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This visualization explores a subset of toe bean-reminiscent structures within a section of the Cat's Paw Nebula, a massive, local star-forming region located approximately 4,000 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.This image by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in near-infrared light was released in honor of the telescope's third science operations anniversary. Since it began science operations in July 2022, Webb's observations of our universe have wowed scientists and the public alike.Glide into the lower left toe bean, moving past many small yellow stars along the way, where filaments of gas and dust frame the cavernous area. The region's nebulous...

A new analysis of 'cool' spots in the cosmic microwave background may cast new doubts on a key piece of evidence supporting the big bang theory of how the universe was formed. Two scientists at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) looked for but couldn't find evidence of gravitational "lensing" where you might expect to find it, in the most distant light source in the universe -- the cosmic microwave background. Results of this research by Dr. Richard Lieu, a UAH physics professor, and Dr. Jonathan Mittaz, a UAH research associate, were published Monday in the "Astrophysical Journal." In...

I wondered if any FRiends were interested in prime numbers. You'll know that prime numbers are integers, and those which have only two factors, 1 and themselves. Except for 2, all other primes are odd numbers. By convention, the number 1 is not considered prime (but this is strictly a matter of definition because 1 does not entirely contradict the premise of being a multiple of 1 and itself). I cannot post this entire thread in one post so if you come across it in an early stage, be aware that a number of posts will follow rapidly until I...

In the vast expanse between Uranus and Neptune, a team of researchers have uncovered something really quite extraordinary, a minor planet that has been locked in precise gravitational manouevres with Uranus for at least a million years. This discovery sheds new light on the complex dynamics that govern our Solar System's outer reaches. The object in question, designated 2015 OU₁₉₄, belongs to a class of small bodies called Centaurs, rocky and icy objects that orbit between Jupiter and Neptune. What makes this particular Centaur special is its remarkably stable relationship with Uranus, locked in what is known as a 3:4...

Gravitational waves from massive black holes challenge current astrophysical models The LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration has detected the merger of the most massive black holes ever observed with gravitational waves using the US National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded LIGO observatories. The powerful merger produced a final black hole approximately 225 times the mass of our Sun. The signal, designated GW231123, was detected during the fourth observing run of the LVK network on November 23, 2023. LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, made history in 2015 when it made the first-ever direct detection of gravitational waves, ripples in space-time. In that case, the...

By reconstructing a nearly forgotten 1938 experiment, scientists have uncovered new significance in an early observation of deuterium-tritium fusion that still shapes nuclear science today. (Artist’s concept). Credit: SciTechDaily.com Physicists confirm DT fusion insights from a 1938 experiment. The findings connect past theory with current fusion efforts. A team at Los Alamos National Laboratory has successfully recreated a significant yet largely overlooked physics experiment: the first recorded observation of deuterium-tritium (DT) fusion. Their updated version of the 1938 experiment, recently detailed in Physical Review C, reaffirms the pivotal role of University of Michigan physicist Arthur Ruhlig. Ruhlig’s original work likely...

That’s the conclusion reached by one researcher from the University of North Carolina: black holes can’t exist in our Universe — not mathematically, anyway. “I’m still not over the shock,” said Laura Mersini-Houghton, associate physics professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. “We’ve been studying this problem for a more than 50 years and this solution gives us a lot to think about.” In a news article spotlighted by UNC the scenario suggested by Mersini-Houghton is briefly explained. Basically, when a massive star reaches the end of its life and collapses under its own gravity after blasting its outer layers into space —...

You can manipulate a black hole as much as you like but you’ll never get rid of its event horizon, a new study suggests. This may sound a little odd, the event horizon is what makes the black hole, well… black. However, in the centre of a black hole, hidden deep inside the event horizon, is a singularity. A singularity is a mathematical consequence, it is also a point in space where the laws of physics do not apply. Mathematics also predicts that singularities can exist without an associated event horizon, but this means that we’d be able to physically...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A supermassive black hole appears to be homeless in the cosmos without a galaxy to nestle in, Hubble Space Telescope scientists reported on Wednesday. Most monster black holes lurk at the heart of massive galaxies, slurping up matter from the galactic center with a pull so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. But a team of European astronomers reported in the journal Nature that a particular black hole some 5 billion light-years away has no evidence of a host galaxy. A light-year is about 6 trillion miles, the distance light travels in a year. The...

Schrödinger’s cat is a reasonably simple explanation of an extremely technical and unexpected scientific concept. But when Schrödinger first introduced it, he was making an entirely different point. Schrödinger's Cat: A History of Quantum Physics | 13:52 The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered | 1.56M subscribers | 36,579 views | June 20, 2025 | ✪ Members first on June 19, 2025

In a groundbreaking achievement, researchers at Oxford University have successfully demonstrated quantum teleportation between quantum computers, a feat that was previously confined to theoretical discussions and early-stage experiments. The team, led by physicist Dougal Main, managed to create a functioning logic gate between two quantum processors located about six feet apart. This represents a significant advancement in quantum computing, opening new possibilities for quantum networks and the realization of scalable quantum systems. Their work is featured in a study published in Nature, and it marks a pivotal moment in the race to create powerful, distributed quantum computers. Quantum Teleportation: A...

NASA’s new Andromeda images unveil stunning insights into dark matter and black holes. Image credit: NASA | The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel In the latest release from NASA, stunning new images of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) have captured the attention of the global scientific community. Andromeda, located around 2.5 million light-years from Earth, is the closest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way. These new images, which include data from multiple advanced telescopes, offer fresh insights into the complex dynamics of this galactic neighbor. The images were made possible through a collaboration of some of the world’s most powerful space-based...

A simulation of the ‘cosmic web’, the vast network of threads and filaments that extends throughout the Universe. Stars, galaxies, and galaxy clusters spring to life in the densest knots of this web, and remain connected by vast threads that stretch out for many millions of light-years. These threads are invisible to the eye, but can be uncovered by telescopes such as ESA’s XMM-Newton. Credit: Illustris Collaboration / Illustris Simulation ======================================================================== A vast filament of gas stretching across the cosmos may help solve the mystery of the Universe’s missing matter. Astronomers have identified a massive filament of hot gas connecting...

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay A University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) scientist has proposed a “three-dimensional time” theory that replaces the traditional model of one dimension of time and three physical dimensions as the primary fabric of everything. Unlike previously proposed, purely mathematical ‘3D time’ constructs where space emerges as a secondary manifestation, Professor Gunther Kletetschka at the UAF Geophysical Institute says his theory of everything, which could unify quantum physics and gravity, is testable and verifiable. “Earlier 3D time proposals were primarily mathematical constructs without these concrete experimental connections,” Professor Kletetschka explained. “My work transforms the concept from...

Time, not space plus time, might be the single fundamental property in which all physical phenomena occur, according to a new theory by a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist. The theory also argues that time comes in three dimensions rather than just the single one we experience as continual forward progression. Space emerges as a secondary manifestation. "These three time dimensions are the primary fabric of everything, like the canvas of a painting," said associate research professor Gunther Kletetschka at the UAF Geophysical Institute. "Space still exists with its three dimensions, but it's more like the paint on the canvas...

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden carried out nuclear fission reactions in 100 different types of exotic nuclei of elements like platinum, mercury, and lead in a bid to understand the reaction better.In addition to helping us generate cleaner energy in the future, the research also sheds light on how elements are formed in the universe, according to a press release by the institute.Nuclear fission is poised for a comeback after countries worldwide seek newer ways to fuel their energy demands. While wind and solar power plants are being readied at a frantic pace to meet net-zero targets,...

One of history’s greatest “what ifs” is the question of what would have happened had the Germans been able to develop nuclear weapons during the Second World War. The Wehrmacht’s effort to do just that, called the Uranverein, or “Uranium Club,” began in 1939 when German Army physicist Kurt Diebner began to research the potential military applications of nuclear fission. By year’s end, the renowned German physicist Werner Heisenberg had expressed his belief that nuclear fission chain reactions, and thus, eventually, nuclear bombs, might be possible, but only if he had access to enough of a singular substance known as...

University of Seville professor José María Martín-Olalla has published a new solution to a 120-year-old problem regarding matter states at absolute zero that disproves a previous solution offered by famed scientist Albert Einstein. The controversy originally arose in 1905 when Walther Nernst proposed a new approach to the properties of matter as entropy causes them to approach absolute zero (minus 273 degrees Celsius). Dubbed Nerst’s theorem, the concept argued that absolute zero must be inaccessible, or one could theoretically construct an engine that uses absolute zero as a coolant to convert all heat energy into work. This idea goes directly...

Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: A new hypothesis from physicists at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. challenges the long-standing Big Bang Theory as the ultimate origin of the universe. This new “Black Hole Universe” hypothesis, suggests that our universe possibly “bounced” from the formation of larger black hole in another parent universe. While intriguing, the Big Bang Theory is the undisputed cosmological champ for a reason, so it'll take lots of rigorous experiments to confirm its theoretical conclusions. Throughout human history, there has been no greater question than “where do we come from?” This...

If it’s out there, could we observe it soon?Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: Some physicists believe that a fifth fundamental force could be the cause of some observational anomalies. A study is investigating ways to closely examine the trajectories of well-documented asteroids to hopefully detect anomalies that could provide evidence of such a force. Although the study shows no fifth force anomaly present in the asteroid Bennu, future explorations of the asteroid Apophis could provide an even better chance to find this elusive force—if it exists at all. According to the current Standard Model, four fundamental...