Milky Way-like simulation reveals how central galactic structures grow together

Understanding the formation and evolution of the centers of galaxies is one of the most intriguing challenges in astrophysics. The new study aims to unveil the physical processes that led to the formation of two striking features surrounding the black holes at the centers of most galaxies: nuclear star clusters and nuclear stellar disks. Only in the last decade have such galactic structures been observed in the Milky Way and extragalactic systems.

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Two decades of blazar observations, and the mysteries keep piling up

Narrow jets of luminous matter may be emitted toward Earth from the nuclei of active galaxies billions of light-years away. The galaxy then appears as a point source and is called a blazar. A Polish-German team of scientists has, for the first time, analyzed the activity of one such blazar over an extended period and, instead of finding answers, encountered an ever-increasing number of intriguing questions.

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Super-Earths may be solid deep inside their mantles

Deep inside super-Earths—rocky planets with masses between 1 and 10 times that of Earth—high pressure can cause familiar minerals to take forms rarely seen on Earth. Understanding more about the temperature and pressure conditions in which these phases are reached could help researchers learn more about how planets evolve.

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JWST study suggests a handful of ‘leaky’ galaxies reionized the early universe

A new study analyzing the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) spectra of more than 1,400 galaxies suggests a surprisingly small group of “leaky” galaxies was responsible for cosmic reionization. The paper outlining this work was posted to the arXiv preprint server on July 24.

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We might soon have the technology to reach other star systems

The recent confirmation of an atmosphere around a rocky exoplanet called LHS 1140b has created a wave of interest within the astronomy community. The planet orbits within the habitable zone around its parent star—a red dwarf located some 48 light-years from Earth.

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X(2370) emerges as glueball-dominated particle in collider experiments

At the International Conference on High Energy Physics in Brazil, the BESIII Collaboration report that, after 15 years of sustained research, it identified the dominant constituent of the X(2370) as a pseudoscalar glueball with spin-parity quantum numbers of 0⁻⁺.

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Two-qubit entangling gate flags its own errors as detectable photon losses

Quantum errors are a normal part of quantum computing because fragile physical qubits (the tiny components storing data) can easily break down because of environmental noise, like heat, stray signals or microscopic vibrations. Typical fixes involve vast amounts of extra hardware qubits, which make computers larger, more expensive and harder to build.

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BWC: Calif. officer dives for cover in cruiser, fires shots through windshield after suspect opens fire

The Vallejo officer had just gotten out of his cruiser and began verbal instructions before the robbery suspect produced a gun and opened fire

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Sheriff: Las Vegas officer killed by suspect was ambushed as he got out of his cruiser

LVMPD Officer Austin Abdelnabi was a United States Marine Corps veteran and had served with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for over two years

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Rare ultra-magnetic star may be key to solving 90-year old quantum cold case

Astronomers may have just confirmed one of the quirkiest aspects of quantum mechanics: that seemingly empty space can alter the behavior of light. This phenomenon, called “vacuum birefringence,” was first predicted nearly 90 years ago by Werner Heisenberg, one of the founding fathers of quantum mechanics. He suggested that even a perfect vacuum should be teeming with “virtual particles” that rapidly pop in and out of existence.

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La. officer arrested, accused of distributing LE database information to known drug dealer

Joanell Robinson, 41, was arrested on 20 counts of trespass against state computers and 20 counts of malfeasance in the office

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Space kit for future ‘away missions’ tested in Scotland

Researchers from the University of Leicester and the University of Aberdeen have carried out a series of field demonstrations in Portsoy to test cutting-edge handheld analytical instruments. Designed for use by astronauts on the moon and, eventually, Mars, these instruments would support astronauts working as field scientists while exploring these worlds.

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Spacecraft observations may conceal how particles really move through near-Earth space

High-energy particles in Earth’s radiation belt can appear to spread out randomly, even when they are moving in a “predictable” way. This is because spacecraft observations naturally blur the fine-scale structure of the particle population, a new study reveals.

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NASA’s Perseverance captures Phobos and Earth

This composite of seven images from the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover shows Earth, visible as a small bright dot moving from upper left to lower right, passing behind the Martian moon Phobos on July 2, 2026, the 1,907th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

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Liquid nitrogen may have recently flowed across Pluto’s heart-shaped glacier

A new study led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) provides evidence that liquid nitrogen is rising to Pluto’s surface through cracks at the northern edge of Sputnik Planitia, part of the massive heart-shaped glacier on the dwarf planet’s surface. This is the first evidence of liquid flow occurring recently on Pluto. The study is based on data from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft and led by SwRI Associate Vice President Dr. Alan Stern, the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission.

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