Physics & Astronomy

“We have demonstrated that by using optical vortex beams—light beams that carry angular momentum—we can precisely control how an electron is ejected from an atom”Ravi Bhardwaj— Full Professor at uOttawa’s Department of Physics. Image Credit: University of Ottawa
Physics & Astronomy

uOttawa Scientists Use Light to Reveal Atomic Secrets

A team of researchers from the University of Ottawa has made significant strides in understanding the ionization of atoms and molecules, a fundamental process in physics that has implications for various fields including x-ray generation and plasma physics. Think about atoms – the building blocks of everything around us. Sometimes, they lose their electrons and become charged particles (that’s ionization). It happens in lightning, in plasma TVs, and even in the northern lights. Until now, scientists thought they could only…

From within the Mare Crisium impact basin, the SwRI-led Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) is making the first geophysical measurements representative of the bulk of the Moon. Most of the Apollo missions landed in the region of linked maria to the west (left image), whose crust was later shown to be compositionally distinct (right image) as exemplified by the concentration of the element thorium. Mare Crisium provides a smooth landing site on the near side of the Moon outside of this anomalous region. Image Credit: NASA
Physics & Astronomy

SwRI Deploys Innovative Sounder Instrument on Lunar Surface

Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder to characterize Moon’s mantle Just hours after touching down on the surface of the Moon on March 2 aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lander, the Southwest Research Institute-led Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) was activated and deployed its five sensors to study the Moon’s interior by measuring electric and magnetic fields. The LMS instrument is the first extraterrestrial application of magnetotellurics. “For more than 50 years, scientists have used magnetotellurics on Earth for a wide variety of…

Artist's illustration of a potential Hycean world, where methyl halide gases would be detectable in the atmosphere. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted/STScI
Physics & Astronomy

Signs of Alien Life: Discover Hidden Gases in Space

Advancing the search for weird life on weird planets Scientists have identified a promising new way to detect life on faraway planets, hinging on worlds that look nothing like Earth and gases rarely considered in the search for extraterrestrials. In a new Astrophysical Journal Letters paper, researchers from the University of California, Riverside, describe these gases, which could be detected in the atmospheres of exoplanets — planets outside our solar system — with the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST….

For a century, astronomers have been studyingBarnard’s Starin the hope of finding planets around it. First discovered by E. E. Barnard atYerkes Observatoryin 1916, it is the nearest single star system to Earth. Now, using in part theGemini North telescope, one half of theInternational Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab, astronomers have discovered four sub-Earth exoplanets orbiting the star. One of the planets is the least massive exoplanet ever discovered using the radial velocity technique, indicating a new benchmark for discovering smaller planets around nearby stars. Image Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Marenfeld
Physics & Astronomy

New Planetary System Discovered Around Nearest Star

Gemini North’s MAROON-X instrument finds evidence for four mini-Earth exoplanets around our famous cosmic neighbor Barnard’s Star For a century, astronomers have been studying Barnard’s Star in the hope of finding planets around it. First discovered by E. E. Barnard at Yerkes Observatory in 1916, it is the nearest single star system to Earth [1]. Barnard’s Star is classified as a red dwarf — low-mass stars that often host closely-packed planetary systems, often with multiple rocky planets. Red dwarfs are extremely numerous in the Universe, so scientists…

This infrared image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was taken by the onboard Near-Infrared Camera for the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey, or JADES, program. The NIRCam data was used to determine which galaxies to study further with spectroscopic observations. One such galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0 (shown in the pullout), was determined to be at a redshift of 14.3, making it the current record-holder for most distant known galaxy. This corresponds to a time less than 300 million years after the big bang. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Brant Robertson (UC Santa Cruz), Ben Johnson (CfA), Sandro Tacchella (Cambridge), Marcia Rieke (University of Arizona), Daniel Eisenstein (CfA), Phill Cargile (CfA)
Physics & Astronomy

James Webb Telescope Uncovers Complex Chemistry in Primordial Galaxy

University of Arizona astronomers have learned more about a surprisingly mature galaxy that existed when the universe was just less than 300 million years old – just 2% of its current age. Observed by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the galaxy – designated JADES-GS-z14-0 – is unexpectedly bright and chemically complex for an object from this primordial era, the researchers said. This provides a rare glimpse into the universe’s earliest chapter. The findings, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, build…

simulation of the molecular dynamics of supercooled water. Image Credit: Pasesani group./ UC San Diego
Physics & Astronomy

Exploring The Two Distinct Faces of Liquid Water

Computer simulations reveal how water separates into high-density and low-density liquids Water is unique. It is one of the only substances that can exist in nature as a solid, liquid and gas at the same time under ambient conditions (think of solid ice over a pond, which is liquid underneath while storm clouds float overhead). It is also one of the only substances whose solid form is less dense than its liquid — this is why ice floats. Now scientists…

Artist’s impression of the center of the Centaurus Cluster.Blue shows a vast flow of hot gas, white shows galaxies, and reddish brown shows cool gas. Image Credit: JAXA
Physics & Astronomy

Celestial Collisions Reveal How Galactic Clusters Stay Hot

Cutting-edge observations of Centaurus Cluster shine new light on evolving universe The XRISM collaboration have discovered flows of hot gas in the core of the Centaurus Cluster. By comparing state-of-the-art X-ray measurements from the XRISM satellite with numerical simulations, they showed this is evidence for collisions between galaxy clusters, causing gas inside to “slosh”. This solves the longstanding mystery of how cluster cores stay hot, and sheds light on how our universe continues to evolve. Astronomers have long envisioned how…

The cover features an artist's visualization of the EP satellite in orbit, alongside an artistic interpretation of the first light X-ray sky image procured by the Wide-field X-ray Telescope onboard EP. This image highlights the cruciform X-ray sources identified in the Galactic center region, as detailed in the article by Weimin Yuan et al. Image Credit: ©Science China Press
Physics & Astronomy

Einstein Probe Unveils Science White Paper Insights

EP’s cutting-edge instruments and international collaboration drive new discoveries in transient and multi-messenger astronomy The Science White Paper for the Einstein Probe (EP) mission has been published in Science China: Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy. This mission, spearheaded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), and the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), is poised to advance the field of time-domain and X-ray astronomy…

Photos and outputs from instruments used for O-PTIR. Researchers can interpret the images on the left, made using different optical sensors, to produce graphs like those on the right, which show the presence of microbial life. Image Credit: ©2025 Suzuki et al. CC-BY-ND
Physics & Astronomy

Exploring Mars: New Insights into Its Potential for Life

New method to detect life makes Mars sample return protocols rock solid Within the next decade, space agencies plan to bring samples of rock from Mars to Earth for study. Of concern is the possibility these samples contain life, which could have unforeseen consequences. Therefore, researchers in this field strive to create methods to detect life. For the first time, researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo and NASA, successfully demonstrated a method to detect life in ancient rocks…

This illustration shows a lower mass star surrounded by its planet-forming disk of gas and dust. The planet formation process would cause gaps, not shown in this illustration, to appear in the disk. The streams near the center show how matter from the disk is still falling onto the star. Image Credit: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss
Physics & Astronomy

James Webb Telescope Finds Longer-Lasting Planet-Forming Disks

The discovery of a planet-forming disk much older than expected provides new insights into planet formation and the habitability of planets outside our solar system If there were such a thing as a photo album of the universe, it might include snapshots of pancake-like disks of gas and dust, swirling around newly formed stars across the Milky Way. Known as planet-forming disks, they are believed to be a short-lived feature around most, if not all, young stars, providing the raw…

Incredible night sky filled with stars, providing a breathtaking view of the galaxies. Image Credit: wirestock, Envato
Physics & Astronomy

New Exoplanet Candidate Discovered Beyond Our Solar System

Scientists from UNSW Sydney have located a potential new exoplanet – a planet that orbits a star outside of our solar system – using a technique known as ‘transit timing variation’. In research highlighted in a new paper, published today in The Astrophysical Journal, Scientia Senior Lecturer Ben Montet and PhD candidate Brendan McKee analysed changes in the timing of a known planet’s transit across its star, to infer the presence of a second exoplanet. After identifying an unusual trend in the…

The designated directors of the WSS Research Centre, Prof. Dr. Ernst Meyer (front) and Prof. Dr. Dominik Zumbühl, are delighted about the funding from the Werner Siemens Foundation.
Physics & Astronomy

New WSS Research Center Advances Molecular Quantum Systems

The University of Basel and the University of Bern are setting up a new research center to enable the construction of superconducting quantum units. The Werner Siemens Foundation is supporting the project with a total of CHF 15 million over the next eleven years. The WSS Research Center for Molecular Quantum Systems is working on a pioneering technology set to lay the foundations for reliable and powerful quantum computers. This involves what are known as topological quantum bits (qubits), computing…

Molecular emission lines from mysterious icy objects captured by the ALMA telescope. The background image is an infrared composite color map, where 1.2-micron light is shown in cyan and 4.5-micron light is in red, based on infrared data from 2MASS and WISE. Image Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), T. Shimonishi et al. (Niigata Univ.)
Physics & Astronomy

Unveiling Mysterious Icy Objects in Interstellar Space

A new site for organic molecule formation? Niigata, Japan – Organic molecules that serve as the building blocks of life are believed to form in space, but their exact formation sites and delivery mechanisms to planets remain a major mystery in astronomy and planetary science. One of the key elements in solving this mystery is the presence of ice in interstellar environments. In cold, dense, and shielded regions of the galaxy, atoms and molecules adhere to the surfaces of submicron-sized…

Utah researchers demonstrated the capabilities of their flat lens with test images of the sun and moon. Image Credit: Menon Lab, University of Utah
Physics & Astronomy

Future of Telescope Lenses: Flare Innovations Explained

Utah engineers create first flat telescope lens that can capture color while detecting light from faraway stars For centuries, lenses have worked the same way: curved glass or plastic bending light to bring images into focus. But traditional lenses have a major drawback—the more powerful they need to be, the bulkier and heavier they become. Scientists have long searched for a way to reduce the weight of lenses without sacrificing functionality. And while some slimmer alternatives exist, they tend to…

The principle of this work is demonstrated by using a laser to levitated nanoparticles and make them carry an electric charge to become an antenna that receives an external electric field containing a communication signal. Image Credit: Adapted from Zhenhai Fu / Zhejiang Lab, China.
Physics & Astronomy

Nano-Antenna Breaks Size Limits for Low-Frequency Communication

New breakthrough in miniaturized antennas promises enhanced performance for wireless communication in challenging environments A research team led by Professor Huizhu Hu from the Zhejiang University and Zhejiang Lab has developed a groundbreaking low-frequency receiving antenna using optically levitated nanoparticles, achieving a near 10,0000-fold reduction in size compared to conventional solutions. Published in PhotoniX on January 29, 2025, this innovation aims to address long-standing challenges in miniaturizing antennas for critical low-frequency (LF) communication scenarios such as underwater exploration, underground sensing, and ionospheric waveguides. Why It…

Physics & Astronomy

NASA’s Ezie Launches to Study Earth’s Aurora Magnetic Signatures

In March, NASA plans to launch its EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission to learn more about auroral electrojets, intense electrical currents that flow through the upper atmosphere when auroras glow in the sky. High above Earth’s poles, intense electrical currents called electrojets flow through the upper atmosphere when auroras glow in the sky. These auroral electrojets push about a million amps of electrical charge around the poles every second. They can create some of the largest magnetic disturbances on…

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