Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Supernova encore: Second lensed supernova in a distant galaxy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In November 2023, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope observed a massive cluster of galaxies named MACS J0138.0-2155. Through an effect called gravitational lensing, first predicted by Albert Einstein, a distant galaxy named MRG-M0138 appears warped by the powerful gravity of the intervening galaxy cluster. In addition to warping and magnifying the distant galaxy, the gravitational lensing effect caused by MACS J0138 produces five different images of MRG-M0138.

Physics: Optics Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Pancake stack of films on a balloon most accurate gamma-ray telescope      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A pancake stack of radioactivity-sensitive films carried through the sky by a balloon was able to take the world's most accurate picture of a neutron star's gamma ray beam. To achieve this, researchers combined the oldest method of capturing radioactive radiation with the newest data capturing techniques and a clever time-recording device.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Could an electric nudge to the head help your doctor operate a surgical robot?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

People who received gentle electric currents on the back of their heads learned to maneuver a robotic surgery tool in virtual reality and then in a real setting much more easily than people who didn't receive those nudges, a new study shows.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Cosmic lights in the forest      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Supercomputer helped astronomers develop PRIYA, the largest suite of hydrodynamic simulations yet made of large-scale structure in the universe.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Robotics Research Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

AI's memory-forming mechanism found to be strikingly similar to that of the brain      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An interdisciplinary team consisting of researchers has revealed a striking similarity between the memory processing of artificial intelligence (AI) models and the hippocampus of the human brain. This new finding provides a novel perspective on memory consolidation, which is a process that transforms short-term memories into long-term ones, in AI systems.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Scientists measure the distance to stars by their music      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of astronomers has used asteroseismology, or the study of stellar oscillations, to accurately measure the distance of stars from the Earth. Their research examined thousands of stars and checked the measurements taken during the Gaia mission to study the near Universe.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

New red galaxies turn out to be already known blue galaxies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Not all discoveries turn out to be actual new discoveries. This was the case for the extremely red objects (EROs) found in James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) data. Analysis shows that they are very similar to blue-excess dust obscured galaxies (BluDOGs) already reported in Subaru Telescope data.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astronomers discover first population of binary stripped stars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have discovered a population of massive stars that have been stripped of their hydrogen envelopes by their companions in binary systems. The findings shed light on the hot helium stars that are believed to be the origins of hydrogen-poor core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Reaching for the (invisible) stars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Supernovae -- stellar explosions as bright as an entire galaxy -- have fascinated us since time immemorial. Yet, there are more hydrogen-poor supernovae than astrophysicists can explain. Now, scientists may have found the missing precursor star population.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Unexpected chemistry reveals cosmic star factories' secrets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two galaxies in the early universe, which contain extremely productive star factories, have been studied by a team of scientists. Using powerful telescopes to split the galaxies' light into individual colors, the scientists were amazed to discover light from many different molecules -- more than ever before at such distances. Studies like this could revolutionize our understanding of the lives of the most active galaxies when the universe was young, the researchers believe.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Tiniest free-floating brown dwarf      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Brown dwarfs are objects that straddle the dividing line between stars and planets. They form like stars, growing dense enough to collapse under their own gravity, but they never become dense and hot enough to begin fusing hydrogen and turn into a star. At the low end of the scale, some brown dwarfs are comparable with giant planets, weighing just a few times the mass of Jupiter.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Cognitive strategies for augmenting the body with a wearable, robotic arm      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists show that breathing may be used to control a wearable extra robotic arm in healthy individuals, without hindering control of other parts of the body.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Some icy exoplanets may have habitable oceans and geysers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study expands the search for life beyond our solar system by indicating that 17 exoplanets (worlds outside our solar system) could have oceans of liquid water, an essential ingredient for life, beneath icy shells. Water from these oceans could occasionally erupt through the ice crust as geysers. The science team calculated the amount of geyser activity on these exoplanets, the first time these estimates have been made. They identified two exoplanets sufficiently close where signs of these eruptions could be observed with telescopes.

Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

NASA's Webb stuns with new high-definition look at exploded star      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Like a shiny, round ornament ready to be placed in the perfect spot on a holiday tree, supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) gleams in a new image.

Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Engineers design a robotic replica of the heart's right chamber      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers developed a robotic replica of the heart's right ventricle, which mimics the beating and blood-pumping action of live hearts. The device could be used for studying right ventricle disorders and testing devices and therapies aimed at treating those disorders.

Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Giant doubts about giant exomoons      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The extrasolar planets Kepler-1625b and Kepler-1708b are supposedly the home worlds of the first known exomoons. A new study now comes to a different conclusion.

Chemistry: General Energy: Nuclear Physics: General Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Ancient stars made extraordinarily heavy elements      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How heavy can an element be? An international team of researchers has found that ancient stars were capable of producing elements with atomic masses greater than 260, heavier than any element on the periodic table found naturally on Earth. The finding deepens our understanding of element formation in stars.

Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Stellar winds regulate growth of galaxies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Galactic winds enable the exchange of matter between galaxies and their surroundings. In this way, they limit the growth of galaxies, that is, their star formation rate. Although this had already been observed in the local universe, an international research team has just revealed the existence of the phenomenon in galaxies which are more than 7 billion years old and actively forming stars, the category to which most galaxies belong. The team's findings thus show this is a universal process.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Artificial intelligence makes gripping more intuitive      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Artificial hands can be operated via app or with sensors placed in the muscles of the forearm. New research shows: a better understanding of muscle activity patterns in the forearm supports a more intuitive and natural control of artificial limbs. This requires a network of 128 sensors and artificial intelligence based techniques.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Exposure to soft robots decreases human fears about working with them      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Seeing robots made with soft, flexible parts in action appears to lower people's anxiety about working with them or even being replaced by them. A study found that watching videos of a soft robot working with a person at picking and placing tasks lowered the viewers' safety concerns and feelings of job insecurity. This was true even when the soft robot was shown working in close proximity to the person. This finding shows soft robots hold a potential psychological advantage over rigid robots made of metal or other hard materials.