Here"s how interstellar objects and rogue planets can be trapped in the solar system
When 'Oumuamua traversed our solar system in 2017 it was the first confirmed Interstellar Object (ISO) to do so. Then in 2019, Comet 2l/Borisov did the same thing. These are the only two confirmed ISOs to visit our solar system. Many more ISOs must h.....»»
A path towards applying topology in quantum computing
Can insights from topology—the study of the properties of 3D objects that persist when an object is stretched or compressed—be applied in the field of quantum information processing? Juan Lin, Shou-Bang Yang, Fan Wu, and Zhen-Biao Yang, researche.....»»
Get the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra while it’s $350 off, but act fast!
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a great smartphone with a fast processor and nice camera system. Get the unlocked 256GB S24 Ultra at Best Buy for only $950......»»
ESA workers face a maze of non-compete clauses and service contracts
Contracts limit mobility and career advancement, and ESA policy limits local laws. A system of non-competition clauses enforced by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) workforce su.....»»
Planning autonomous surface missions on ocean worlds
Through advanced autonomy testbed programs, NASA is setting the groundwork for one of its top priorities—the search for signs of life and potentially habitable bodies in our solar system and beyond. The prime destinations for such exploration are b.....»»
Best of last year: The top Phys.org articles of 2024
It was a good year for space science as Sumner Starrfield, an astronomer at Arizona State University, described what was to appear as a huge star exploding in the night sky, in a once-in-a-lifetime event this past fall. A binary star system in the co.....»»
This pair of satellites is going to create an artificial solar eclipse
A pair of spacecraft are launching on a mission to observe the sun's corona by one casting a precise shadow from which the other can observe......»»
Gourds made by Indigenous women supplied the European luxury market in the 18th century, study finds
Household utensils or objects for ritual use, gourds are present in various cultural environments in Brazil, especially in Indigenous or riverside communities, but also in large cities in the Amazon region, such as Belém, capital of the state of Par.....»»
Five space mysteries Proba-3 will help solve
ESA's Proba-3 will be the first mission to create an artificial total solar eclipse by flying a pair of satellites 150 meters apart. For six hours at a time, it will be able to see the sun's faint atmosphere, the corona, in the hard-to-observe region.....»»
Webb observations discover new planet in Kepler-51 "super-puff" system
An unusual planetary system with three known ultra-low density "super-puff" planets has at least one more planet, according to new research led by researchers from Penn State and Osaka University......»»
Apple issues fourth developer beta of visionOS 2.2
Apple has distributed its fourth developer beta build of visionOS 2.2, giving the Apple Vision Pro's operating system more testing time ahead of a public release.Mirroring a Mac's display on an Apple Vision ProFollowing the Thanksgiving weekend, Appl.....»»
NEOWISE, the NASA mission that cataloged objects around Earth for over a decade, has come to an end
The NASA project NEOWISE, which has given astronomers a detailed view of near-Earth objects—some of which could strike the Earth—ended its mission and burned on reentering the atmosphere after over a decade......»»
Democracy fatigue: An intelligent system that combines direct and representative politics can help counter it
Democracy is in crisis. Many people are losing confidence in political parties and parliaments and their ability to solve pressing social problems in the long term......»»
Best Cyber Monday generator deals: Gas and solar generators at up to 62% off
Every family needs a generator, whether as a backup power source or for outdoor adventures. Check out the amazing discounts from Cyber Monday generator deals......»»
Evidence of primordial black holes may be hiding in planets, or even everyday objects here on Earth
Imagine the formation of a black hole and you'll probably envision a massive star running out of fuel and collapsing in on itself. Yet the chaotic conditions of the early universe may have also allowed many small black holes to form long before the f.....»»
Study provides experimental evidence of high harmonic generation producing quantum light
High harmonic generation (HHG) is a highly non-linear phenomenon where a system (for example, an atom) absorbs many photons of a laser and emits photons of much higher energy, whose frequency is a harmonic (that is, a multiple) of the incoming laser'.....»»
BepiColombo"s fifth Mercury flyby
On Sunday 1 December 2024, BepiColombo flew past the planet Mercury for the fifth time, readying itself for entering orbit around the solar system's mysterious innermost planet in 2026......»»
Seeing is believing: Leveraging defining morphological features for accurate selection of brain organoids
By combining morphological and single-cell level gene expression analyses, a team of researchers led by Professor Jun Takahashi in the Department of Clinical Application at Kyoto University has established a new non-destructive system to select high-.....»»
Report: Almost 1 in 10 UK workers increasingly trapped in precarious work
It is concerning that 8% of UK workers are "increasingly precarious"—likely to be stuck in low-paid, insecure or otherwise uncertain work—say researchers from UCL in a new report on the UK labor market......»»
Observations shed more light on the properties of three-planet system TOI-396
An international team of astronomers has investigated a planetary system consisting of three alien worlds orbiting the star TOI-396. The study, published Nov. 22 on the pre-print server arXiv, provides the first mass measurements for these three plan.....»»
Landmark study reveals stark failure to halt Murray-Darling River decline
Some A$13 billion in taxpayer dollars and 30 years of policy reform have failed to arrest the devastating decline in the health of Australia's most important river system, the Murray-Darling Basin, new research shows......»»