Once you can accept the Universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy.

— Albert Einstein

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Updated: 1 hour 4 min ago

How the XB-1 aircraft went supersonic without a sonic boom

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 5:30pm
When the experimental XB-1 aircraft achieved supersonic speeds on a test flight, it did not create a disruptive sonic boom – thanks to a physics phenomenon called the Mach cutoff
Categories: Astronomy

There’s a tiny chance the asteroid headed for Earth could hit the moon

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 1:40pm
If asteroid 2024 YR4 does smash down on the lunar surface, the explosion might be visible from Earth and would leave a new crater on the near side of the moon
Categories: Astronomy

Have we already breached the 1.5°C global warming target?

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 11:00am
Although the climate goals set by the Paris Agreement are based on the long-term average temperature, one year of high temperatures might be a sign that the 1.5°C threshold has already been reached
Categories: Astronomy

Forces deep underground seem to be deforming Earth's inner core

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 11:00am
Seismic waves suggest the planet's solid inner core is being pulled out of shape – and it has undergone these changes over just a few decades
Categories: Astronomy

How cosmic stasis may drastically rewrite the history of the universe

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 11:00am
Unexpected epochs of stillness that punctuate the cosmic timeline could offer a natural explanation for dark matter and many other unsolved astronomical mysteries
Categories: Astronomy

Distant exoplanet may be the most volcanic world ever found

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 8:00am
A rocky planet less than half the mass of Earth seems to have an atmosphere made almost entirely of sulphur dioxide – this could be due to a huge amount of volcanic activity
Categories: Astronomy

How meteorites are rewriting the history of the solar system

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 6:00am
There are many theories about how dynamics in the early solar system led to the cosmic neighbourhood we now inhabit, but beyond computer simulations, direct evidence to support them is hard to come by – that's where meteorites come in
Categories: Astronomy

Engineered bacteria could break down unrecyclable nylon in clothes

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 5:00am
Clothes and fishing nets that are made of nylon often end up in landfill or dumped in oceans, but a new way to break down the plastic could improve recycling
Categories: Astronomy

Stunning image shows the closest ever Einstein ring

Mon, 02/10/2025 - 3:00am
Albert Einstein himself thought that the eponymous Einstein ring would be impossible to observe, but the Euclid telescope has picked one up just 600 million light years from Earth
Categories: Astronomy

Astronomers have spotted the largest known object in the universe

Fri, 02/07/2025 - 2:09pm
The Quipu superstructure is enormous, spanning 1.4 billion light years – and it could violate one of our fundamental assumptions about the universe
Categories: Astronomy

Robot made from pig gelatin biodegrades when no longer needed

Fri, 02/07/2025 - 2:00pm
Pig gelatin can be used to make a robotic arm that safely biodegrades, rather than adding to landfill
Categories: Astronomy

We are all bad at choosing random numbers in our own unique way

Fri, 02/07/2025 - 12:00pm
An experiment in which people were asked to choose random numbers or boxes on a grid, then do the same a year later, has revealed that we each have our own unique approach to randomness - and we're generally very bad at it
Categories: Astronomy

Old fighter jets can be melted down and 3D printed into new ones

Fri, 02/07/2025 - 12:00pm
Turning old fighter jets into a fine powder and using that to 3D print new components is a more sustainable way to build the RAF's next-generation aircraft – and it avoids sourcing materials from Russia
Categories: Astronomy

Is Elon Musk's DOGE going to break decades-old US government software?

Fri, 02/07/2025 - 11:55am
Elon Musk's DOGE task force is reportedly being given unchecked access to the computers that run the US government, and experts warn that it risks bringing down systems and leaking sensitive data
Categories: Astronomy

Is the UK about to force Apple to reveal all of your encrypted data?

Fri, 02/07/2025 - 11:24am
A report in The Washington Post says that the UK government has ordered Apple to reveal encrypted data held by any user, anywhere in the world – here is what you need to know
Categories: Astronomy

Dexterous and light prosthetic hand can tie knots and comb hair

Fri, 02/07/2025 - 11:00am
A prosthetic hand that weighs about half that of a human hand also enables wearers to carry out intricate tasks, such as tying knots
Categories: Astronomy

The ocean is losing its ability to store heat as the planet warms up

Fri, 02/07/2025 - 8:36am
Until now, 90 per cent of the excess heat created by greenhouse gas emissions has been drawn down into the ocean, but this capacity for heat absorption is now being lost, which could lead to longer marine heatwaves and harm ocean life
Categories: Astronomy

AI chip smaller than a grain of salt uses light to decode data

Fri, 02/07/2025 - 5:00am
A tiny chip on the tip of a fibre-optic cable can passively harness light to perform AI computations, dramatically reducing the amount of energy and computing power required
Categories: Astronomy

Humpback whale songs have patterns that resemble human language

Thu, 02/06/2025 - 2:00pm
The sounds that make up humpback whale songs follow some of the same statistical rules seen in human languages, which may be because of how they are learned
Categories: Astronomy

London Underground mutant mosquitoes have surprisingly ancient origins

Thu, 02/06/2025 - 11:00am
Genetic analysis suggests a form of mosquito found in urban subway systems evolved in the Middle East thousands of years ago
Categories: Astronomy