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Astronomers discover end-dominated collapse and hub-filament system in G53 star-forming region

Meng Dezhao, a Ph.D. student from the Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with his collaborators, has conducted a systematic study of the filamentary structure within the G53 molecular cloud. By combining multi-wavelength observations and simulations, they revealed for the first time that the filament is undergoing an “end-dominated collapse” (EDC), […]

The cosmic microwave background is a wall of light—here’s how we might see beyond it

So much happened in the earliest moments of the universe. Elementary particles appeared, the first nuclei of hydrogen and helium, and fluctuations of energy and matter set into motion the formation of galaxies and supermassive black holes. But all of it is invisible to us.

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Spectral biosignatures of airborne microbes in planetary atmospheres

Could scientists find life in the clouds of exoplanet atmospheres? This is what a manuscripton the arXiv preprint server hopes to address as a team of researchers investigate how the biosignatures of microbes could be identified in exoplanet atmospheres and clouds.

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JWST observations discover large debris disk around nearby M dwarf

An international team of astronomers have employed the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe a nearby M-dwarf star known as TWA 20. As a result, they detected a large debris disk around this star. The finding was reported in a paper published October 23 on the arXiv pre-print server.

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A meteorite slammed into Western Australia billions of years ago. Or did it?

In the beginning, Earth was a violent place with no atmosphere to soften the blow.

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Engineers test photonic AI chips in space

In a new milestone for space-enabled semiconductor research, the University of Florida, in collaboration with NASA, MIT, Vanguard Automation, AIM Photonics and Germany’s Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, launched a suite of photonic AI chips to the International Space Station aboard JAXA’s HTV-XI spacecraft this weekend.

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Now in 3D, maps begin to bring exoplanets into focus

Astronomers have generated the first three-dimensional map of a planet orbiting another star, revealing an atmosphere with distinct temperature zones—one so scorching that it breaks down water vapor, a team co-led by a Cornell expert reports in new research.

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China’s Zhuque-3 reusable rocket passes key milestone

The Chinese company LandSpace continues to develop the Zhuque-3 (ZQ-3), a two-stage reusable launch vehicle inspired by SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy. They achieved their first milestone in January 2024 with a vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) using their VTVL-1 test vehicle at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in northern China. By September, […]

XRISM catches a pulsar’s cosmic wind—and sees a surprising result

The universe is a strange place. The X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) orbiting observatory recently highlighted this fact, when it was turned on a pulsar to document its powerful cosmic winds.

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Mysterious transient objects in sky linked to nuclear testing and unidentified anomalous phenomena

A new study analyzing historical photographs taken by the Palomar Observatory between 1949 and 1957 has detected several mysterious bright spots in the sky. These transient objects, captured on film before the first satellites were ever launched, appear to have occurred on dates that strongly correlated with nuclear weapons tests.

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As global warming worsens, so may space communications

Researchers at Kyushu University have found that rising CO2 levels in our atmosphere could lead to future disruptions in shortwave radio communications, including systems used for air traffic control, maritime communication, and radio broadcasting.

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Tiny galaxy, big find: Black hole discovered in nearby Segue 1

Small and unassuming, Segue 1 is a nearby dwarf galaxy containing only a handful of stars—too few to provide the gravity needed to keep itself from scattering into space. Like other dwarf galaxies, it was long believed that gravity from a mysterious substance called dark matter was the main binding force.

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Dwarf galaxies tip the scales in favor of dark matter over modified gravity

An international team of researchers led by the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) has shed light on a decades-long debate about why galaxies spin faster than expected—and whether this behavior is caused by invisible dark matter or by a collapse of gravity on cosmic scales.

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SpaceX launches Space Coast’s 89th mission of the year

The Space Coast hosted its 89th orbital launch of the year with another SpaceX Starlink mission on Sunday morning (Oct. 26).

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The Tycho supernova’s hidden secret

In November 1572, a brilliant new star appeared in the constellation Cassiopeia, shining so brightly that it was visible during the day. Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe carefully documented this celestial phenomenon, and the supernova remnant that bears his name has been studied intensively ever since. Now, a new analysis of recent observations suggests that Tycho’s […]