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Category: space

Scientists Continue to Trace the Origin of the Mysterious “Amaterasu” Cosmic Ray Particle

When the Amaterasu particle entered Earth’s atmosphere, the TAP array in Utah recorded an energy level of more than 240 exa-electronvolts (EeV). Such particles are exceedingly rare and are thought to originate in some of the most extreme cosmic environments. At the time of its detection, scientists were not sure if it was a proton, a light atomic nucleus, or a heavy (iron) atomic nucleus. Research into its origin pointed toward the Local Void, a vast region of space adjacent to the Local Group that has few known galaxies or objects.

This posed a mystery for astronomers, as the region is largely devoid of sources capable of producing such energetic particles. Reconstructing the energy of cosmic-ray particles is already difficult, making the search for their sources using statistical models particularly challenging. Capel and Bourriche addressed this by combining advanced simulations with modern statistical methods (Approximate Bayesian Computation) to generate three-dimensional maps of cosmic-ray propagation and their interactions with magnetic fields in the Milky Way.

Cognitive scientist explains how we ‘see’ what isn’t real

Imagine this: A person walks into a room and knocks a ball off a table.

Did you imagine the gender of the person? The color of the ball? The position of the person relative to the ball?

Yes and no, says cognitive scientist Tomer Ullman, the Morris Kahn Associate Professor of Psychology, who with Halely Balaban recently published a paper titled “The Capacity Limits of Moving Objects in the Imagination.” If you’re like most people, you probably thought about some of these things, but not others. People build mental imagery hierarchically, starting with the ideas of “person,” “room,” “ball,” and “table,” then placing them in relation to one another in space, and only later filling in details like color.

“Our imaginations are actually patchwork and fuzzy and not filled in,” he said. His theory: Your mind’s eye might be lazier than you think. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. “You leave things out until you need them.”

For the latest installment of “One Word Answer,” we asked Ullman to elaborate further on the current scientific thinking behind “imagination.”

Less like a picture, more like a video game? “Our imaginations are actually patchwork and fuzzy and not filled in,” says Tomer Ullman.

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Time crystals could become accurate and efficient timekeepers

Time crystals could one day provide a reliable foundation for ultra-precise quantum clocks, new mathematical analysis has revealed. Published in Physical Review Letters, the research was led by Ludmila Viotti at the Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics in Italy. The team shows that these exotic systems could, in principle, offer higher timekeeping precision than more conventional designs, which rely on external excitations to generate reliably repeating oscillations.

In physics, a crystal can be defined as any system that hosts a repeating pattern in its microscopic structure. In conventional crystals, this pattern repeats in space—but more exotic behavior can emerge in materials whose configurations repeat over time. Known as “time crystals,” these systems were first demonstrated experimentally in 2016. Since then, researchers have been working to understand the full extent of their possible applications.

Why you hardly notice your blind spot: New tests pit three theories of consciousness

Although humans’ visual perception of the world appears complete, our eyes contain a visual blind spot where the optic nerve connects to the retina. Scientists are still uncertain whether the brain fully compensates for the blind spot or if it causes perceptual distortions in spatial experience. A new study protocol, published in PLOS One, seeks to compare different theoretical predictions on how we perceive space from three leading theories of consciousness using carefully controlled experiments.

The new protocol focuses on three contrasting theories of consciousness: Integrated Information Theory (IIT), Predictive Processing Active Inference (AI), and Predictive Processing Neurorepresentationalism (NREP). Each of the theories have different predictions about the effects that the blind spot’s structural features have on the conscious perception of space, compared to non-blind spot regions.

IIT argues that the quality of spatial consciousness is determined by the composition of a cause-effect structure, and that the perception of space involving the blind spot is altered. On the other hand, AI and NREP argue that perception relies on internal models that reduce prediction errors and that these models adapt to accommodate for the structural deviations resulting from the blind spot. Essentially, this means that perceptual distortions should either appear small or nonexistent in both theories. However, AI and NREP differ in some ways.

Why the Past Still Exists | Leonard Susskind

We usually think of the past as something that no longer exists. It happened — and then it disappeared. But modern physics challenges this intuition in a profound way.

In this video, we explore why the past may still exist — not as memory, but as structure.

Drawing on ideas associated with Leonard Susskind, this documentary examines how relativity and modern spacetime physics reshape our understanding of time. In Einstein’s framework, there is no universal “now.” What is past for one observer may be present or future for another, depending on motion and frame of reference.

This destroys the idea that the past vanishes.

In the spacetime view, the universe is a four-dimensional structure. Events are not erased — they are located. The past is not something that disappeared. It is something that exists in a different region of spacetime.

From this perspective, time does not flow in the way we imagine. The sense of disappearance comes from human experience, not from fundamental physics.

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AI captures particle accelerator behavior to optimize machine performance

Keeping high-power particle accelerators at peak performance requires advanced and precise control systems. For example, the primary research machine at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility features hundreds of fine-tuned components that accelerate electrons to 99.999% the speed of light.

The electrons get this boost from radiofrequency waves within a series of resonant structures known as cavities, which become superconducting at temperatures colder than deep space.

These cavities form the backbone of Jefferson Lab’s Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF), a unique DOE Office of Science user facility supporting the research of more than 1,650 nuclear physicists from around the globe. CEBAF also holds the distinction of being the world’s first large-scale installation and application of this superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) technology.

Temporal evolution of GRB 240825A afterglow provides insight into origins of optically dark gamma-ray bursts

Researchers from the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have conducted a new study on the temporal evolution of the afterglow from gamma-ray burst GRB 240825A. The study offers new evidence to better understand the physical environment surrounding gamma-ray bursts and provides insights into the mechanisms that govern their afterglow emission. The findings were recently published in The Astrophysical Journal.

Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) are widely believed to form from the core collapse of massive stars, usually occurring in dense star-forming regions. NASA’s Swift satellite detected GRB 240825A on August 25, 2024, and observed an unusually bright optical counterpart.

Early measurements yielded an X-ray afterglow spectral index of 0.79 and a significantly softer optical afterglow spectral index of 2.48, compared with a typical value near 1. Under standard models, a gamma-ray burst is classified as “optically dark” when its observed optical afterglow flux falls below the level predicted from its X-ray spectral index.

Why Gentry Lee Became the Most Important Figure in Space Exploration You’ve Never Heard Of: STARMAN

There are documentaries about history, and then there are documentaries about the people who were quietly in the room when history happened.

STARMAN, the new film from Academy Award–nominated director Robert Stone, belongs firmly in the latter category. It chronicles the life of Gentry Lee—NASA scientist, mission architect, science communicator, and one of those rare figures whose career seems to map directly onto the modern Space Age.

If the Space Age began in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik, then Gentry Lee—born in 1942—has lived his entire adult life shaped by humanity’s reach beyond Earth. More than a witness to that history, Lee has been in the room for many of its defining moments.

As a senior scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lee served as Director of Science Analysis and Mission Planning for the Viking mission to Mars and the Galileo probe to Jupiter, missions that transformed our understanding of the solar system. Alongside this work, he collaborated with Carl Sagan on PBS’s landmark series COSMOS, narrated Discovery Channel’s ARE WE ALONE?, and co-authored four novels with legendary science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.

A Zelig-like figure at the crossroads of interplanetary science and science fiction, Gentry Lee has been everywhere—and worked with everyone—who helped define how we imagine space.

Now the subject of STARMAN, Lee guides us through a lifetime of curiosity, wonder, and exploration. The film is both entertaining and illuminating—and our conversation with him reflects that same spirit.

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New experiments suggest Earth’s core contains up to 45 oceans’ worth of hydrogen

Scientists have long known that Earth’s core is mostly made of iron, but the density is not high enough for it to be pure iron, meaning lighter elements exist in the core, as well. In particular, it’s suspected to be a major reservoir of hydrogen. A new study, published in Nature Communications, supports this idea with results suggesting the core contains up to 45 oceans’ worth of hydrogen. These results also challenge the idea that most of Earth’s water was delivered by comets early on.

Because of the extreme conditions in Earth’s core and its distance from the surface, analyzing its composition presents difficulties. Additionally, many techniques are inadequate for resolving hydrogen because it is the lightest and smallest element. Earlier estimates relied on indirect methods, such as inferring hydrogen composition from lattice expansion in iron hydrides. These difficulties have led to highly uncertain estimates of hydrogen in the core, spanning four orders of magnitude.

The team involved in the new study took a different approach, using laser-heated diamond anvil cells to simulate high-pressure, high-temperature core conditions, up to 111 GPa and around 5,100 Kelvin. The team placed core-like iron samples and hydrous silicate glass, representing Earth’s early magma oceans, in the diamond anvil cells to induce melting, similar to conditions in the core.

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