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Sunspots, those mysterious dark patches on the Sun's surface, have been observed by astronomers for thousands of years. Yet, despite centuries of study, no one fully understood why these spots could remain stable for such extended periods. New research, however, has finally cracked the case, revealing that the secret lies in a delicate balance between the Sun's magnetic fields and the pressure of its plasma. Sunspots have been documented since at least 27 B.C., with Chinese astronomers recording the phenomenon long before Galileo peered at the Sun through his telescope. Some historical records even suggest that Greek philosopher Anaxagoras might...

While the study is intriguing, additional observations will be essential to verify or challenge its findings. Astudy analyzing JWST observations of the early universe has uncovered an intriguing mystery: most galaxies appear to be rotating in the same direction. This unexpected pattern, which defies current cosmological models, has led the study's authors to propose a bold possibility: that our universe might exist inside a black hole. The JWST has allowed astronomers to peer back further into the past than any other infrared or optical telescope, seeing infrared light that was emitted by distant galaxies just 300 million years after the...

A new clinical trial demonstrates that dietary changes significantly reduce persistent post-traumatic headaches (pPTH), a common and debilitating consequence of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Researchers found that increasing omega-3 fatty acids (commonly found in fatty fish like salmon and tuna) while reducing omega-6 fatty acids (abundant in seed oils such as corn, sunflower, and cottonseed oils) led to fewer and less severe headaches. The randomized trial involved 122 military health care beneficiaries suffering from chronic headaches following TBI. In addition to their current headache treatments, patients were asked to adhere to one of two diets for 12 weeks: a control...

Two days this summer have been unusually short, with the shortest expected on Aug. 5, leading global timekeepers to consider adding a negative leap second. The Earth's rotation has accelerated in recent decades, leading scientists to consider adding the first ever negative leap second. Earth is spinning so fast that global timekeepers are considering something that's never been done before: adding a negative leap second. So far this year, July 9 and July 22 have been unusually short — by about 1.3 and 1.4 milliseconds, respectively. However, Aug. 5 is expected to be even shorter, losing roughly 1.5 milliseconds, according...

The company claims it has cracked a scalable method to make stable gold from mercury. Ever since the discovery of alchemy, or since humans thought gold was a precious object, a worldwide quest to turn common elements into the yellow metal has been ongoing. Folklore and fables sing praises of humans who went on this quest and those who received such blessings. No such claims have yet stood the test of science, and this could change quite soon. An engineering firm from the United States – Marathon Fusion – has claimed that making gold from mercury is possible, and they...

Explanation: Have you ever seen a fireball? In astronomy, a fireball is a very bright meteor -- one at least as bright as Venus and possibly brighter than even a full Moon. Fireballs are rare -- if you see one you are likely to remember it for your whole life. Physically, a fireball is a small rock that originated from an asteroid or comet that typically leaves a fading smoke trail of gas and dust as it shoots through the Earth's atmosphere. It is unlikely that any single large ground strike occurred -- much of the rock likely vaporized as...

On July 28, a plane-sized asteroid, named 2025 OW, is scheduled to pass Earth at a distance of 393,000 miles. While this event has captured public attention, NASA experts are quick to remind us that it’s not as extraordinary as it may seem. In fact, according to NASA specialists, close encounters with asteroids like 2025 OW are routine occurrences in the solar system and pose no threat to Earth. As Ian J. O’Neill, media relations specialist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), told ABC News, “This is very routine. If there was a threat, you would hear from us. We...

The companion star of Betelgeuse, seen for the first time by the Gemini North Telescope. Betelgeuse has a companion star! Astronomers see it for first time | 1:21 VideoFromSpace | 2.02M subscribers | 5,713 views | July 21, 2025

Earth's famous Hubble Telescope has just revealed the first images of a mysterious interstellar object racing through our solar system. Spotted on Monday, Hubble has helped astronomers confirm that the massive, high-speed visitor is a comet from a distant part of the Milky Way galaxy. First spotted in late June, the comet named 3I/ATLAS has been on an 800-million-year journey to reach this solar system. The new images from Hubble captured what appears to be an icy tail that's ejecting rocky material from its 12-mile-long core. Those observations were reinforced by a new study published Tuesday morning which revealed 3I/ATLAS...

Japanese researchers observed the transverse Thomson effect for the very first time, and it could groundbreaking. A Thermoelectric Seebeck module (w:en:Thermoelectric generator) manufactured by TECTEG MFR. Gerardtv ====================================================================== Researchers in Japan observed the transverse Thomson effect for the very first time, a thermoelectric phenomenon that allows the control of the direction of heating and cooling flows by changing the direction of the magnetic field. The scientific understanding of how heat and electricity interact stems from the 19th century. At the time, physicists only theorized the existence of a transverse Thomson effect, which refers to the direction in which an electric...

I have always been bothered by the seeming perplexity that people have about the fact that we have yet to encounter intelligent life beyond planet Earth. It doesn't seem weird to me at all, even though I suspect life--even intelligent life--is not that uncommon in the universe. Enrico Fermi--a great physicist from the mid-20th century-- expressed the perplexity that many people have in what has come to be known as the "Fermi Paradox." At its most simple, the paradox is this: if the development of intelligent life is even moderately likely, why haven't we seen evidence of intelligent life elsewhere...

Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have successfully created a highly unstable alcohol molecule once thought impossible to observe, using conditions that mimic outer space. The compound, called methanetetrol, has now been confirmed for the first time after more than a century of scientific speculation. The breakthrough suggests that this so-called super alcohol can form in the extreme environments of deep space, challenging long-held assumptions in both chemistry and astronomy. The team produced methanetetrol by replicating the harsh conditions of interstellar clouds—environments filled with ice, radiation, and near-vacuum pressure. The molecule stands out because it carries four hydroxyl...

Explanation: About 1,300 images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft's wide angle camera were used to compose this spectacular view of a familiar face - the lunar nearside. But why is there a lunar nearside? The Moon rotates on its axis and orbits the Earth at the same rate, about once every 28 days. Tidally locked in this configuration, the synchronous rotation always keeps one side, the nearside, facing Earth. As a result, featured in remarkable detail in the full resolution mosaic, the smooth, dark, lunar maria (actually lava-flooded impact basins), and rugged highlands, are well-known to earthbound skygazers. To...

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...

Science is broken--just like every discipline in which 'expertise' is the product being sold for money and prestige. We've seen the practical effects for quite a while. 'Experts' have been getting everything wrong for a long time, and in increasingly dangerous ways. A few years ago, a scandal broke out regarding psychological and sociological research--almost no experimental results were duplicable, suggesting that the 'conclusions' were as valuable as a $3 bill. Nutrition research is total bunkum. Anybody who followed the government's nutrition advice got fat, and the American diet is now filled with poison. Climate 'science?' It's nearly impossible to...

Scientists are racing to learn as much as possible about the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS before it fades from view forever The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS appears as a blurry, dust-shrouded dot in this image from the Gemini North telescope. Future observations should reveal much more about this mysterious object, the third known visitor from beyond our solar system. International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/K. Meech (IfA/U. Hawaii) Image Processing: Jen Miller & Mahdi Zamani (NSF NOIRLab) (CC BY 4.0) ================================================================= Earlier this month astronomers were thrilled to discover only the third known interstellar object ever seen in our solar system. Now dubbed 3I/ATLAS, the...

Explanation: It came from outer space. An object from outside our Solar System is now passing through at high speed. Classified as a comet because of its gaseous coma, 3I/ATLAS is only the third identified macroscopic object as being so alien. The comet's trajectory is shown in white on the featured map, where the orbits of Jupiter, Mars, and Earth are shown in gold, red, and blue. Currently Comet 3I/ATLAS is about the distance of Jupiter from the Sun -- but closing, with its closest approach to our Sun expected to be within the orbit of Mars in late October....

Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope at NSF’s International Gemini Observatory have captured 3I/ATLAS as it makes its temporary passage through our cosmic neighborhood ============================================================== This image from the Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS-N) at the Gemini North telescope shows the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Image credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / K. Meech, IfA & U. Hawaii / Jen Miller & Mahdi Zamani, NOIRLab. Interstellar objects are objects that originate outside of, and are observed passing through, our Solar System. Ranging from tens of meters to a few kilometers in size, these objects are pieces of cosmic...

Explanation: Discovered on July 1 with the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert, System) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, 3I/ATLAS is so designated as the third known interstellar object to pass through our Solar System It follows 1I/ʻOumuamua in 2017 and the comet 2I/Borisov in 2019. Also known as C/2025 N1, 3I/ATLAS is clearly a comet, its diffuse cometary coma, a cloud of gas and dust surrounding an icy nucleus, is easily seen in these images from the large Gemini North telescope on Maunakea, Hawai‘i. The left panel tracks the comet as it moves across the sky against fixed...

Astronomers at the Planetary Virtual Observatory and Laboratory (PVOL) are appealing for help, after an image taken by NASA's Mario Rana appears to show an object slamming into Saturn.Saturn, like Jupiter, is a gas giant. With their impressive masses, you would expect these giants to attract their share of asteroid impacts. Unlike terrestrial planets, which are usually left with an obvious crater after impact, on gas giants, it is not entirely obvious. With outer layers primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, any trace of an impact can disappear.Astronomers have attempted to model how many impacts take place on the gas...