MIT scientists have snapped the first-ever images of individual atoms interacting freely in space, making visible the elusive quantum effects that govern their behavior. Using a unique technique that briefly traps atoms in place with a lattice of light, the researchers captured never-before-seen
Arianna Gleason is an award-winning scientist at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory who studies matter in its most extreme forms—from roiling magma in the center of our planet to the conditions inside the heart of distant stars. During Fusion Energy Week, Gleason discussed the current state of fusion energy research and how SLAC is helping push the field forward.
Fusion is at the heart of every star. The tremendous pressure and temperature at the center of a star fuses atoms together, creating many of the elements you see on the periodic table and generating an immense amount of energy.
Fusion is exciting, because it could provide unlimited energy to our power grid. We’re trying to replicate fusion energy here on Earth, though it’s a tremendous challenge for science and engineering.
Scientists and space explorers have been on the hunt to determine where and how much ice is present on the Moon. Water ice would be an important resource at a future lunar base, as it could be used to support humans or be broken down to hydrogen and oxygen, key components of rocket fuel. University of Hawai’i at Manoa researchers are using two innovative approaches to advance the search for ice on the Moon.
ShadowCam scouts for surface ice.
Water ice was previously detected in the permanently shaded regions of the Moon’s north and south poles by Shuai Li, assistant researcher at the Hawai’i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) in the UH Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). A new study led by Jordan Ando, planetary sciences graduate student in Li’s laboratory, examined images from a specialized camera, the “ShadowCam,” that was on board the Korea Aerospace Research Institute Korea Lunar Pathfinder Orbiter.
Posted in physics, space | Leave a Comment on Nothing is as we thought — Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysics Center reveals that super-Earths are more common and diverse in the Milky Way than previously thought, according to study OGLE-2016-BLG-0007
Do we know everything about the Milky Way? A team of astronomers has arrived to change everything we know about our universe, and they have found strong evidence that super-Earths (planets larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune) could be much more common than previously thought! They discovered it thanks to a technique called gravitational microlensing. Don’t worry if you don’t understand it, keep reading and we’ll explain everything.
The study was led by scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and it reveals that one in three stars in the Milky Way could have a super-Earth. Isn’t that exciting?
Buried deep in the ice in the Antarctic are “eyes” that can see elementary particles called neutrinos, and what they’ve observed is puzzling scientists: a remarkably strong neutrino signal accompanied by a surprisingly weak gamma-ray emission in the galaxy NGC 1068, also known as the Squid galaxy.
Posted in innovation, space | Leave a Comment on “It’s Huge, and It’s Been Hidden for This Whole Time”: Astronomers Staggered by Discovery of Eos, a Giant Glowing Cloud in Space
IN A NUTSHELL 🌌 Astronomers discovered Eos, a massive molecular cloud just 300 light-years from Earth, using innovative detection methods. 🔍 Eos eluded previous detection due to its low carbon monoxide content, highlighting the need for new observational techniques. 🌠 The cloud’s crescent shape is influenced by interactions with the North Polar Spur, offering insights
Adriano V. Autino gave a Technical Presentation at U.N. COPUOS Legal Subcommittee, the 6 May 2025, on behalf of Dennis O’Brien, Chair of the Space Renaissance Academy Space Law Comittee: “Clarifying ambiguities of the Outer Space Treaty”
The new finding is reported in a paper published April 14 on the arXiv pre-print server.
In general, dwarf galaxies are the most numerous in the universe when compared to other galaxies but are difficult to detect due to their low luminosity, low mass and small size.
A massive star group is flying apart like never seen before—leaving astronomers both stunned and intrigued.
The future’s biggest telescope grows beneath the Milky Way, and live cams let you catch every moment.
