Paranormal News Network

Hubble captures puzzling galaxy with gas-free center and dusty ring

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a galaxy that’s hard to categorize. The galaxy in question is NGC 2775, which lies 67 million light-years away in the constellation Cancer (the Crab). NGC 2775 sports a smooth, featureless center that is devoid of gas, resembling an elliptical galaxy. It also has a dusty ring with patchy star clusters, like a spiral galaxy. Which is it: spiral or elliptical—or neither?

Uranian moon Ariel’s surface features point to a past ocean over 100 miles deep

Growing evidence suggests that a subsurface ocean lurks beneath the icy surface of Uranus’ moon Ariel, but new research, published in Icarus, characterizes the possible evolution of this ocean, and found that it may have once been over 100 miles (170 kilometers) deep. For perspective, the Pacific Ocean averages 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) deep.

World’s most sensitive detector tightens the net on on elusive dark matter

Determining the nature of dark matter, the invisible substance that makes up most of the mass in our universe, is one of the greatest puzzles in physics. New results from the world’s most sensitive dark matter detector, LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ), have narrowed down the possibilities for one of the leading dark matter candidates: weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs).

Video shows Ind. officer returning fire, wounding suspect who shot him 4 times

Dash camera footage shows an officer attempting to take four vehicle theft suspects into custody; as he worked to get one suspect on the ground, another opened fire

The asteroid belt’s slow disappearing act

The asteroid belt is found orbiting between Mars and Jupiter and is a vast collection of rocks that is thought to be a planet that never formed. When our solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago, the material in this region should have coalesced into a planet; however, Jupiter’s gravitational influence prevented this from happening, stirring up the region so that collisions became destructive rather than constructive. What remains today contains only about 3% of the moon’s mass scattered across millions of kilometers.

New instrument at SOAR achieves first light with observations of remarkable binary star system

The SOAR Telescope, located on Cerro Pachón in Chile, has received a major upgrade with the installation of the SOAR Telescope Echelle Spectrograph (STELES). The long-awaited instrument achieved first light in August with observations of the binary star system Eta Carinae, along with 13 other targets. SOAR is part of U.S. National Science Foundation Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab.

Astronomers determine new origins of double-peaked emission lines in galactic centers

A research team from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has uncovered the origins of double-peaked narrow emission-line characteristics in galactic centers.

Modeling quark star merger ejecta: Study reveals three possible outcomes

A recent Physical Review Letters study presents a new model for quark star merger ejecta that could resolve whether these cosmic collisions generate ordinary matter or something different.

Clues from the deep sea that an exploding star sent debris to the Earth 10 million years ago

Scientists trying to work out whether a star exploded and the resulting debris crashed into Earth 10 million years ago may be one step closer to solving the mystery. They discovered an unusual amount of Beryllium-10 (10Be) at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, which may be explained by a supernova, an exploding star.

‘A real physical thing’: Quantum computer exhibit at O’Hare seeks to make the technology tangible

Chicago has quickly emerged as a hub for quantum computing, with the state of Illinois and technology companies pouring millions of dollars into developing a campus to build the world’s first commercially viable quantum computer on the city’s Southeast Side.

Electrically tunable metasurface unlocks real-time THz holography

The terahertz (THz) band of the electromagnetic spectrum holds immense promise for next-generation technologies, including high-speed wireless communication, advanced encryption, and medical imaging. However, manipulating THz waves has long been a technical challenge, since these frequencies interact weakly with most natural materials.

‘I did that on purpose’: Video shows suspect ramming stopped Ill. patrol car because he ‘hated cops’

The suspect, who admitted to having consumed alcohol and marijuana, was charged with aggravated assault for endangering the Fairview Heights PD officer, among other charges

Scientists discover first evidence of lava tubes on Venus

Venus is often called Earth’s “sister planet” because of their similarities in size, mass, and composition. Both are rocky worlds that formed about the same time in the inner solar system; however, despite these similarities, Venus evolved into a world vastly different from Earth, with surface temperatures around 465°C, crushing atmospheric pressure 90 times greater than Earth’s and thick clouds containing sulfuric acid circling the planet. These dramatic differences between two such similar planets make Venus a fascinating subject for planetary scientists to study.

Space dust is spongier than we thought, say scientists

Cosmic dust—the tiny particles that help form stars, planets and the chemical building blocks of life—might be much spongier and fluffier than long assumed, according to an international group of scientists.

Geomagnetic disturbances caused by sun may influence occurrence of heart attacks, especially among women

An article published in the journal Communications Medicine points to a correlation between disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field resulting from solar storms and an increase in the frequency of heart attacks, especially among women.