See the wonders of the Milky Way in this new infrared map
The European Southern Observatory’s VISTA telescope has collected more than 500 terabytes of data on our galaxy......»»
Identity crisis: Climate destroying wonders that gave US parks their names
Glacier National Park's ice fortress is crumbling. The giant trees of Sequoia National Park are ablaze. And even the tenacious cacti of Saguaro National Park are struggling to endure a decades-long drought......»»
The ancient Egyptian goddess of the sky: How a researcher used modern astronomy to explore her link with the Milky Way
What did our ancestors think when they looked up at the night sky? All cultures ascribed special meaning to the sun and the moon, but what about the pearly band of light and shadow we call the Milky Way?.....»»
Exploration-focused training lets robotics AI immediately handle new tasks
Maximum Diffusion Reinforcement Learning focuses training on end states, not process. Enlarge (credit: boonchai wedmakawand) Reinforcement-learning algorithms in systems like ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini can work wonders.....»»
Astronomers are on the hunt for Dyson spheres
There's something poetic about humanity's attempt to detect other civilizations somewhere in the Milky Way's expanse. There's also something futile about it. But we're not going to stop. There's little doubt about that......»»
Scientists create black arsenic visible infrared photodetectors
In recent years, the exceptional structure and fascinating electrical and optical properties of two-dimensional (2D) layered crystals have attracted widespread attention. Examples of such crystals include graphene, black phosphorus (BP), and transiti.....»»
Ultrathin samples with surface phonon polariton enhance photoinduced dipole force
A new study has been led by Prof. Xing-Hua Xia (State Key Lab of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University). While analyzing the infrared photoinduced force response of quartz, Dr. Jian Li.....»»
Daily Telescope: The Horsehead Nebula as we’ve never seen it before
Webb delivers with a new look on an iconic classic. Enlarge / The James Webb Space Telescope has captured the sharpest infrared images to date of one of the most distinctive objects in our skies, the Horsehead Nebula. (credit:.....»»
Launch date set for NASA"s PREFIRE mission to study polar energy loss
NASA and Rocket Lab are targeting no earlier than Wednesday, May 22, 2024, for the first of two launches of the agency's PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission to study heat loss to space in Earth's polar regions......»»
Researchers explore an old galactic open cluster
Using data from ESA's Gaia satellite, astronomers from Turkey and India have investigated NGC 188—an old open cluster in the Milky Way. Results of the study, published April 19 on the pre-print server arXiv, deliver important insights into the para.....»»
Neutron stars could be capturing primordial black holes
The Milky Way has a missing pulsar problem in its core. Astronomers have tried to explain this for years. One of the more interesting ideas comes from a team of astronomers in Europe and invokes dark matter, neutron stars, and primordial black holes.....»»
Webb captures iconic Horsehead Nebula in unprecedented detail
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured the sharpest infrared images to date of one of the most distinctive objects in our skies, the Horsehead Nebula. These observations show a part of the iconic nebula in a whole new light, capturi.....»»
James Webb captures the edge of the beautiful Horsehead Nebula
A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the sharpest infrared view to date of a portion of the famous Horsehead Nebula......»»
Google Pixel 7a just dropped to its cheapest ever price
Woot has a huge discount on the Google Pixel 7a making now the ideal time to check out the wonders of the Google Pixel range......»»
Mapping the Milky Way"s magnetic field in 3D
We are all very familiar with the concept of the Earth's magnetic field. It turns out that most objects in space have magnetic fields but it's quite tricky to measure them. Astronomers have developed an ingenious way to measure the magnetic field of.....»»
IRIS beamline at BESSY II gets a new nanospectroscopy end station
The IRIS infrared beamline at the BESSY II storage ring now offers a fourth option for characterizing materials, cells and even molecules on different length scales. The team has extended the IRIS beamline with an end station for nanospectroscopy and.....»»
A first glimpse at our galaxy"s magnetic field in 3D
Thanks to new sophisticated techniques and state-of-the-art facilities, astronomy has entered a new era in which the depth of the sky can finally be accessed. The ingredients of our cosmic home, the Milky Way galaxy—stars, gas, magnetic fields—ca.....»»
Astronomers discover largest stellar black hole in Milky Way: Study
Astronomers identified the largest stellar black hole yet discovered in the Milky Way, with a mass 33 times that of the Sun, according to a study published on Tuesday......»»
Astronomers discover largest black hole in Milky Way: Study
Astronomers identified the largest stellar black hole yet discovered in the Milky Way, with a mass 33 times that of the Sun, according to a study published on Tuesday......»»
Improved mid-infrared nanoscopy enables 30 times clearer view of the insides of bacteria
A team at the University of Tokyo have constructed an improved mid-infrared microscope, enabling them to see the structures inside living bacteria at the nanometer scale. Mid-infrared microscopy is typically limited by its low resolution, especially.....»»
Second-biggest black hole in the Milky Way found
May help explain why we see so many of these monsters colliding. Enlarge / The star's orbit, shown here in light, is influenced by the far more massive black hole, indicated by the red orbit. (credit: ESO/L. Calçada) As.....»»