A cosmic jet aimed at Earth reveals how blazars hurl particles to extreme energies, solving a long-standing mystery.
Category: space – Page 18
NASA Probe Could Intercept Interstellar Comet, Scientists Say
Astronomers at the Pan-STARRS Observatory in Hawaii made history in 2017 when they detected ’Oumuamua, the first interstellar object (ISO) ever observed.
Two years later, the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov became the second ISO ever observed. And on July 1st, 2025, the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Rio Hurtado detected a third interstellar object in our Solar System, the comet now known as 3I/ATLAS (or C/2025 N1 ATLAS).
Like its predecessors, the arrival of this object has fueled immense scientific interest and led to proposals for missions that could rendezvous with future ISOs.
Gaia’s variable stars: A new map of the stellar life cycle
One of the best places to study stars is inside “open clusters,” which are groups of stars that formed together from the same material and are bound together through gravity.
Open clusters act as laboratories, showing how stars of different masses and ages behave. At the same time, some stars, known as “variable stars,” regularly change in brightness, and their flickers and pulses help scientists learn about the physics inside stars and about the wider galaxy.
Until now, astronomers studied clusters and variable stars separately, and usually one cluster at a time. But that approach missed the bigger picture, leaving gaps in our understanding of how the lives of stars unfold across the galaxy.
DARPA’s Laser Leap Proves “Energy can fly like data” as 800-Watt Beam Sets Distance Record and Opens Door to UAV and Space Uses
IN A NUTSHELL 🚀 A DARPA-led team set a new record by transmitting 800 watts over 5.3 miles using optical power beaming. ⚡ Power beaming could revolutionize energy delivery to remote locations and reduce logistical challenges. 🔬 The breakthrough involved a customized receiver and a high-energy optical laser to maximize efficiency. 🌍 Future phases aim
Observations investigate ultraluminous X-ray sources in the galaxy NGC 5813
Using NASA’s Chandra and ESA’s XMM-Newton space observatories, Indian astronomers have explored the population of ultraluminous X-ray sources in the galaxy NGC 5813, which resulted in the detection of a new source of this type. Results of the observational campaign were published August 7 on the pre-print server arXiv.
Is Information a Fundamental Force of the Universe?
Researchers Robert Hazen and Michael Wong have put forward a bold new law of nature — one that could explain how everything in the universe evolves, from atoms, minerals and stars to living cells, ecosystems and even human civilization. At the heart of their theory is the idea that information is as fundamental to the cosmos as mass, energy or charge. Their law revolves around a concept called functional information — a measure of the ratcheting-up of complexity and function in evolving systems over time.
Wild New Theory Suggests Gravitational Waves Shaped The Universe
Just as ocean waves shape our shores, ripples in space-time may have once set the Universe on an evolutionary path that led to the cosmos as we see it today.
A new theory suggests gravitational waves – rather than hypothetical particles called inflatons – drove the Universe’s early expansion, and the redistribution of matter therein.
“For decades, we have tried to understand the early moments of the Universe using models based on elements we have never observed,” explains the first author of the paper, theoretical astrophysicist Raúl Jiménez of the University of Barcelona.