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Category: space – Page 6

Mindscape 334 | Daniel Whiteson on the Physics of and by Aliens

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll.
Blog post with audio player, show notes, and transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025/11/03/334-…by-aliens/

The universe as revealed by physics is objective: it’s out there, existing and behaving in ways that are completely independent of human thought. But the process by which we learn about the universe, and the language with which we talk about it, is extremely human-dependent. Does that mean that aliens would do science differently, and even think differently about physics, even if we all live in the same universe? Physicist Daniel Whiteson has teamed with cartoonist Andy Warner to investigate these questions in their new book Do Aliens Speak Physics?

Daniel Whiteson received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently a professor of physics at the University of California, Irvine. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and recipient of an Emmy nomination. He is the author of several books, often with co-author Jorge Cham. He is the co-host (with Kelly Weinersmith) of the podcast Daniel and Kelly’s Extraordinary Universe.

Mindscape Podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrxfgDEc2NxY_fRExpDXr87tzRbPCaA5x.
Sean Carroll channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/seancarroll.

#podcast #ideas #science #philosophy #culture

Cyber-Securing the Connected Worlds of the Internet of Things, Smart Cities, and Space

In this latest edition of Security & Tech Insights newsletter, the topic of vulnerabilities of digital connectivity are analyzed in special regards to IoT, Smart Cities, and Space. Also included are articles reviewing Cybersecurity Awareness and Preparedness, and new threats to contend with from AI-enabled Ransomware. Thanks for reading and sharing! Chuck Brooks.

#cybersecurity #internetofthings #smartcities #space #ai #ransomware | on LinkedIn.

Astronomers discover a gigantic bridge of gas connecting two galaxies

Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery of a colossal bridge of neutral hydrogen gas linking two dwarf galaxies. Scientists at The University of Western Australia’s node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) have made a remarkable discovery: a massive structure stretching about 185,000 light-years between two galaxies, NGC 4532 and DDO 137, located some 53 million light-years from Earth.

Spectral shaper sculpts 10,000 laser comb lines for exoplanet detection and beyond

Researchers have developed a new technology that can shape the spectrum of light emitted from a laser frequency comb across the visible and near-infrared wavelengths with more precision than previously possible. This advance could provide an important new tool in the hunt for Earth-like planets outside our solar system.

When searching for exoplanets, astronomers use high-precision spectroscopy to detect tiny shifts in starlight that reveal a star’s subtle “wobble” due to an orbiting planet. But for Earth-sized planets, these wavelength changes are smaller than the spectrograph’s natural instabilities, so laser frequency combs—lasers that emit thousands of evenly spaced —are needed to provide a reference, acting like precise wavelength rulers.

“For astronomers, the big prize would be to find a planet with a mass similar to Earth and orbiting a star similar to our sun,” said research team leader Derryck T. Reid, from Heriot-Watt University in the U.K. “Our spectral shaper can make the lines on a more uniform, which allows the spectrograph to detect smaller stellar motions, such as those from Earth-like planets, that would otherwise be hidden in the noise.”

Research confirms Meissner effect in high-pressure nickelate superconductor

A research team led by Prof. Liu Xiaodi from the Hefei Institute of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with researchers from Jilin University and Sun Yat-sen University, has achieved simultaneous detection of zero electrical resistance and the Meissner effect in lanthanum nickelate (La3Ni2O7−δ) single crystals under high pressure.

The researchers combined diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center quantum sensing with electronic transport measurements to provide unambiguous evidence of high-temperature superconductivity in this nickelate system. The results are published in Physical Review Letters.

Superconductivity in La3Ni2O7−δ was first reported in 2023 through transport measurements, which revealed zero resistance around 80 K. However, confirming superconductivity requires detecting diamagnetism, or the expulsion of magnetic fields—the Meissner effect—which had remained elusive due to associated with high-pressure environments and small superconducting volume fractions.

The Sun’s Fiery Secret Waves Discovered After 80 Years of Searching

Scientists have finally observed long-sought twisting magnetic waves, known as torsional Alfvén waves, in the Sun’s corona—ending an eight-decade search that began in the 1940s.

Using the powerful Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii, researchers captured the first direct evidence of these small, constant waves, which may be responsible for heating the Sun’s outer atmosphere to millions of degrees.

Hidden Solar Magnetic Waves Revealed

Scientists discover a way simulate the Universe on a laptop

Scientists have developed a groundbreaking tool called Effort.jl that lets them simulate the structure of the universe using just a laptop. The team created a system that dramatically speeds up how researchers study cosmic data, turning what once took days of supercomputer time into just a few hours. This new approach helps scientists explore massive datasets, test models, and fine-tune their understanding of how galaxies form and evolve.

Astronomers Create First 3D Map of an Exoplanet’s Atmosphere

“Eclipse mapping allows us to image exoplanets that we can’t see directly, because their host stars are too bright,” said Dr. Ryan Challener.

What can a 3D map of an exoplanet’s atmosphere teach astronomers about the planet’s formation, evolution, and composition? This is what a recent study published in Nature Astronomy hopes to address as a team of scientists presented a first-time 3D map of an exoplanet’s atmosphere based on temperature. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand the formation and evolution of exoplanet atmospheres while opening the doors for developing better methods of studying them.

For the study, the researchers used data obtained from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to develop a new method called 3D eclipse mapping on WASP-18b, which is located just over 400 light-years from Earth and whose radius is slightly more than Jupiter’s while have ten times its mass. WASP-18b is known as an “ultra-hot” Jupiter, as it orbits extremely close to its star at 0.02024 astronomical units (AU) while completing one orbit in only 0.9 days. For context, the planet Mercury orbits our Sun at 0.387 AU and completes one orbit in 88 days. WASP-18b is also tidally locked to its star like our Moon is tidally locked to Earth.

In the end, the researchers found that WASP-18b’s “dayside” features variations in temperature and chemical composition while also exhibiting a circular “hotspot” where the largest amount of starlight hits the atmosphere. Additionally, the team found this hotspot is surrounded by a colder “ring” closer to the limbs of the planet, or the outer edges where the shape of the planet is visible.

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