The space of night is infinite,
The blackness and emptiness
Crossed only by thin bright fences
Of logic

— Kenneth Rexroth
"Theory of Numbers"

Astronomy

The Mystery of Leslie Peltier's "Two Tiny Diamonds"

Sky & Telescope Magazine - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 12:16pm

How a determined amateur astronomer may have hit on the identity of a Cepheid variable double star described by a beloved author.

The post The Mystery of Leslie Peltier's "Two Tiny Diamonds" appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Categories: Astronomy

Physicist Frank Wilczek’s unique insights on the nature of reality

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 12:00pm
Frank Wilczek has one of the most brilliant and original minds in theoretical physics, having come up with the idea of time crystals among much else. Where is his curiosity taking him now?
Categories: Astronomy

Physicist Frank Wilczek’s unique insights on the nature of reality

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 12:00pm
Frank Wilczek has one of the most brilliant and original minds in theoretical physics, having come up with the idea of time crystals among much else. Where is his curiosity taking him now?
Categories: Astronomy

Nuclear fusion gets a boost from a controversial debunked experiment

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 12:00pm
A 1989 experiment offered the promise of nuclear fusion without the need for high temperatures, but this "cold fusion" was quickly debunked. Now, some of the techniques involved have been resurrected in a new experiment that could actually improve efforts to achieve practical fusion power
Categories: Astronomy

Nuclear fusion gets a boost from a controversial debunked experiment

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 12:00pm
A 1989 experiment offered the promise of nuclear fusion without the need for high temperatures, but this "cold fusion" was quickly debunked. Now, some of the techniques involved have been resurrected in a new experiment that could actually improve efforts to achieve practical fusion power
Categories: Astronomy

Artificial superfood for bees boosts colony reproduction

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 12:00pm
A dietary supplement made from engineered yeast could help honeybees thrive despite the declining availability of high-quality pollen in their environment
Categories: Astronomy

Artificial superfood for bees boosts colony reproduction

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 12:00pm
A dietary supplement made from engineered yeast could help honeybees thrive despite the declining availability of high-quality pollen in their environment
Categories: Astronomy

Acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy says the agency will 'move aside' from climate sciences to focus on exploring moon and Mars

Space.com - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 12:00pm
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy says it's time for the agency to focus on the moon and Mars, not the "smorgasbord of priorities," like climate science, the agency has been directing its resources.
Categories: Astronomy

Pragmata rethinks sci-fi shooter combat, and it owes a lot to Snake (preview)

Space.com - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 11:00am
After five years, Pragmata could have been unambitious, but instead, it's a fascinating and innovative sci-fi game with heaps of potential.
Categories: Astronomy

NASA and IBM built an AI to predict solar flares before they hit Earth

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 10:00am
An AI model trained on years of data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory can predict the sun’s future appearance and potentially flag dangerous solar flares
Categories: Astronomy

NASA and IBM built an AI to predict solar flares before they hit Earth

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 10:00am
An AI model trained on years of data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory can predict the sun’s future appearance and potentially flag dangerous solar flares
Categories: Astronomy

Tiny Probes Can Surf Sunlight to Explore Earth’s Mesosphere and Mars

Scientific American.com - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 10:00am

With no fuel or engines, tiny explorers will surf sun-warmed air alone to explore high in the skies of Earth and Mars

Categories: Astronomy

South Korea's K-RadCube radiation satellite will hitch a ride on NASA's Artemis 2 moon mission

Space.com - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 10:00am
South Korea's K-RadCube satellite has arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its launch toward the moon on the Artemis 2 mission next year.
Categories: Astronomy

Astronauts get stuffy noses in space because of microgravity, scientists find

Space.com - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 9:00am
Scientists are calling attention to an extremely common health problem that's been making astronauts uncomfortable: sinus issues.
Categories: Astronomy

Semiconductor wafer on ISS goes under the microscope | Space photo of the day for Aug. 20, 2025

Space.com - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 8:00am
This is part of a NASA-supported project hoping to fabricate "device-ready" wafers from space-grown crystals.
Categories: Astronomy

Iberian wildfires seen from space

ESO Top News - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 7:45am

Southern Europe is once again in the grip of extreme summer heat. Soaring temperatures and bone-dry land have fuelled widespread wildfires, with the Iberian Peninsula among the regions hardest hit. Flames continue to sweep across parched landscapes, as these images show.

Categories: Astronomy

Four Remarkable Stories from the History of Math Behind Bars

Scientific American.com - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 7:00am

People in prisons and jails have contributed to some of the greatest ideas in mathematics

Categories: Astronomy

'Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War 4' revealed, with a new developer promising a return to 'mass-battle, base-building roots' (video)

Space.com - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 7:00am
Warhammer 40K's most iconic real-time strategy series is back next year and under new leadership.
Categories: Astronomy

Nocs Provisions Zero Tube 10x25 waterproof monocular review

Space.com - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 6:25am
Your new favorite lightweight spotting companion — the Noca Provisions Zero Tube.
Categories: Astronomy

Nathan Lents’s New Book Explores How Animal Behavior and Evolution Challenge Binary Sex and Gender Norms

Scientific American.com - Wed, 08/20/2025 - 6:00am

Traditional biology has long ignored nature’s sexual diversity—but evolution tells a far more complex story.

Categories: Astronomy