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…
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 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…
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 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…
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…
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…
Scientists successfully identify microbe fossils in terrestrial rocks like those found on Mars, opening up the possibility of searching for fossils on the Red Planet The first life on Earth formed four billion years ago, as microbes living in pools and seas: what if the same thing happened on Mars? If it did, how would we prove it? Scientists hoping to identify fossil evidence of ancient Martian microbial life have now found a way to test their hypothesis, proving they…
Astrophysicists have unearthed a surprising diversity in the ways in which white dwarf stars explode in deep space after assessing almost 4,000 such events captured in detail by a next-gen astronomical sky survey. Their findings may help us more accurately measure distances in the Universe and further our knowledge of “dark energy”. The dramatic explosions of white dwarf stars at the ends of their lives have for decades played a pivotal role in the study of dark energy – the…
Scientists have now mapped the forces acting inside a proton, showing in unprecedented detail how quarks—the tiny particles within—respond when hit by high-energy photons. The international team includes experts from the University of Adelaide who are exploring the structure of sub-atomic matter to try and provide further insight into the forces that underpin the natural world. “We have used a powerful computational technique called lattice quantum chromodynamics to map the forces acting inside a proton,” said Associate Professor Ross Young, Associate…
New theory proposes that humans — and analogous life beyond Earth — may represent the probable outcome of biological and planetary evolution Humanity may not be extraordinary but rather the natural evolutionary outcome for our planet and likely others, according to a new model for how intelligent life developed on Earth. The model, which upends the decades-old “hard steps” theory that intelligent life was an incredibly improbable event, suggests that maybe it wasn’t all that hard or improbable. A team…
When atoms collide, their exact structure—for example, the number of electrons they have or even the quantum spin of their nuclei—has a lot to say about how they bounce off each other. This is especially true for atoms cooled to near-zero Kelvin, where quantum mechanical effects give rise to unexpected phenomena. Collisions of these cold atoms can sometimes be caused by incoming laser light, resulting in the colliding atom-pair forming a short-lived molecular state before disassociating and releasing an enormous…
Black holes have been fascinating subjects of study, not just because they are cosmic vacuum cleaners, but also as engines of immense power capable of extracting and redistributing energy on a staggering scale. These dark giants are often surrounded by swirling disks of gas and dust, known as accretion disks. When these disks are strongly magnetized, they can act like galactic power plants, extracting energy from the black hole’s spin in a process known as the Blandford-Znajek (BZ) effect. While…
A unique dataset of Type Ia Supernovae being released today could change how cosmologists measure the expansion history of the Universe. Dr Mathew Smith and Dr Georgios Dimitriadis from Lancaster University are both members of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a wide-field sky astronomical survey using a new camera attached to the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory in California. Type Ia Supernovae are the dramatic explosions of white dwarf stars at the ends of their lives. Cosmologists use them to probe…
In the hunt for the target of a cone snail toxin, researchers established a new pipeline that can help identify molecular interactions and may assist with drug discovery When scientists develop new molecules—whether for the purposes of agriculture, species control, or life-savings drugs—it’s important to know exactly what its targets are. Thoroughly understanding a molecule’s interactions, both intended and unintended, is crucial for ensuring its safety and efficacy. A cone snail toxin known to affect both insects and fish inspired…
Observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope help to explain the cluster’s mysterious starburst, usually only seen in younger galaxies. The core of a massive cluster of galaxies appears to be pumping out far more stars than it should. Now researchers at MIT and elsewhere have discovered a key ingredient within the cluster that explains the core’s prolific starburst. In a new study published in Nature, the scientists report using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe the Phoenix cluster —…
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