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Published

Scorching storms on distant worlds revealed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international study reveals the extreme atmospheric conditions on the celestial objects, which are swathed in swirling clouds of hot sand amid temperatures of 950C. Using NASA's powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), researchers set out to capture the weather on a pair of brown dwarfs -- cosmic bodies that are bigger than planets but smaller than stars.

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

JWST unveils stunning ejecta and CO structures in Cassiopeia A's young supernova      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers announced the latest findings from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of the supernova remnant, Cassiopeia A (Cas A). These observations of the youngest known core collapse supernova in the Milky Way provide insights into the conditions that lead to the formation and destruction of molecules and dust within supernova ejecta. The study's findings change our understanding of dust formation in the early universe in the galaxies detected by JWST 300 million years after the Big Bang.

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Cosmic wrestling match      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Our universe is around 13.8 billion years old. Over the vastness of this time, the tiniest of initial asymmetries have grown into the large-scale structures we can see through our telescopes in the night sky: galaxies like our own Milky Way, clusters of galaxies, and even larger aggregations of matter or filaments of gas and dust. How quickly this growth takes place depends, at least in today's universe, on a sort of wrestling match between natural forces: Can dark matter, which holds everything together through its gravity and attracts additional matter, hold its own against dark energy, which pushes the universe ever further apart?

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Vivid portrait of interacting galaxies marks Webb's second anniversary      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two for two! A duo of interacting galaxies commemorates the second science anniversary of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which takes constant observations, including images and highly detailed data known as spectra. Its operations have led to a 'parade' of discoveries by astronomers around the world.

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Neural networks made of light      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists propose a new way of implementing a neural network with an optical system which could make machine learning more sustainable in the future. In a new paper, the researchers have demonstrated a method much simpler than previous approaches.

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How the 'heart and lungs' of a galaxy extend its life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Galaxies avoid an early death because they have a 'heart and lungs' which effectively regulate their 'breathing' and prevent them growing out of control, a new study suggests. If they didn't, the universe would have aged much faster than it has and all we would see today is huge 'zombie' galaxies teeming with dead and dying stars. That's according to a new study that investigates one of the great mysteries of the Universe -- why galaxies are not as large as astronomers would expect.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
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Scientific definition of a planet says it must orbit our sun; A new proposal would change that      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The International Astronomical Union defines a planet as a celestial body that orbits the sun, is massive enough that gravity has forced it into a spherical shape, and has cleared away other objects near its orbit around the sun. Scientists now recognize the existence of thousands of planets, but the IAU definition applies only to those within our solar system. The new proposed definition specifies that the body may orbit one or more stars, brown dwarfs or stellar remnants and sets mass limits that should apply to planets everywhere.

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Learning dance moves could help humanoid robots work better with humans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have trained a humanoid robot to perform a variety of expressive movements, from simple dance routines to gestures like waving, high-fiving and hugging, all while maintaining a steady gait on diverse terrains. This work marks a step towards building robots that perform more complex and human-like motions.

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Published

Dark matter in dwarf galaxy tracked using stellar motions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The qualities and behavior of dark matter, the invisible 'glue' of the universe, continue to be shrouded in mystery. Though galaxies are mostly made of dark matter, understanding how it is distributed within a galaxy offers clues to what this substance is, and how it's relevant to a galaxy's evolution.

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Published

Mars likely had cold and icy past, new study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The question of whether Mars ever supported life has captivated the imagination of scientists and the public for decades. Central to the discovery is gaining insight into the past climate of Earth's neighbor: was the planet warm and wet, with seas and rivers much like those found on our own planet? Or was it frigid and icy, and therefore potentially less prone to supporting life as we know it? A new study finds evidence to support the latter by identifying similarities between soils found on Mars and those of Canada's Newfoundland, a cold subarctic climate.

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A new twist on artificial 'muscles' for safer, softer robots      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a new soft, flexible device that makes robots move by expanding and contracting -- just like a human muscle. To demonstrate their new device, called an actuator, the researchers used it to create a cylindrical, worm-like soft robot and an artificial bicep. In experiments, the cylindrical soft robot navigated the tight, hairpin curves of a narrow pipe-like environment, and the bicep was able to lift a 500-gram weight 5,000 times in a row without failing.

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Published

The origins of dark comets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Up to 60% of near-Earth objects could be dark comets, mysterious asteroids that orbit the sun in our solar system that likely contain or previously contained ice and could have been one route for delivering water to Earth, according to a new study.

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Published

Strong evidence for intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Most known black holes are either extremely massive, like the supermassive black holes that lie at the cores of large galaxies, or relatively lightweight, with a mass of under 100 times that of the Sun. Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) are scarce, however, and are considered rare 'missing links' in black hole evolution.

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Found with Webb: A potentially habitable icy world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A international team of astronomers has made an exciting discovery about the temperate exoplanet LHS 1140 b: it could be a promising 'super-Earth' covered in ice or water.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
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Building materials for water-rich planets in the early solar system      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Age data for certain classes of meteorite have made it possible to gain new findings on the origin of small water-rich astronomical bodies in the early solar system. These planetesimals continually supplied building materials for planets -- also for the Earth, whose original material contained little water. The Earth received its actual water through planetesimals, which emerged at low temperatures in the outer solar system, as shown by computational models carried out by an international research teach with participation by earth scientists.

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Stench of a gas giant? Nearby exoplanet reeks of rotten eggs, and that's a good thing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An exoplanet infamous for its deadly weather has been hiding another bizarre feature -- it reeks of rotten eggs, according to a new study of data from the James Webb Space Telescope.

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Published

Fresh wind blows from historical supernova      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A mysterious remnant from a rare type of supernova recorded in 1181 has been explained for the first time. Two white dwarf stars collided, creating a temporary 'guest star,' now labeled supernova (SN) 1181, which was recorded in historical documents in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. However, after the star dimmed, its location and structure remained a mystery until a team pinpointed its location in 2021. Now, through computer modeling and observational analysis, researchers have recreated the structure of the remnant white dwarf, a rare occurrence, explaining its double shock formation. They also discovered that high-speed stellar winds may have started blowing from its surface within just the past 20-30 years. This finding improves our understanding of the diversity of supernova explosions, and highlights the benefits of interdisciplinary research, combining history with modern astronomy to enable new discoveries about our galaxy.

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New and improved camera inspired by the human eye      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Computer scientists have invented a camera mechanism that improves how robots see and react to the world around them. Inspired by how the human eye works, their innovative camera system mimics the tiny involuntary movements used by the eye to maintain clear and stable vision over time.

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'World record' for data transmission speed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have sent data at a record rate of 402 terabits per second using commercially available optical fiber. This beats their previous record, announced in March 2024, of 301 terabits or 301,000,000 megabits per second using a single, standard optical fiber.

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Tiny bright objects discovered at dawn of universe baffle scientists      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent discovery by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) confirmed that luminous, very red objects previously detected in the early universe upend conventional thinking about the origins and evolution of galaxies and their supermassive black holes.