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Earth’s deepest rocks help define upper limit for viscosity beyond which materials effectively become rigid

Viscosity is one of the most fundamental physical properties used to describe how materials flow. It governs the movement of liquids, molten rocks and even slowly deforming regions deep inside the Earth. While scientists have long studied materials with low or moderate viscosities, a simple but important question has remained largely unexplored: Is there a […]

Older than the sun: Astronomers find new clues to the origin of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

Astronomers have used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) to study the composition of 3I/ATLAS, the brightest interstellar object ever seen, in detail. By measuring specific chemical fingerprints—the first observations of this kind for a comet that formed outside the solar system—they found that 3I/ATLAS likely originated in the outskirts of an […]

Bioinspired strategy creates complex 3D curved structures via programmed shrinkage

The shape of biological structures, ranging from flower petals to the limbs or organs of animals, is often naturally best suited for performing specific functions. Biological structures also often present curved surfaces with specific functional advantages, such as facilitating the drainage of water, increasing a structure’s strength or aerodynamic efficiency, or supporting heavy loads.

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China’s space probe reaches asteroid after 1-billion-kilometer chase for first sample return

China’s Tianwen-2 space probe, which is set to bring back samples from an asteroid for research, has reached its target after traveling 1 billion kilometers (620 million miles) over more than a year, the Chinese space agency said Monday.

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Euclid discovers the most ancient quasars in the universe

The European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope has discovered 31 of the most ancient quasars ever found. Two of these giant and dazzling galaxy cores, powered by gargantuan black holes, are the earliest quasars yet observed in cosmic history. They shone with the light of a trillion suns when the universe was 670 million years […]

An island of calm at the violent heart of the galaxy

Where would you go to watch a star being born? Probably not the heart of the Milky Way, which is about the most violent neighborhood our galaxy has to offer, a maelstrom of gas churning so fast and so chaotically that you would think nothing could ever settle there long enough to collapse into a […]

Deuterium in comets tells interesting tales

Comets have played an interesting role in the history of astronomy. Since antiquity, many cultures saw them as omens or spirits, portending good or bad news for kings, queens and emperors. Over the past few hundred years, however, astronomers have studied them intently to understand the science behind these visitors to the inner solar system. […]

Mars express captures dozens of dust devils in Mars valley

Dust devils are a regular feature on Mars. Just like those found on Earth, these mini whirlwinds form when parts of Mars are warmed by the sun, causing air above the surface to swirl upward and carry dust with it. But in Mars’ lower gravity (38% that of Earth), these devils grow much larger, reaching […]

A nearby black hole as a window into the early universe

An international team led by Stefanie Komossa from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn has studied a galaxy that has been shining exceptionally brightly in the radio regime for more than eight years. Although it is only 1.8 billion light-years away from us, the central black hole in the galaxy exhibits […]

Japan space probe skims asteroid in test for planetary defense

A Japanese space probe performed a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid on Sunday in a test mission for technology that could help protect the planet from space rocks.

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Charges refiled against man accused of causing Wash. officer’s death

Henry Eugene Washington was charged with murder in the shooting that resulted in the death of Officer Jonathan Shoop in July 2020

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Handler allowed to purchase, keep K-9 after leaving Minn. sheriff’s office

Deputy Steve Henriksen resigned from the Swift County Sheriff’s Office, but didn’t want to be separated from Red, a K-9 that had been assigned to him for more than four years

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Controlling magnetic chirality could help memory pack in more data

Magnetic storage devices, like a computer’s hard disk drive, utilize magnets to represent binary data. However, as these devices are downsized, stray magnetic fields generated by individual magnetic components can interact with neighboring elements to cause operational malfunctions, limiting how much data we can densely pack into memory devices.

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Astronomers find biggest super-puff planets yet that are lighter than cotton candy

Astronomers have uncovered a pair of giant planets that are lighter than cotton candy—super-puffs the size of Jupiter.

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Planned 1.7 million satellites ‘devastating’ for astronomy: Study

The 1.7 million satellites that companies are aiming to launch into Earth’s orbit in the coming years will have “devastating consequences for astronomy,” new research warned Wednesday.

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