Astronomy

This mysterious type of fat cell may play an important role in heart health, new research shows

A break down of why Venezuela’s oil boom is clashing with a hotter, more fragile planet

This winter the biggest planet is the brightest. The brightest star pins the Winter Triangle. And did you know Capella and Rigel march in step?

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 16 – 25 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image over the South Atlantic Ocean features a close-up view of the A23a iceberg, once the world’s largest. The unusually cloud-free image shows the first signs that the iceberg will soon disintegrate completely.

Using a chess computer to advise you on just three moves during a game dramatically increases your chances of winning in a way that is difficult for others to spot

Using a chess computer to advise you on just three moves during a game dramatically increases your chances of winning in a way that is difficult for others to spot

As NASA moves closer to launch of the Artemis II test flight, the agency soon will roll its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft to the launch pad for the first time at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin final integration, testing, and launch rehearsals. NASA is targeting no earlier.

New research shows that complex life is unlikely to ever exist around cool, dim red dwarfs. About 33% of the Milky Way's stars are late M dwarfs, which are the smallest, coolest stars, and are the easiest stars to detect Earth-like planets around. The stars aren't bright enough for photosynthetic organisms to create a Great Oxygenation Event, which led to complex animal life here on Earth.

It's difficult to form a protective coating that prolongs battery life at the battery's cathode, but there may be a low-cost chemical solution

It's difficult to form a protective coating that prolongs battery life at the battery's cathode, but there may be a low-cost chemical solution

The Trump administration’s top science adviser urged the adoption of a single national AI rule book as lawmakers pressed him on who would pay for the build-out

This clinical trial in Guinea-Bissau would withhold vaccination from some babies, sparking ethical concerns

The naturally mummified remains of dozens of cheetahs hidden deep in caves in Saudia Arabia shed light on where the animals lived in the past, which might inform rewilding efforts

Puzzling red spots in images from the James Webb Space Telescope are probably young supermassive black holes obscured by dense cocoons of gas

Evidence is mounting that our body fat supports everything from our bone health to our mood, and now, research suggests it also regulates blood pressure and immunity

Evidence is mounting that our body fat supports everything from our bone health to our mood, and now, research suggests it also regulates blood pressure and immunity

Wikipedia had to fight to establish its legitimacy—and now it faces a new existential threat posed by generative AI

Since launching in 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope has found hundreds of distant and apparently bright galaxies dubbed "little red dots", and now it seems they may each carry a baby black hole

Since launching in 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope has found hundreds of distant and apparently bright galaxies dubbed "little red dots", and now it seems they may each carry a baby black hole