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Published

Webb Space Telescope detects universe's most distant complex organic molecules      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have detected complex organic molecules in a galaxy more than 12 billion light-years away from Earth -- the most distant galaxy in which these molecules are now known to exist. Thanks to the capabilities of the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope and careful analyses from the research team, a new study lends critical insight into the complex chemical interactions that occur in the first galaxies in the early universe.

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

NASA's Webb Space Telescope peers behind bars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A delicate tracery of dust and bright star clusters threads across this image from the James Webb Space Telescope. The bright tendrils of gas and stars belong to the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5068, whose bright central bar is visible in the upper left of this image -- a composite from two of Webb's instruments.

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Dying stars' cocoons could be new source of gravitational waves      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Although astrophysicists theoretically should be able to detect gravitational waves from a single, non-binary source, they have yet to uncover these elusive signals. Now researchers suggest looking at a new, unexpected and entirely unexplored place: The turbulent, energetic cocoons of debris that surround dying massive stars.

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Early universe crackled with bursts of star formation, Webb shows      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Among the most fundamental questions in astronomy is: How did the first stars and galaxies form? NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is already providing new insights into this question. One of the largest programs in Webb's first year of science is the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey, or JADES, which will devote about 32 days of telescope time to uncover and characterize faint, distant galaxies. While the data is still coming in, JADES already has discovered hundreds of galaxies that existed when the universe was less than 600 million years old. The team also has identified galaxies sparkling with a multitude of young, hot stars.

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Published

Weigh a quasar's galaxy with precision      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have managed to weigh -- more precisely than any other technique -- a galaxy hosting a quasar, thanks to the fact that it acts as a gravitational lens. Detection of strong gravitational lensing quasars is expected to multiply with the launch of Euclid this summer.

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Eventually everything will evaporate, not only black holes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New theoretical research has shown that Stephen Hawking was likely right about black holes, although not completely. Due to Hawking radiation, black holes will eventually evaporate, but the event horizon is not as crucial as had been believed. Gravity and the curvature of spacetime cause this radiation too. This means that all large objects in the universe, like the remnants of stars, will eventually evaporate.

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Mysterious dashes revealed in Milky Way's center      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In the early 1980s, astronomers discovered gigantic, one-dimensional filaments dangling vertically near Sagittarius A*, our galaxy's central supermassive black hole. Now, astronomers have discovered a new population of filaments -- but these threads are much shorter and lie horizontally or radially, spreading out like spokes on a wheel from the black hole.

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Astrophysicists confirm the faintest galaxy ever seen in the early universe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

After the Big Bang, the universe expanded and cooled sufficiently for hydrogen atoms to form. In the absence of light from the first stars and galaxies, the universe entered a period known as the cosmic dark ages. The first stars and galaxies appeared several hundred million years later and began burning away the hydrogen fog left over from the Big Bang, rendering the universe transparent, like it is today. Researchers have now confirmed the existence of a distant, faint galaxy typical of those whose light burned through the hydrogen atoms; the finding should help them understand how the cosmic dark ages ended.

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Published

NIRISS instrument on Webb maps an ultra-hot Jupiter's atmosphere      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There's an intriguing exoplanet out there -- 400 light-years out there -- that is so tantalizing that astronomers have been studying it since its discovery in 2009. One orbit for WASP-18 b around its star that is slightly larger than our Sun takes just 23 hours. There is nothing like it in our Solar System. A new study about this exoplanet, an ultra-hot gas giant 10 times more massive than Jupiter.

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Under pressure: Foundations of stellar physics and nuclear fusion investigated      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research using the world's most energetic laser has shed light on the properties of highly compressed matter -- essential to understanding the structure of giant planets and stars, and to develop controlled nuclear fusion, a process that could harvest carbon-free energy.

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Published

Astronomers discover last three planets Kepler telescope observed before going dark      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With the help of citizen scientists, astronomers discovered what may be the last three planets that the Kepler Space Telescope saw before it was retired.

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One-third of galaxy's most common planets could be in habitable zone      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A third of the exoplanets orbiting common M dwarf stars have gentle enough orbits to potentially be in the habitable zone capable of hosting liquid water.

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X-ray emissions from black hole jets vary unexpectedly, challenging leading model of particle acceleration      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Black hole jets are known to emit x-rays, but how they accelerate particles to this high-energy state is still a mystery. Surprising new findings appear to rule out a leading theory, opening the door to reimagining how particle acceleration works. One model of how jets generate x-rays expects the jets' x-ray emissions to remain stable over long time scales. However, the new paper found that the x-ray emissions of a statistically significant number of jets varied over just a few years.

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Effective as a collective: Researchers investigate the swarming behavior of microrobots      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Miniaturization is progressing rapidly in just any field and the trend towards the creation of ever smaller units is also prevalent in the world of robot technology. In the future, minuscule robots used in medical and pharmaceutical applications might be able to transport medication to targeted sites in the body. Statistical physics can contribute to the foundations for the development of such technologies.

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The search for habitable planets expands      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers are suggesting a new way to expand the search for habitable planets that takes into account a zone not previously considered: the space between the star and what's called soot-line in planet-forming disks.

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Astronomers discover a key planetary system to understand the formation mechanism of the mysterious 'super-Earths'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study presents the detection of a system of two planets slightly larger than Earth orbiting a cold star in a synchronized dance. Named TOI-2096, the system is located 150 light-years from Earth. This system, located 150 light-years from Earth, is one of the best candidates for a detailed study of their atmosphere with the JWST space telescope.

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New study provides novel insights into the cosmic evolution of amino acids      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

All biological amino acids on Earth appear exclusively in their left-handed form, but the reason underlying this observation is elusive. Recently, scientists uncovered new clues about the cosmic origin of this asymmetry. Based on the optical properties of amino acids found on the Murchison meteorite, they conducted physics-based simulations, revealing that the precursors to the biological amino acids may have determined the amino acid chirality during the early phase of galactic evolution.

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Helium nuclei research advances our understanding of cosmic ray origin and propagation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The latest observations from Low Earth Orbit with the International Space Station provide further evidence of spectral hardening and softening of cosmic ray particles.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
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NASA's Hubble hunts for intermediate-sized black hole close to home      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have come up with what they say is some of their best evidence yet for the presence of a rare class of 'intermediate-sized' black hole that may be lurking in the heart of the closest globular star cluster to Earth, located 6,000 light-years away.

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Element creation in the lab deepens understanding of surface explosions on neutron stars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists working in the lab have produced a signature nuclear reaction that occurs on the surface of a neutron star gobbling mass from a companion star. Their achievement improves understanding of stellar processes generating diverse nuclear isotopes.