Science & Technology News

'Cosmic lighthouses' that cleared primordial fog identified with JWST

Science Daily Astronomy - Wed, 2024-02-28 13:20
Scientists working with data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have obtained the first full spectra of some of the earliest starlight in the universe. The images provide the clearest picture yet of very low-mass, newborn galaxies, created less than a billion years after the Big Bang, and suggest the tiny galaxies are central to the cosmic origin story.

Metal scar found on cannibal star

Science Daily Astronomy - Mon, 2024-02-26 11:40
When a star like our Sun reaches the end of its life, it can ingest the surrounding planets and asteroids that were born with it. Now, researchers have found a unique signature of this process for the first time -- a scar imprinted on the surface of a white dwarf star.

Stunning Comet Could Photobomb This April's Total Solar Eclipse

Scientifc America - Fri, 2024-02-23 17:45

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks will make its closest approach to the sun this April—right after North America is treated to a total solar eclipse

The Industrial Designer behind the N95 Mask

Scientifc America - Fri, 2024-02-23 17:00

Sara Little Turnbull used materials science to invent and design products for the modern world

An Evolutionary 'Big Bang' Explains Why Snakes Come in So Many Strange Varieties

Scientifc America - Fri, 2024-02-23 15:00

Snakes saw a burst of adaptation about 128 million years ago that led to them exploding in diversity and evolving up to three times faster than lizards

JWST Is Tracking Down the Cosmic Origins of Earth's Water

Scientifc America - Fri, 2024-02-23 12:00

New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope are exposing the pathways that water takes to reach terrestrial planets

Flimsy Antiabortion Studies Cited in Case to Ban Mifepristone Are Retracted

Scientifc America - Fri, 2024-02-23 11:30

Outside experts found that two studies cited in a federal case on medication abortion had serious design problems and that their authors had undisclosed conflicts of interest

First Commercial Moon Landing Returns U.S. to Lunar Surface

Scientifc America - Fri, 2024-02-23 10:00

Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission is the first U.S. soft landing on the moon since Apollo 17. It’s also a sign of private industry’s growing role in space

JWST Solves Decades-Old Mystery of Nearby Supernova

Scientifc America - Fri, 2024-02-23 09:45

Scientists have finally found the compact object at the heart of the famous supernova of 1987, and it’s not a black hole

Why Do We Have a Leap Year Anyway?

Scientifc America - Fri, 2024-02-23 09:15

Without adding an extra day to February every four years, our calendar would get increasingly out of sync with the cosmos

Webb finds evidence for neutron star at heart of young supernova remnant

Science Daily Astronomy - Thu, 2024-02-22 21:40
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has found the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star at the site of a recently observed supernova. The supernova, known as SN 1987A, was a core-collapse supernova, meaning the compacted remains at its core formed either a neutron star or a black hole. Evidence for such a compact object has long been sought, and while indirect evidence for the presence of a neutron star has previously been found, this is the first time that the effects of high-energy emission from the probable young neutron star have been detected.

A new beginning: The search for more temperate Tatooines

Science Daily Astronomy - Thu, 2024-02-22 12:24
Luke Skywalker's childhood might have been slightly less harsh if he'd grown up on a more temperate Tatooine -- like the ones identified in a new study. According to the study's authors, there are more climate-friendly planets in binary star systems -- in other words, those with two suns -- than previously known. And, they say, it may be a sign that, at least in some ways, the universe leans in the direction of orderly alignment rather than chaotic misalignment.

Brightest and fastest-growing: Astronomers identify record-breaking quasar

Science Daily Astronomy - Thu, 2024-02-22 12:23
Astronomers have characterized a bright quasar, finding it to be not only the brightest of its kind, but also the most luminous object ever observed. Quasars are the bright cores of distant galaxies and they are powered by supermassive black holes. The black hole in this record-breaking quasar is growing in mass by the equivalent of one Sun per day, making it the fastest-growing black hole to date.

New realistic computer model will help robots collect Moon dust

Science Daily Astronomy - Thu, 2024-02-22 00:45
A new computer model mimics Moon dust so well that it could lead to smoother and safer Lunar robot teleoperations.

Black hole at center of the Milky Way resembles a football

Science Daily Astronomy - Wed, 2024-02-21 16:03
The supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way is spinning so quickly it is warping the spacetime surrounding it into a shape that can look like a football, according to a new study. That football shape suggests the black hole is spinning at a substantial speed, which researchers estimated to be about 60% of its potential limit.

Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning

Scientifc America - Wed, 2024-02-21 15:45

Engaging the fine motor system to produce letters by hand has positive effects on learning and memory

People with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome May Have an "Exhausted" Immune System

Scientifc America - Wed, 2024-02-21 14:15

A long-awaited study of people with ME/CFS revealed differences in their immune and nervous system. The findings may offer clues about long COVID

Sculptures about to Land on the Moon Join a Long History of Lunar Art

Scientifc America - Wed, 2024-02-21 13:00

A lunar lander nicknamed Odie carries 125 small moon sculptures by artist Jeff Koons that could become the first authorized artwork on the moon

Virtual Bar Scenes Are a New Tool to Study Why People Commit Crimes in the Heat of the Moment

Scientifc America - Wed, 2024-02-21 12:00

Virtual-reality could assist researchers in decoding how emotions spur a decision to commit a crime

The Sophisticated Threads behind a Hat That Senses Traffic Lights

Scientifc America - Wed, 2024-02-21 08:30

A new technique to make electronic fibers could help solve wearable technology’s flexibility problem

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