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Baffling “Spiderweb” Star Discovered – Is It an Alien Megastructure?

JWST image vs model of WR140. Credit: Left image: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/JPL-Caltech. Right image: Yinuo Han/Peter Tuthill/Ryan Lau A puzzling image captured by the James Webb Telescope explained. A strange image of the distant star WR140 surrounded by concentric geometric ripples captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in July has perplexed astronomers around the world, even sparking frenzied internet speculation that it could be evidence of an alien megastructure light-years across. The perplexing picture was captured soon after JWST began scientific operations and published its first full batch of images. It rapidly sparked a heated debate on the internet, with…

“Ghost” Particles Detected Emanating From Galactic Neighbor With a Gigantic Black Hole

The IceCube Lab sits atop a 1-billion-ton network of sensing equipment and ice at the South Pole. Using the powerful neutrino telescope, researchers have identified a new source of astrophysical neutrinos coming from the galaxy NGC 1068. Credit: Martin Wolf, IceCube/NSF On Earth, trillions of subatomic particles called neutrinos stream through our bodies every second, but we never notice because they rarely interact with matter. In fact, because they so rarely interact with other matter, neutrinos can travel straight paths over vast distances unimpeded, carrying information about their cosmic origins. Although most of these aptly named “ghost” particles detected on…

Secrets of an Earlier Universe: Hubble Captures Red Supergiant Supernova From 11 Billion Years Ago

Lead Image: Through a phenomenon called gravitational lensing, three different moments in a far-off supernova explosion were captured in a single snapshot by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The light from the supernova, which was located behind the galaxy cluster Abell 370, was multiply lensed by the cluster’s immense gravity. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, Wenlei Chen (UMN), Patrick Kelly (UMN), Hubble Frontier Fields Blast from the Past Caught in Episodes Due to Gravitational Lensing Light from a star that exploded over 11 billion years ago was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. It was not just one postcard from the remote…

MIT Engineers Develop a Low-Cost Terahertz Camera Using Quantum Dots

Illustration shows terahertz illumination (yellow curves at top right) entering the new camera system, where it stimulates quantum dots inside nanoscale holes (shown as illuminated rings) to emit visible light, which is then detected using a CMOS-based chip (bottom left) like those in digital cameras. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers The new terahertz camera device provides greater sensitivity and speed than previous versions, and could be used for industrial inspection, airport security, and communications. Terahertz radiation, also known as submillimeter radiation, has wavelengths that lie between those of microwaves and visible light. It can penetrate many nonmetallic materials and detect…