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Does String Theory Solve the Mystery of the Brain?
Mathematical tools from string theory are giving scientists a new way to study the networking of neurons
China has applied to launch 200,000 satellites, but what are they for?
China has applied to launch 200,000 satellites, but what are they for?
NASA Releases Global Temperature Data
Lee este comunicado de prensa en español aquí.
Earth’s global surface temperature in 2025 was slightly warmer than 2023 – but within the margin of error the two years are effectively tied according to an analysis by NASA scientists. Since record-keeping began in 1880, the hottest year on record remains 2024.
Global temperatures in 2025 were cooler than 2024, with average temperatures of 2.14 degrees Fahrenheit (1.19 degrees Celsius) above the 1951 to 1980 average.
The analysis from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies includes air temperature data acquired by more than 25,000 meteorological stations around the world, from ship- and buoy-based instruments measuring sea surface temperature, and Antarctic research stations. The data are analyzed using methods that account for the changing distribution of temperature stations and for urban heating effects that could skew the calculations.
Additionally, independent analyses by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Berkeley Earth, the Hadley Centre (part of the United Kingdom’s weather forecasting Met Office), and Copernicus Climate Services in Europe have concluded the global surface temperature for 2025 was the third warmest on record. These scientists use much of the same temperature data in their analyses but employ different methodologies and models, which exhibit the same ongoing warming trend.
NASA’s full dataset of global surface temperatures, as well as details of how agency scientists conducted the analysis are available online.
For more information about NASA’s Earth science programs, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/earth
-end-
Liz Vlock
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov
Peter Jacobs
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-3308
peter.jacobs@nasa.gov
NASA Releases Global Temperature Data
Lee este comunicado de prensa en español aquí.
Earth’s global surface temperature in 2025 was slightly warmer than 2023 – but within the margin of error the two years are effectively tied according to an analysis by NASA scientists. Since record-keeping began in 1880, the hottest year on record remains 2024.
Global temperatures in 2025 were cooler than 2024, with average temperatures of 2.14 degrees Fahrenheit (1.19 degrees Celsius) above the 1951 to 1980 average.
The analysis from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies includes air temperature data acquired by more than 25,000 meteorological stations around the world, from ship- and buoy-based instruments measuring sea surface temperature, and Antarctic research stations. The data are analyzed using methods that account for the changing distribution of temperature stations and for urban heating effects that could skew the calculations.
Additionally, independent analyses by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Berkeley Earth, the Hadley Centre (part of the United Kingdom’s weather forecasting Met Office), and Copernicus Climate Services in Europe have concluded the global surface temperature for 2025 was the third warmest on record. These scientists use much of the same temperature data in their analyses but employ different methodologies and models, which exhibit the same ongoing warming trend.
NASA’s full dataset of global surface temperatures, as well as details of how agency scientists conducted the analysis are available online.
For more information about NASA’s Earth science programs, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/earth
-end-
Liz Vlock
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov
Peter Jacobs
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-3308
peter.jacobs@nasa.gov
Four Privately Funded Observatories in the Next Three Years
Schmidt Sciences has unveiled details on four ambitious observatories to monitor the dynamic cosmos, with data from all four expected by 2029.
The post Four Privately Funded Observatories in the Next Three Years appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Follow SpaceX's Returning Crew-11 Mission Wednesday Night
In a historic first, an unspecified medical issue is prompting an early return from the International Space Station on Wednesday night, January 14th. And while the return will be featured live online from undocking to splashdown, if skies are clear, you might just be able to see the pair crossing the night sky tonight, shortly after undocking.
Hubble Observes Stars Flaring to Life in Orion
- Hubble Home
- Overview
- Impact & Benefits
- Science
- Observatory
- Team
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3 min read
Hubble Observes Stars Flaring to Life in Orion Protostar HOPS 181 is buried in layers of dusty gas clouds, but its energy shapes the material that surrounds it. NASA, ESA, and T. Megeath (University of Toledo); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) A protostar wrapped in obscuring dust creates a cavity with glowing walls while its jet streams into space. NASA, ESA, and T. Megeath (University of Toledo); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) A curving cavity in a cloud of gas has been hollowed out by a protostar in this Hubble image. NASA, ESA, and T. Megeath (University of Toledo); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Just-forming stars, called protostars, dazzle a cloudy landscape in the Orion Molecular Cloud complex (OMC). These three new images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope were taken as part of an effort to learn more about the envelopes of gas and dust surrounding the protostars, as well as the outflow cavities where stellar winds and jets from the developing stars have carved away at the surrounding gas and dust.
Scientists used these Hubble observations as part of a broader survey to study protostellar envelopes, or the gas and dust around the developing star. Researchers found no evidence that the outflow cavities were growing as the protostar moved through the later stages of star formation. They also found that the decreasing accretion of mass onto the protostars over time and the low rate of star formation in the cool, molecular clouds cannot be explained by the progressive clearing out of the envelopes.
The OMC lies within the “sword” of the constellation Orion, roughly 1,300 light-years away.
Protostar HOPS 181 is buried in layers of dusty gas clouds, but its energy shapes the material that surrounds it. NASA, ESA, and T. Megeath (University of Toledo); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)This Hubble image shows a small group of young stars amidst molecular clouds of gas and dust. Near the center of the image, concealed behind the dusty clouds, lies the protostar HOPS 181. The long, curved arc in the top left of the image is shaped by the outflow of material coming from the protostar, likely from the jets of particles shot out at high speeds from the protostar’s magnetic poles. The light of nearby stars reflects off and is scattered by dust grains that fill the image, giving the region its soft glow.
Download this image (5.7 MB)
A protostar wrapped in obscuring dust creates a cavity with glowing walls while its jet streams into space. NASA, ESA, and T. Megeath (University of Toledo); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Download this image (6 MB)
The bright star in the lower right quadrant called CVSO 188 might seem like the diva in this image, but HOPS 310, located just to the left of center behind the dust, is the true hidden star. This protostar is responsible for the large cavity with bright walls that has been carved into the surrounding cloud of gas and dust by its jets and stellar winds. Running diagonally to the top right is one of the bipolar jets of the protostar. These jets consist of particles launched at high speeds from the protostar’s magnetic poles. Some background galaxies are visible in the upper right of the image.
A curving cavity in a cloud of gas has been hollowed out by a protostar in this Hubble image. NASA, ESA, and T. Megeath (University of Toledo); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)Download this image (5.7 MB)
The bright protostar to the left in this Hubble image is located within the Orion Molecular Clouds. Its stellar winds — ejected, fast-flowing particles that are spurred by the star’s magnetic field — have carved a large cavity in the surrounding cloud. In the top right, background stars speckle the image.
New images added every day between January 12-17, 2026! Follow @NASAHubble on social media for the latest Hubble images and news and see Hubble’s Stellar Construction Zones for more images of young stellar objects.
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Explore MoreExploring the Birth of Stars
Hubble’s Nebulae
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Hubble’s Stellar Construction Zones
Explore the Night Sky
Hubble News
Hubble Observes Stars Flaring to Life in Orion
- Hubble Home
- Overview
- Impact & Benefits
- Science
- Observatory
- Team
- Multimedia
- News
- More
3 min read
Hubble Observes Stars Flaring to Life in Orion Protostar HOPS 181 is buried in layers of dusty gas clouds, but its energy shapes the material that surrounds it. NASA, ESA, and T. Megeath (University of Toledo); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) A protostar wrapped in obscuring dust creates a cavity with glowing walls while its jet streams into space. NASA, ESA, and T. Megeath (University of Toledo); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) A curving cavity in a cloud of gas has been hollowed out by a protostar in this Hubble image. NASA, ESA, and T. Megeath (University of Toledo); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Just-forming stars, called protostars, dazzle a cloudy landscape in the Orion Molecular Cloud complex (OMC). These three new images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope were taken as part of an effort to learn more about the envelopes of gas and dust surrounding the protostars, as well as the outflow cavities where stellar winds and jets from the developing stars have carved away at the surrounding gas and dust.
Scientists used these Hubble observations as part of a broader survey to study protostellar envelopes, or the gas and dust around the developing star. Researchers found no evidence that the outflow cavities were growing as the protostar moved through the later stages of star formation. They also found that the decreasing accretion of mass onto the protostars over time and the low rate of star formation in the cool, molecular clouds cannot be explained by the progressive clearing out of the envelopes.
The OMC lies within the “sword” of the constellation Orion, roughly 1,300 light-years away.
Protostar HOPS 181 is buried in layers of dusty gas clouds, but its energy shapes the material that surrounds it. NASA, ESA, and T. Megeath (University of Toledo); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)This Hubble image shows a small group of young stars amidst molecular clouds of gas and dust. Near the center of the image, concealed behind the dusty clouds, lies the protostar HOPS 181. The long, curved arc in the top left of the image is shaped by the outflow of material coming from the protostar, likely from the jets of particles shot out at high speeds from the protostar’s magnetic poles. The light of nearby stars reflects off and is scattered by dust grains that fill the image, giving the region its soft glow.
Download this image (5.7 MB)
A protostar wrapped in obscuring dust creates a cavity with glowing walls while its jet streams into space. NASA, ESA, and T. Megeath (University of Toledo); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Download this image (6 MB)
The bright star in the lower right quadrant called CVSO 188 might seem like the diva in this image, but HOPS 310, located just to the left of center behind the dust, is the true hidden star. This protostar is responsible for the large cavity with bright walls that has been carved into the surrounding cloud of gas and dust by its jets and stellar winds. Running diagonally to the top right is one of the bipolar jets of the protostar. These jets consist of particles launched at high speeds from the protostar’s magnetic poles. Some background galaxies are visible in the upper right of the image.
A curving cavity in a cloud of gas has been hollowed out by a protostar in this Hubble image. NASA, ESA, and T. Megeath (University of Toledo); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)Download this image (5.7 MB)
The bright protostar to the left in this Hubble image is located within the Orion Molecular Clouds. Its stellar winds — ejected, fast-flowing particles that are spurred by the star’s magnetic field — have carved a large cavity in the surrounding cloud. In the top right, background stars speckle the image.
New images added every day between January 12-17, 2026! Follow @NASAHubble on social media for the latest Hubble images and news and see Hubble’s Stellar Construction Zones for more images of young stellar objects.
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Explore MoreExploring the Birth of Stars
Hubble’s Nebulae
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
Hubble’s Stellar Construction Zones
Explore the Night Sky
Hubble News
Live Video from the International Space Station (Seen From The NASA ISS Live Stream)
Views of the Moon - Replay
T. rex took 40 years to become fully grown
T. rex took 40 years to become fully grown
Three ways to become calmer this New Year that you haven't tried (yet)
Three ways to become calmer this New Year that you haven't tried (yet)
T. rex Never Stopped Growing, Dinosaur Bone Study Suggests
New clues hidden inside T. rex bones suggest that the carnivore lived longer lives than we thought
RFK, Jr.’s New Kids’ Vaccine Guidelines Will Worsen Flu and Other Winter Illnesses, Experts Say
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has slashed childhood vaccine recommendations in the middle of respiratory virus season
Are Seed Oils Bad for You? Debunking a Viral Social Media Myth
A food scientist debunks the vilification of seed oils on social media and explains what research says about them.