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Updated: 5 hours 2 min ago

Galaxies die earlier than expected

13 hours 15 min ago
For a long time, scientists thought that only actively star-forming galaxies should be observed in the very early Universe. The James Webb space telescope now reveals that galaxies stopped forming stars earlier than expected. A recent discovery deepens the tension between theoretical models of cosmic evolution and actual observations. Among hundreds of spectra obtained with the Webb program RUBIES, the team has found a record-breaking galaxy that had already stopped forming stars during an epoch where galaxies are normally growing very rapidly.
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Asteroid impact threat estimates improved for the Earth and the Moon

13 hours 18 min ago
An international team is currently closely tracking the near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4. The impact probability estimates for the year 2032 has been reduced from a peak of 3 percent to below 0.001 percent.
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Insight from one of Milky Way's most extreme environments

13 hours 21 min ago
In new images, scientists have gotten the closest look yet at Sagittarius C -- a 'stellar nursery' where clouds of gas and dust have collapsed to form thousands of new stars.
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Miso made in space tastes nuttier

13 hours 22 min ago
Miso is a traditional Japanese condiment made by fermenting cooked soybeans and salt. Researchers successfully made miso on the International Space Station (ISS). They found that the miso smelled and tasted similar to miso fermented on Earth -- just with a slightly nuttier, more roasted flavor. The team hopes this research will help broaden the culinary options available to astronauts, improving the quality of life for long-term space travelers.
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Martian dust could pose health risks to future astronauts

Mon, 03/31/2025 - 9:21am
Inhaling dust particles from the Red Planet over long periods of time could put humans at risk of developing respiratory issues, thyroid disease and other health problems.
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Fluorescent caves could explain how life persists in extraterrestrial environments

Tue, 03/25/2025 - 9:01am
Deep below the Earth's surface, rock and mineral formations lay hidden with a secret brilliance. Under a black light, the chemicals fossilized within shine in brilliant hues of pink, blue and green. Scientists are using these fluorescent features to understand how the caves formed and the conditions for supporting life in extreme, and even extraterrestrial, environments.
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Organic molecules of unprecedented size discovered on Mars

Mon, 03/24/2025 - 12:24pm
The longest organic molecules identified to date on Mars have recently been detected. These long carbon chains, containing up to 12 consecutive carbon atoms, could exhibit features similar to the fatty acids produced on Earth by biological activity. The lack of geological activity and the cold, arid climate on Mars have helped preserve this invaluable organic matter in a clay-rich sample for the past 3.7 billion years. It therefore dates from the period during which life first emerged on Earth.
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Oxygen for Mars

Mon, 03/24/2025 - 8:38am
To mitigate global climate change, emissions of the primary culprit, carbon dioxide, must be drastically reduced. A newly developed process helps solve this problem: CO2 is directly split electrochemically into carbon and oxygen. Oxygen could also be produced in this way under water or in space -- without requiring stringent conditions such as pressure and temperature.
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New DESI results strengthen hints that dark energy may evolve

Thu, 03/20/2025 - 6:43pm
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument used millions of galaxies and quasars to build the largest 3D map of our universe to date. Combining their data with other experiments shows signs that the impact of dark energy may be weakening over time -- and the standard model of how the universe works may need an update.
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Oxygen discovered in most distant known galaxy

Thu, 03/20/2025 - 11:50am
Astronomers have detected oxygen in the most distant known galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0. This record-breaking detection is making astronomers rethink how quickly galaxies formed in the early Universe.
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Treasure trove of galaxies, glimpses of deep fields

Wed, 03/19/2025 - 11:37am
On 19 March 2025, the European Space Agency's Euclid mission releases its first batch of survey data, including a preview of its deep fields. Here, hundreds of thousands of galaxies in different shapes and sizes take center stage and show a glimpse of their large-scale organization in the cosmic web.
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Nanomaterials used to measure nuclear reaction on radioactive nuclei produced in neutron star collisions

Tue, 03/18/2025 - 11:13am
Physicists have measured a nuclear reaction that can occur in neutron star collisions, providing direct experimental data for a process that had previously only been theorised. The study provides new insight into how the universe's heaviest elements are forged -- and could even drive advancements in nuclear reactor physics.
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Meteorites: A geologic map of the asteroid belt

Tue, 03/18/2025 - 11:08am
Where do meteorites of different type come from? In a review paper, astronomers trace the impact orbit of observed meteorite falls to several previously unidentified source regions in the asteroid belt.
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Combination of cosmic processes shapes the size and location of sub-Neptunes

Mon, 03/17/2025 - 1:37pm
A combination of cosmic processes shapes the formation of one of the most common types of planets outside of our solar system, according to a new study.
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Webb telescope captures its first direct images of carbon dioxide outside solar system

Mon, 03/17/2025 - 1:36pm
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first direct images of carbon dioxide in a planet outside the solar system in HR 8799, a multiplanet system 130 light-years away that has long been a key target for planet formation studies.
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Age of upcoming asteroid flyby target

Mon, 03/17/2025 - 1:36pm
New modeling indicates the main belt asteroid (52246) Donaldjohanson may have formed about 150 million years ago when a larger parent asteroid broke apart; its orbit and spin properties have undergone significant evolution since. When NASA's Lucy spacecraft flies by this approximately three-mile-wide space rock on April 20, 2025, the data collected could provide independent insights on such processes based on its shape, surface geology and cratering history.
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TOI-1453: Sub-Neptune in system of two exoplanets

Fri, 03/14/2025 - 8:38am
Astronomers have discovered two exoplanets around TOI-1453, a star about 250 light years away. These two exoplanets, a super-Earth and a sub-Neptune, are common in the galaxy, yet are absent from our system. This discovery paves the way for future atmospheric studies to better understand these types of planets.
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Weighing in on a Mars water debate

Thu, 03/13/2025 - 3:04pm
Water once existed in abundance of at the surface of Mars. How much of that water has been stored in the planet's crust is still unclear, according to a new analysis.
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Detailed map of dust in the Milky Way

Thu, 03/13/2025 - 12:18pm
Astronomers have constructed the first detailed 3D map of the properties of cosmic dust in our home galaxy. For their map, the astronomers used 130 million spectra from ESA's Gaia mission, results from the LAMOST spectral survey, and machine learning. Dust makes distant astronomical objects appear more reddish and dimmer than they really are, so the new map will be an important tool for astronomers to make sense of their observations. The study has also revealed unusual properties of cosmic dust that will lead to further research.
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Violent supernovae 'triggered at least two Earth extinctions'

Thu, 03/13/2025 - 10:08am
At least two mass extinction events in Earth's history were likely caused by the 'devastating' effects of nearby supernova explosions, a new study suggests. Researchers say these super-powerful blasts -- caused by the death of a massive star -- may have previously stripped our planet's atmosphere of its ozone, sparked acid rain and exposed life to harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. They believe a supernova explosion close to Earth could be to blame for both the late Devonian and Ordovician extinction events, which occurred 372 and 445 million years ago respectively.
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