows

In the spring of 2025, baseball fans were treated to a surprise when the New York Yankees began the season with a unique style of bat. Termed “torpedo bats,” these new designs tapered slightly toward the end, so the widest points of the bats were closer to the “sweet spot”—the optimal place to hit to […]

Barbell ‘whip’ may shape Olympic lifts more than lifters realize

In Olympic weightlifting, a single kilogram plate can be the difference between gold and silver. As much as possible, elite athletes must use everything they can to their advantage.

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3D atomic rearrangement creates 40,000 quantum defects in 40 minutes

It’s been 37 years since scientists first demonstrated the ability to move single atoms, suggesting the possibility of designing materials atom by atom to customize their properties. Today there are several techniques that allow researchers to move individual atoms in order to give materials exotic quantum properties and improve our understanding of quantum behavior.

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Maine game warden piloting plane dies in crash

Joshua Tibbetts had worked for the Maine Wardens Service since 2008; he was part of the Incident Management Team, search planning and unmanned aerial vehicle programs

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Stardust trapped in Antarctic ice reveals tens of thousands of years of solar system’s past

When you think of outer space, you’re likely picturing stars, planets and moons. But much of space is filled with clouds of gas, plasma and stardust—known as interstellar clouds.

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Atomic bands in two transition metal dichalcogenides hint at long-theorized quantum state

Insulators are materials in which electrons cannot move freely. Past theoretical studies predicted the existence of an unusual insulating state dubbed obstructed atomic insulator (OAI), in which electrons are localized inside a crystal, while their centers of charge lie in empty spaces between atoms, rather than on the atoms themselves.

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