Frontier science, explained
Space, physics and materials news from NASA, NIST, ESA/Hubble, ESA/Webb, ESO, NOIRLab and ALMA.
NASA’s Planet-Hunting TESS Reveals Dazzling Night Sky
NASA’s TESS has released its most complete view of the starry sky to date
astrophysicsexoplanet scienceexoplanet transitsexoplanetsgoddard space flight centerscience & researchWear and Tear Changes Measurable PFAS Levels in Firefighter Hoods, Gloves and Wildland Gear
In the fourth of an ongoing series of reports, NIST shows that wear and tear increased the levels of PFAS found in hoods and gloves.
chemistryNew Ultra-Black Coating Could Enable the Search for Life on Exoplanets
A recently developed ultra-black coating not only efficiently absorbs light, but is also extremely thin and durable, enabling its potential use on starshades that could someday support the imaging of exoplanets and potentially facilitate the detection of life beyond our solar sys
astrophysics divisionexoplanet scienceexoplanetstechnology highlights
Hubble Survey Sets Up Roman’s Future Look Near Milky Way’s Center
The Milky Way’s galactic bulge, the bulbous region that surrounds the galactic center, contains a dense collection of stars, planets, and other free-floating objects.
astrophysicsastrophysics divisionexoplanetsgoddard space flight centergravitational lensinghubble space telescope
Webb looks into the cradles of star clusters, finds massive clusters emerge faster
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope together with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have looked deeply at thousands of young star clusters in four nearby galaxies, studying clusters at different stages of evolution.
astrophysicsstar clustersALMA Reveals How Planet-Forming Disks Take Shape
New study identifies a long-sought transition zone where infalling gas becomes a rotating disk.
astrophysicsexoplanetsNASA Connects Little Red Dots with Chandra, Webb
A newly discovered object may be a key to unlocking the true nature of a mysterious class of sources that astronomers have found in the early universe in recent years.
astrophysicsALMA Witnesses Star Birth Beyond the Milky Way
Highlights
astrophysicsstars
Sombrero Galaxy: The Universe’s Dusty Brimmed Hat Revealed Like Never Before
Messier 104, nicknamed the Sombrero Galaxy, is a popular target for amateur observing and astronomical research.
astrophysicsgalaxiesALMA Reveals Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Formed in a Far Colder World Than Our Own
First-ever measurement of deuterated water in an interstellar object shows its home system formed under extreme conditions
astrophysicsthe solar system
Hubble dazzles with young stars in Trifid Nebula for 36th anniversary
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope looked at a scene it first captured in 1997 in honour of its 36th anniversary: a small portion of a star-forming region about 5000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius, known as the Trifid Nebula.
astrophysicsnebulae
NIST Weighs In on the Mystery of the Gravitational Constant
A NIST researcher has unveiled the results of a 10-year quest to measure the constant.
physics
Any Color You Like: NIST Scientists Create ‘Any Wavelength’ Lasers in Tiny Circuits for Light
NIST scientists and collaborators have pioneered a way to make integrated circuits for light by depositing complex patterns of specialized materials onto silicon wafers.
physicsDESI Completes Planned 3D Map of the Universe and Continues Exploring
DESI has mapped more than 47 million galaxies and quasars, creating the largest high-resolution 3D map of our Universe to date.
astrophysicsgalaxiesNASA Finds Young Stars Dim in X-rays Surprisingly Quickly
Scientists have found that young stellar cousins of our Sun are calming down and dimming more quickly in their X-ray output than previously thought, according to a new study using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
astrophysicsstars