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Cosmic accident solves Jupiter–Saturn silicon puzzle

Why has silicon, one of the most common elements in the universe, gone largely undetected in the atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, and gas planets like them orbiting other stars? A new study using observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope sheds light on this question by focusing on a peculiar object that astronomers discovered by chance in 2020 and called “The Accident.”

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Quantum calculations provide a sharper image of subatomic stress

Stress is a very real factor in the structure of our universe. Not the kind of stress that students experience when taking a test, but rather the physical stresses that affect everyday objects. Consider the stress that heavy vehicles exert on a bridge as they cross over it—it’s essential that engineers understand and consider this factor when designing new trestles. Or consider the stresses that a star experiences—this internal factor influences everything from its shine to its lifetime.

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Watch: Bystanders rescue Texas deputy dangling from overpass after semi hits cruiser

Two Lubbock County Sheriff’s deputies were helping a disabled motorist when a semi hit their unoccupied cruiser and left one of them dangling from the overpass

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‘Get-out-of-jail free card’: Colo. competency law forces release of man charged with attempted murder

The Weld County Sheriff’s Office released video showing the suspect, whose charges have been dismissed because of the state’s mental health law, beating an unconscious victim

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Comet or alien spaceship? Astrophysicist explains what we know about interstellar traveler 3I/Atlas

The eyes of every astronomer widened this year when an interstellar traveler was discovered in our solar system.

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AI drives discovery of new exoplanets in distant systems

Over the course of more than two decades, researchers at the University of Bern have developed the so-called “Bern model,” a suite of computer programs that can numerically simulate the formation of planetary systems, thus shedding light on system architecture. These models are, however, very complex: each simulation from the Bern model can take a few days to a few weeks to be computed using modern supercomputers.

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New AI tool predicts vision loss risk in astronauts—before launch

Since the dawn of human spaceflight, scientists have carefully studied the effects of space and microgravity on astronauts. After decades of observations and examinations, one truth is certain: space is brutal on the human body. Muscles atrophy, bones lose mass, limbs stretch and—more unknown—eyesight can degrade in ways not yet fully understood.

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Perseverance meets the megabreccia

Last week, the Perseverance rover began an exciting new journey. Driving northwest of the Soroya ridge, Perseverance entered an area filled with a diverse range of boulders that the science team believes could hold clues to Mars’s early history.

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System guides light through a tiny crystal, undeterred by bumps, bends and back-reflections

Relaying a message from point A to B can be as simple as flashing a thumbs-up at a stranger in an intersection, signaling them to proceed—nonverbal, clear, and universally understood. But light-based communication is rarely that straightforward.

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Tiny metamaterial lenses could transform imaging for smartphones, drones and satellites

A new approach to manufacturing multicolor lenses could inspire a new generation of tiny, cheap, and powerful optics for portable devices such as phones and drones.

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Video: Fleeing driver swerves toward Tenn. officer deploying spike strips

The driver narrowly missed the Trousdale County deputy as they accelerated and turned to drive toward him

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BWC: Fla. sheriff personally performs PIT maneuver to end pursuit

“When they show all the video from the dash cam … it’ll put a compelling picture together for a judge that, hey, this guy doesn’t need to be out on the road,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said

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Using pulsar accelerations to detect a dark matter sub-halo in the Milky Way for the first time

Dr. Sukanya Chakrabarti, the Pei-Ling Chan Endowed Chair in the College of Science at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), and her team have posted a new paper to the arXiv preprint server that for the first time uses binary and solitary pulsars to constrain properties of a dark matter sub-halo in our own galaxy.

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Sunset SpaceX launch could make for unique show if weather allows

A SpaceX launch on the Space Coast just after sunset Monday could mean the return of the unique jellyfish effect over Florida’s skies.

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Supermassive black holes shrouded by dust in the early universe

Astronomers have discovered “dust-shrouded supermassive black holes” in the early universe, less than 1 billion years after the Big Bang—a type of object that had previously escaped detection.

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