As&nbsp;Faith 7&nbsp;returned to Earth, the automatic piloting system malfunctioned. Experienced flier that he was, Cooper didn&#8217;t panic. Instead, he grabbed the controls and maneuvered the spacecraft into a perfect landing on a waiting aircraft carrier. His mission was complete&#8230; or was it? Photo Credit: NASA via Discovery

Malfunctioned

Today's Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features dust streaming off the coast of Iran in January 2025.



“Some of the desert dust was carried across the Gulf of Oman to the Arabian Peninsula, degrading air quality for those in its path,” noted <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/153859/desert-dust-streams-from-iran" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>.



“The airborne material appears to primarily originate in the dried bed of the intermittent lake known as Hamun-e Jazmurian (Hamun-e Jaz Murian), while some may be blown from coastal areas." 



"Along with arid regions such as the Garagum and Lut deserts and the Sistan Basin, the lakebed is a major source of dust in southwest Asia.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-precipitation-in-the-jazmurian-basin">Precipitation in the Jazmurian Basin</h2>



According to NASA, some areas of the Jazmurian Basin receive less than four inches of rain annually, on average, and evaporation rates are high. During wet times, however, parts of the basin may be covered by an intermittent lake, marshland, or other vegetation.&nbsp;



“Terra’s MODIS sensor has previously captured images of the area when water is present in Hamun-e Jazmurian and when green vegetation fringes the lakebed,” said NASA.



“In early 2025, the land was dry enough for winds to blow dust plumes south-southwest over the Gulf of Oman. Dust traveled across the water to the coast of the United Arab Emirates, where the haze reduced visibility in places, according to news reports.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-particles-in-dust-storms">Particles in dust storms</h2>



In addition to disrupting transportation and other daily activities, the suspended particles in dust storms can pose significant health risks. 



Recent research has revealed that dust from the Jazmurian Basin often contains heavy metals and other potentially harmful substances, such as silica and organic pollutants, which can negatively impact both human and ecosystem health.&nbsp;



Prolonged exposure to these particles has been linked to respiratory and cardiovascular issues, as well as the exacerbation of pre-existing health conditions like asthma and bronchitis.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environmental-impact-of-dust-storms">Environmental impact of dust storms</h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dust-is-an-understudied-contributor-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environmental impact</a> of dust storms extends beyond human health. The fine particles can settle on vegetation, reducing photosynthesis and agricultural productivity.&nbsp;



Dust deposition can also alter soil composition by introducing heavy metals and changing nutrient balances, which may affect crop growth and soil microbial communities. 



Such changes can lead to long-term degradation of arable land and disrupt local food security.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dust-in-the-jazmurian-basin-nbsp">Dust in the Jazmurian Basin&nbsp;</h2>



Communities near the Jazmurian Basin are particularly vulnerable to the effects of dust storms due to limited access to healthcare and mitigation resources.



Seasonal changes and climate conditions, including prolonged droughts and desertification, further intensify the frequency and severity of dust storms in the region.&nbsp;



This creates a cycle of environmental and health challenges, making it imperative to develop strategies for prevention and adaptation.



Potential measures include reforestation and soil stabilization projects to reduce dust emissions, stricter regulations to limit activities that contribute to desertification, and public health initiatives to educate communities on protective measures during dust events.&nbsp;



Investing in early warning systems and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-driven-wildfires-worsen-u-s-air-quality-and-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">air quality</a> monitoring can also help minimize exposure and protect both human populations and the environment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significance-of-the-jazmurian-basin">Significance of the Jazmurian Basin</h2>



The Jazmurian Basin is a prominent endorheic basin located in southeastern Iran, spanning parts of the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan as well as Kerman. It lies at the heart of an arid region characterized by sparse vegetation, high temperatures, and limited rainfall.&nbsp;



The basin is primarily fed by the Halil and Bampur rivers, which provide seasonal water flow to the basin's low-lying areas. At its center lies the Jazmurian Depression, which forms a seasonal playa or shallow lake, though it often dries up during extended dry periods.&nbsp;



The area holds geological and archaeological significance, offering insights into ancient human settlements and environmental changes over time.&nbsp;



Despite its harsh climate, the basin supports small-scale agriculture and serves as a critical habitat for certain desert-adapted wildlife. 



The image was captured on January 22 by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite.&nbsp;



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Dust rises from the Jazmurian Basin in Iran

Today's Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features...

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features a brilliant stellar nursery located about 163,000 light-years away.



According to ESA, the image is one of the most photogenic examples of the many stellar nurseries observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope during its 30-year lifetime. 



“The portrait features the giant nebula NGC 2014 and its neighbor NGC 2020 which together form part of a vast star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way,” noted <a href="https://www.esa.int/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-a-stellar-nursery">What is a stellar nursery?</h2>



Stellar nurseries are regions in space where new stars are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/baby-stars-release-sneezes-of-gas-and-dust-as-they-develop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">born</a> - often within vast clouds of gas and dust called molecular clouds.&nbsp;



These areas are fascinating because they are cradles of stellar evolution, where gravity causes clumps of gas to collapse, eventually forming protostars.&nbsp;



Over time, the protostars will heat up and start the nuclear fusion process that powers a star.



One of the most well-known stellar nurseries is the Orion Nebula, which is visible to the naked eye and located about 1,350 light-years from Earth.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dynamic-nature-of-a-stellar-nursery-nbsp">Dynamic nature of a stellar nursery&nbsp;</h2>



Within these nurseries, the balance between gravity and pressure determines the types of stars that form, from massive, luminous stars to smaller, cooler ones like our Sun.&nbsp;



The environment is incredibly dynamic, with powerful winds from young stars shaping the clouds and triggering the birth of even more stars.



These regions are often illuminated by the light from massive newborn stars - creating stunning, colorful displays. The light reveals the intricate structure of the dust and gas, sculpted by the energy of young stars.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significance-of-stellar-nurseries-nbsp">Significance of stellar nurseries&nbsp;</h2>



Stellar nurseries are essential for understanding the early stages of planetary formation, as protoplanetary disks (the material from which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planet-formation-new-insights-mechanics-physics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">planets form</a>) are often found around young stars in these regions.



Stellar nurseries play a crucial role in the ongoing evolution of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/black-hole-is-starving-its-host-galaxy-of-star-forming-fuel/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a>. They are responsible for the continuous birth of new stars that enrich the interstellar medium with heavier elements. This constant recycling of material is key to the development of future generations of stars and planets.&nbsp;



Furthermore, the study of these regions helps astronomers understand the fundamental processes that govern the life cycles of stars and the overall dynamics of the universe.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-local-group">The Local Group</h2>



The Local Group is a collection of over 80 galaxies that includes the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the Triangulum Galaxy, along with numerous smaller dwarf galaxies. These galaxies are bound together by gravity and span a region roughly 10 million light-years across.&nbsp;



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/milky-ways-thin-disk-is-billions-of-years-older-than-we-thought/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Milky Way</a> and Andromeda are the dominant members, with their respective satellite galaxies orbiting them.&nbsp;



The Local Group is part of a larger structure known as the Virgo Supercluster, and its galaxies are moving toward the gravitational center of the Local Group, contributing to its dynamic nature.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-large-magellanic-cloud">Large Magellanic Cloud</h2>



The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is the fourth largest galaxy in the Local Group and can be seen with the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere.&nbsp;



This irregular dwarf galaxy is home to the Tarantula Nebula, one of the most active star-forming regions in our cosmic neighborhood.&nbsp;



The Large Magellanic Cloud played a key role in astronomical history, particularly when the supernova SN 1987A was observed, providing valuable insights into stellar evolution.&nbsp;



The LMC's interaction with the Milky Way, along with its own companion, the Small Magellanic Cloud, is believed to influence its shape and star formation activity. Its proximity and unique properties make it a crucial object of study for understanding <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-galactic-explosion-provides-clues-about-galaxy-evolution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxy evolution</a>, star formation, and the dynamics of interacting galaxies.



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and STScI



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Hubble captures a stunning stellar nursery

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency...

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features a galaxy that is located about 600 million light-years away in the constellation Gemini. The Hubble Space Telescope observed a supernova in this galaxy - which appears as a bright blue dot in the photograph.



“This picture was taken roughly two months after a supernova named SN 2022aajn was discovered in this galaxy. The supernova is visible as a blue dot at the center of the image, brightening the hazy body of the galaxy,” noted <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-a-supernova">What is a supernova?</h2>



Supernovae are spectacular explosions marking the violent deaths of stars. These cosmic events are so luminous they can briefly outshine entire <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/galaxies-are-much-bigger-than-we-originally-believed-gas-clouds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> and radiate more energy in a few weeks than our Sun will in its entire lifetime.&nbsp;



Supernovae explosions release heavy elements like carbon, oxygen, and iron into the interstellar medium. This stellar debris becomes the building blocks for new stars, planets, and even life itself. 



Supernovae also produce neutron stars or black holes, depending on the remaining core’s mass after the explosion.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-types-of-supernovae-nbsp">Types of supernovae&nbsp;</h2>



There are two main types of supernovae, classified based on their causes. Type I supernovae occur when a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/white-dwarf-stars-may-be-billions-of-years-older-than-estimated/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">white dwarf</a> in a binary system accretes material from its companion star, eventually reaching a critical mass and triggering a runaway nuclear reaction.&nbsp;



Type II supernovae happen when a massive star, at least eight times the mass of the Sun, exhausts its nuclear fuel. Unable to support its own gravity, the core collapses, resulting in a massive explosion that ejects the outer layers into space.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-the-distance-to-faraway-galaxies-nbsp">Measuring the distance to faraway galaxies&nbsp;</h2>



According to ESA, SN 2022aajn is a Type Ia supernova. “Supernovae of this type help astronomers measure the distance to faraway galaxies. This is possible because Type Ia supernovae are thought to be of the same intrinsic luminosity - no matter how bright they seem from Earth, they put out the same amount of light as other Type Ia supernovae.”



This means that researchers can calculate the distance to the supernova and its host galaxy by comparing the observed brightness to the expected brightness.



“This seemingly simple measurement method is complicated by cosmic dust. The farther away a supernova is, the fainter and redder it will appear - but intergalactic dust can make a supernova appear fainter and redder as well,” explained ESA.



“To understand this complication, researchers will use Hubble to survey a total of 100 Type Ia supernovae in seven wavelength bands from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared.”



By analyzing the brightness of supernovae across multiple wavelengths, researchers can distinguish between the influences of dust and distance, refining our measurements of galaxies that exist billions of light-years away.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-many-galaxies-exist">How many galaxies exist?</h2>



The number of galaxies in the universe is estimated to be around two trillion, based on observations from Hubble and more recent data from the James Webb Space Telescope. 



This estimate is derived from deep-field surveys that reveal countless galaxies, each containing billions to trillions of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/interstellar-tunnel-found-that-connects-our-solar-system-to-other-stars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stars</a>.&nbsp;



However, because our observations are limited by current technology and the vastness of the cosmos, the actual number could be even higher.&nbsp;



Many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-galaxies-formed-from-the-earliest-elements-in-the-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> remain unseen due to their extreme distances, faintness, or obstruction by cosmic dust.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-constellation-gemini-nbsp">The constellation Gemini&nbsp;</h2>



Gemini is one of the 12 zodiac constellations and is best known for representing the mythological twins Castor and Pollux. It is located in the northern celestial hemisphere and is most visible during winter in the Northern Hemisphere.&nbsp;



The constellation is bordered by Taurus to the west, Cancer to the east, and Orion to the south.



The two brightest stars in Gemini - Castor and Pollux - represent the heads of the twins and are easy to spot. Pollux, the brighter of the two, is an orange giant star about 34 light-years from Earth, while Castor is a more complex system made up of six stars. 



The constellation also contains several notable deep-sky objects, including the open cluster Messier 35, which is a beautiful collection of young stars located near Gemini’s western border.



Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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Hubble spots a supernova in the constellation Gemini 

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1559, located around 35 million light-years away in the southern constellation Reticulum. The image was captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. 



"The data featured in this portrait make use of two of Webb’s instruments: the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) and Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam)," noted <a href="https://www.esa.int/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>.



"Here MIRI captures the glow of interstellar dust grains, which trace out the interstellar medium, the fuel for future star formation. NIRCam shows the light from stars, even young stars hidden behind prodigious amounts of dust. NIRCam also captures emission from ionized nebulae around young stars."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-webb-reveals-galaxies-in-new-light">Webb reveals galaxies in new light</h2>



According to ESA, the data was collected by the <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/phangs/home">PHANGS team</a> as part of a program in which Webb will observe 55 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/james-webb-captures-galaxies-that-are-too-old-to-exist/">galaxies</a> that have also been mapped by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, and more.&nbsp;



"By combining Webb’s unprecedented view of the dust and stars with data from these other facilities, the team aims to obtain a new, highly detailed view of how stars are born, live, and die in galaxies across the Universe."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ngc-1559-a-loner-in-space">NGC 1559: A loner in space</h2>



Although NGC 1559 appears to sit close to one of our nearest neighbors in the sky - the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) - this is just a trick of perspective, noted ESA.



While it is part of the Reticulum constellation, NGC 1559 is not part of the Local Group of galaxies but instead resides in a more distant region of space.



"In reality, NGC 1559 is physically nowhere near the LMC in space; in fact it truly is a loner, lacking the company of any nearby galaxies or membership of any galaxy cluster."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-star-formation-in-ngc-1559">Star formation in NGC 1559</h2>



NGC 1559 is notable for its active star formation and strong magnetic fields. It has also been the site of several <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supernova-explosions-could-damage-distant-planets/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">supernovae</a>, making it of particular interest to astronomers who study stellar evolution and the life cycle of stars.



The structure of NGC 1559 includes well-defined spiral arms that contain young, hot stars and regions of ionized gas, indicative of ongoing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/black-hole-is-starving-its-host-galaxy-of-star-forming-fuel/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">star formation</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-extragalactic-wonder">An extragalactic wonder</h2>



Despite being relatively small compared to larger galaxies like the Milky Way, NGC 1559 is an important object for understanding how barred spiral galaxies evolve and the processes that trigger supernovae.



The galaxy’s remote location and active nature make it a fascinating subject of study in the field of extragalactic astronomy. 



The isolation of NGC 1559 allows for a clearer view of its structure without much interference from neighboring galaxies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-barred-spiral-galaxies">Barred spiral galaxies</h2>



Barred spiral galaxies are a type of spiral galaxy characterized by a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars. This bar extends out from the core and connects to the galaxy's spiral arms, which swirl outward in a graceful pattern.



Scientists believe that the bar plays a crucial role in the evolution of the galaxy, funneling gas towards the core and potentially triggering star formation or feeding a central black hole. 



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/newly-discovered-stars-milky-way-are-old-as-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Milky Way</a>, our own galaxy, is an example of a barred spiral. These galaxies are quite common in the universe, making up about two-thirds of all observed spiral galaxies.



The bar itself is thought to be a temporary feature, developing as the galaxy matures and possibly disappearing over time as the dynamics of the stars change. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-reticulum-constellation">The Reticulum constellation</h2>



The Reticulum constellation is a small, faint constellation in the southern sky. Its name means "the reticle" in Latin, which refers to the crosshairs in an eyepiece of a telescope. 



The constellation was named in the 18th century by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille to honor the reticle he used in his scientific instruments. It is one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union.



Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA &amp; CSA, A. Leroy, J. Lee and the PHANGS Team



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Spiral galaxy glows with young stars and interstellar dust

Today's Image of the Day from NASA features the spiral galaxy NGC 2566, which is located 76 million light-years away in the constellation Puppis. The image was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.



“A prominent bar of stars stretches across the center of this galaxy, and spiral arms emerge from each end of the bar. Because NGC 2566 appears tilted from our perspective, its disk takes on an almond shape, giving the galaxy the appearance of a cosmic eye,” said <a href="https://phys.org/news/2024-12-hubble-spies-spiral-galaxy-ngc.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>.



“As NGC 2566 appears to gaze at us, astronomers gaze right back, using Hubble to survey the galaxy's star clusters and star-forming regions.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-complex-appearance-of-ngc-2566">Complex appearance of NGC 2566</h2>



NGC 2566 lies at a considerable distance from Earth, making it a challenging object for amateur astronomers to observe in detail without powerful telescopes.&nbsp;



It can be seen in the Southern Hemisphere sky and is better observed from locations with minimal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-light-pollution-influences-interest-in-astronomy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">light pollution</a>.&nbsp;



The galaxy's arms are populated with young, bright stars, regions of active star formation, and interstellar gas and dust - giving it a dynamic and complex appearance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-the-ages-of-stars">Measuring the ages of stars</h2>



According to NASA, data from Hubble is especially valuable for studying stars that are just a few million years old. “These stars are bright at the ultraviolet and visible wavelengths to which Hubble is sensitive.”



“Using these data, researchers can measure the ages of NGC 2566's stars, which helps piece together the timeline of the galaxy's star formation and the exchange of gas between star-forming clouds and the stars themselves.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-star-formation-in-galaxies">Star formation in galaxies</h2>



Star formation in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shapes-of-one-million-galaxies-hint-at-the-universes-origins/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> is a fascinating and complex process that unfolds over millions of years. It begins in vast clouds of gas and dust, known as molecular clouds, which are often found in the spiral arms of galaxies or in regions of irregular or starburst galaxies.&nbsp;



These clouds provide the raw material for star formation, consisting primarily of hydrogen and helium, with trace amounts of heavier elements.



As the molecular clouds collapse under their own gravity, regions within them begin to condense and fragment, forming dense clumps. Within these clumps, protostars emerge. Their formation is driven by the gravitational pull drawing in surrounding gas.&nbsp;



During this process, the gas heats up due to increasing pressure, eventually igniting nuclear fusion in the core, signaling the birth of a new star.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rate-of-star-formation-nbsp-across-galaxies">Rate of star formation&nbsp;across galaxies</h2>



The rate of star formation varies across galaxies is influenced by numerous factors. In spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, star formation is most active in the spiral arms, where density waves compress gas and dust, triggering the collapse of molecular clouds.&nbsp;



Elliptical galaxies, which often have little cold gas and dust, typically exhibit low rates of star formation or none at all.



Starburst galaxies, on the other hand, experience episodes of exceptionally high star formation, often triggered by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-captures-a-galaxy-collision-with-a-radiant-smile/">galactic collisions</a> or interactions. 



These events can funnel large amounts of gas into central regions, leading to intense star-forming activity. However, such bursts are usually short-lived on cosmic timescales, exhausting the available gas quickly.



The environment within a galaxy also plays a significant role. Stellar winds and supernova explosions from existing stars can both inhibit and promote star formation. They may disperse gas, preventing further collapse, or compress nearby clouds, triggering new star formation.&nbsp;



Over time, as galaxies evolve, the availability of gas diminishes, leading to a gradual decline in star formation activity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-puppis-constellation-nbsp">The Puppis constellation&nbsp;</h2>



The Puppis constellation in the southern sky represents the stern of a ship. It was once part of a larger constellation known as Argo Navis, which depicted the mythical ship of Jason and the Argonauts.&nbsp;



However, Argo Navis was later divided into three separate constellations: Puppis, Carina (the keel), and Vela (the sails). Puppis is the largest of these three and contains many notable celestial objects.



This constellation is home to several bright stars, including Naos (Zeta Puppis), a hot, massive star that emits intense ultraviolet radiation. Puppis also hosts a wide variety of deep-sky objects, such as open <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stunning-star-clusters-captured-in-the-extreme-outskirts-of-the-milky-way/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">star clusters</a> and nebulae.&nbsp;



Among these, Messier 46 and Messier 47 stand out. Both are beautiful star clusters that are visible through binoculars or small telescopes. The region is dense with stars because it lies along the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/milky-way-collision-may-change-everything-we-know-about-our-galaxy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Milky Way</a>, making it a prime area for stargazing and astrophotography. 



Image Credit: NASA



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Cosmic eye in the Puppis constellation

Today's Image of the Day from NASA features the spiral...

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features a portion of the Rosetta Nebula, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.



The Rosetta Nebula is a vast cloud of gas and dust located in the constellation Monoceros, also known as the Unicorn. Shaped like a blooming rose in deep space, it lies about 5,200 light-years from Earth and spans roughly 100 light-years in diameter.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-image-of-the-rosetta-nebula-nbsp">Image of the Rosetta Nebula&nbsp;</h2>



“<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/35-years-of-hubble-the-telescope-that-changed-our-view-of-the-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble</a> zooms into a small portion of the nebula that is only four light-years across (the approximate distance between our Sun and the neighboring Alpha Centauri star system),” noted <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>.



“Dark clouds of hydrogen gas laced with dust are silhouetted across the image. The clouds are being eroded and shaped by the seething radiation from the cluster of larger stars in the center of the nebula.”&nbsp;



“An embedded star seen at the tip of a dark cloud in the upper right portion of the image is launching jets of plasma that are crashing into the cold cloud around it. The resulting shock wave is causing a red glow. The colors come from the presence of hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-distinct-appearance-of-rosetta">Distinct appearance of Rosetta</h2>



Stellar winds and ultraviolet light are gradually carving out a cavity in the nebula’s center while simultaneously triggering new waves of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fluffy-molecular-clouds-may-change-our-understanding-of-star-formation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">star formation</a> along its dense edges.&nbsp;



The Rosetta Nebula is often studied to understand the life cycle of stars and the complex interactions between radiation and interstellar material.&nbsp;



Its intricate structure and visual appeal have made it a favorite target for both professional astronomers and astrophotographers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nebulae-that-are-similar-to-rosetta-nbsp">Nebulae that are similar to Rosetta&nbsp;</h2>



Compared to other famous nebulae, the Rosetta Nebula stands out for its symmetry and floral appearance, which give it a distinct, iconic look. It's often compared to the Orion Nebula, which is much closer to Earth at about 1,300 light-years away and far brighter in the night sky.&nbsp;



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orion-nebula-destroys-an-oceans-worth-of-water-every-month/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Orion Nebula</a> is a bustling stellar nursery visible even to the naked eye, while the Rosetta requires a telescope and is more diffuse and fainter despite being larger in actual size.



The Eagle Nebula, home to the famous "Pillars of Creation," shares a similar process of star formation and sculpting by radiation, but the Eagle has more dramatic, finger-like structures.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stellar-feedback-and-cosmic-evolution">Stellar feedback and cosmic evolution</h2>



The Lagoon Nebula and the Trifid Nebula, both in the constellation Sagittarius, also resemble the Rosetta in that they are active star-forming regions, but they lie in a denser part of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-found-something-strange-at-core-of-milky-way-galaxy-webb-meerkat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Milky Way</a> and are often surrounded by a rich starfield.



What makes the Rosetta Nebula particularly interesting scientifically is the clear interaction between its central star cluster and the surrounding gas, offering a textbook example of how massive stars influence their environment.&nbsp;



It may not be as visually iconic as the Orion or as dynamic as the Eagle, but it's a beautiful and instructive example of stellar feedback and cosmic evolution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-history-of-the-rosetta-nebula-nbsp">History of the Rosetta Nebula&nbsp;</h2>



The history of the Rosetta Nebula, like many deep-sky objects, is a blend of observational discovery and increasing scientific understanding over time.&nbsp;



Although it was likely spotted by earlier astronomers, its first documented observation was in the late 17th century by John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal of England.&nbsp;



However, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/six-rogue-worlds-discovered-inside-a-young-star-forming-nebula/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nebula</a> itself was not fully recognized as a distinct object until the advent of astrophotography and improved telescopes in the 19th and 20th centuries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-star-clusters-of-the-enormous-cloud">Star clusters of the enormous cloud</h2>



The central star cluster, NGC 2244, was cataloged separately by William Herschel in the 18th century. Over time, astronomers realized that this cluster was embedded in a much larger, complex nebular structure.&nbsp;



As telescope technology advanced, astronomers identified several parts of the Rosetta Nebula and gave them separate designations, including NGC 2237, NGC 2238, NGC 2239, and NGC 2246 - essentially referring to different regions of the same enormous cloud.



Observations from space-based telescopes like Chandra (X-rays) and Spitzer (infrared) helped map the energetic processes inside the nebula, revealing how radiation and stellar winds from NGC 2244 are triggering the birth of new stars in its surrounding regions.



Image Credit: ESA



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Rosetta Nebula: Sculpted by starlight over millions of years

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features the galaxy I Zwicky 18, which was captured in remarkable detail by the James Webb Space Telescope.



I Zwicky 18 is a blue compact dwarf <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/newly-discovered-stars-milky-way-are-old-as-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxy</a> located approximately 59 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-star-formation-in-i-zwicky-18">Star formation in I Zwicky 18</h2>



The galaxy is notable for its relatively young appearance and the fact that it contains very few heavy elements. These characteristics indicate that it has experienced little <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/baby-stars-release-sneezes-of-gas-and-dust-as-they-develop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">star formation</a> compared to other galaxies of similar age.



“The galaxy was first identified by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky in the 1930’s and resides roughly 59 million light-years from Earth,” noted <a href="https://www.esa.int/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>. “This galaxy has gone through several sudden bursts of star formation.”&nbsp;



According to ESA, I Zwicky 18 is typical of the kinds of galaxies that inhabited the early universe and is much smaller than our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/runaway-star-j1249-36-spotted-trying-to-escape-our-milky-way-galaxy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Milky Way</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-webb-telescope-image-of-the-galaxy">Webb telescope image of the galaxy</h2>



“Two major starburst regions are embedded in the heart of the galaxy. The wispy brown filaments surrounding the central starburst region are bubbles of gas that have been heated by stellar winds and intense ultraviolet radiation unleashed by hot, young stars,” said ESA.



“A companion galaxy resides nearby to the dwarf galaxy, which can be seen at the bottom of the wider-field image. The companion may be interacting with the dwarf galaxy and may have triggered that galaxy's recent star formation.”&nbsp;



ESA explained that the “orange blobs” surrounding the galaxy are the dim glow from ancient fully formed galaxies at much larger distances.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-characteristics-of-i-zwicky-18">Key characteristics of I Zwicky 18</h2>



As previously mentioned, the galaxy has a very low abundance of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, suggesting that it has not undergone significant stellar processing.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-young-stellar-population-nbsp">Young stellar population&nbsp;</h3>



Despite its old age, I Zwicky 18 contains many young, hot stars. This suggests that it might have experienced a burst of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hubble-detects-awe-inspiring-newborn-star/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">star formation</a> relatively recently in its history.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-interstellar-medium-nbsp">Interstellar medium&nbsp;</h3>



The galaxy has a high density of gas, which is a prime ingredient for star formation. This gas is mostly in the form of hydrogen.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unusual-characteristics">Unusual characteristics</h3>



Its characteristics are more typical of primordial galaxies found in the early universe, making it a valuable object of study for understanding galaxy formation and evolution.



Ultimately, I Zwicky 18 provides insights into the conditions and processes that might have been prevalent in the early universe.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-life-cycles-of-stars-and-dust">Life cycles of stars and dust</h3>



The image was captured as part of a Webb program to study the life cycle of dust in I Zw 18.&nbsp;



“Scientists are now building off of previous research with Hubble obtained at optical wavelengths, studying individual dusty stars in detail with Webb’s equivalent spatial resolution and sensitivity at infrared wavelengths.”&nbsp;



ESA noted that this galaxy is of particular interest as its content of elements heavier than helium is one of the lowest of all known <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/early-galaxy-formation-occurred-much-faster-than-we-thought/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> in the local universe.&nbsp;



“Such conditions are thought to be similar to those in some of the first star-forming galaxies at high redshift, so the Webb study of I Zw 18 should shed light on the life-cycle of stars and dust in the early universe.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-constellation-ursa-major">The constellation Ursa Major </h2>



Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, is one of the most prominent and easily recognizable constellations in the northern sky. 



Its name, "Ursa Major," means "Great Bear" in Latin, and it has been a significant part of various mythologies and star lore across cultures for thousands of years. 



One of the most famous asterisms within Ursa Major is the Big Dipper, a group of seven bright stars that form a shape resembling a ladle or dipper. The Big Dipper is often used as a navigation tool because it points to Polaris, the North Star, located in the nearby constellation Ursa Minor.



Ursa Major is best viewed in the northern hemisphere and is circumpolar, meaning it is visible year-round for much of the Northern Hemisphere. Its position changes with the seasons, rotating around Polaris, the North Star.



Image Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope



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Dwarf galaxy provides a window into the early universe

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features a pair of interacting spiral galaxies known as the Antennae Galaxies. They are located approximately 45 million light-years away in the constellation Corvus.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-antennae-galaxies-in-a-deadly-embrace">Antennae Galaxies in a deadly embrace </h2>



“The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has snapped the best ever image of the Antennae Galaxies. Hubble has released images of these stunning galaxies twice before, once using observations from its Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) in 1997, and again in 2006 from the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS),” noted <a href="https://esahubble.org/images/potw1345a/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>.



“The galaxies - also known as NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 - are locked in a deadly embrace. Once normal, sedate spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, the pair have spent the past few hundred million years sparring with one another.”



According to ESA, the clash of the Antennae Galaxies is so violent that stars have been ripped from their host <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/galaxy-collision-2-million-mph-stephans-quintet-captured-unprecedented-detail/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a> to form a streaming arc between the two.&nbsp;



The name of the galaxy pair comes from this long stream of stars and gas, which resembles insect antennae.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-intense-bursts-of-star-formation-nbsp">Intense bursts of star formation&nbsp;</h2>



The collision has triggered intense bursts of star formation, making the Antennae Galaxies one of the nearest and most dramatic examples of a starburst galaxy.&nbsp;



Many of the newly formed stars are concentrated in massive star clusters, some of which are expected to evolve into globular clusters over millions of years.



“This new image of the Antennae Galaxies shows obvious signs of chaos. Clouds of gas are seen in bright pink and red, surrounding the bright flashes of blue star-forming regions - some of which are partially obscured by dark patches of dust,” explained ESA.



“The rate of star formation is so high that the Antennae Galaxies are said to be in a state of starburst, a period in which all of the gas within the galaxies is being used to form stars.”&nbsp;



“This cannot last forever and neither can the separate galaxies; eventually the nuclei will coalesce, and the galaxies will begin their retirement together as one large elliptical galaxy.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significance-of-the-antennae-galaxies">Significance of the Antennae Galaxies</h2>



The Antennae Galaxies are one of the most well-studied examples of galaxy collisions - offering insight into the processes that shape galaxies over time.



Astronomers study the Antennae Galaxies using a range of telescopes across different wavelengths, including visible light, infrared, and X-rays.&nbsp;



Observations in X-rays have revealed evidence of supernovae and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/black-holes-may-talk-to-galaxies-through-energetic-winds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">black holes</a>, while infrared studies highlight regions of dust and star formation.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-milky-way-s-collision-course-nbsp">The Milky Way's collision course&nbsp;</h2>



The Antennae Galaxies provide a glimpse into the future of our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/uma3-u1-faintest-star-system-found-orbiting-milky-way-galaxy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Milky Way</a>, which is expected to eventually merge with the Andromeda Galaxy - our closest spiral galaxy neighbor.



The cosmic collision course of the Milky Way and Andromeda will reshape both galaxies over billions of years.&nbsp;



This event is expected to occur in about 4.5 billion years. Both galaxies are part of the Local Group, a cluster of galaxies bound together by gravity. Their mutual gravitational pull is drawing them closer at a speed of approximately 110 kilometers per second.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-birth-of-an-elliptical-galaxy-nbsp">The birth of an elliptical galaxy&nbsp;</h2>



When the two galaxies collide, their individual stars will largely avoid direct collisions due to the vast distances between them. However, the gravitational forces involved will create dramatic effects.&nbsp;



These forces will distort the galaxies' <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shapes-of-one-million-galaxies-hint-at-the-universes-origins/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shapes</a>, triggering intense bursts of star formation as gas clouds collide and compress. Over time, the galaxies will settle into a new, larger elliptical galaxy often referred to as "Milkomeda" or "Milkdromeda" by astronomers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-galaxy-merger-and-the-solar-system">Galaxy merger and the solar system</h2>



Despite the seemingly destructive nature of the collision, the solar system is unlikely to face direct harm. Our Sun may find itself flung into a new orbit within the merged galaxy or even cast into intergalactic space.&nbsp;



The merger will also significantly alter the night sky, with the Andromeda Galaxy becoming increasingly prominent before blending into the unified structure.



This event is part of the natural <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/galaxies-are-much-bigger-than-we-originally-believed-gas-clouds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evolution of galaxies</a> and serves as a fascinating reminder of the dynamic and ever-changing nature of the universe. 



While the collision is still billions of years away, studying it helps astronomers understand galactic interactions and the long-term future of our cosmic neighborhood.



Image Credit: ESA/Hubble &amp; NASA



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Violent clash of the Antennae Galaxies  

The MODIS instrument, short for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, is a key instrument aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites. MODIS is playing a vital role in the development of Earth ecosystem models, able to predict global changes, which then assist policy makers in making informed decisions about the protection of the global environment.

Heavy snow and cloud cover in the Alps are seen in this Image of the day&nbsp;from the <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> and features a look at heavy snow and low clouds in the Alps. Wildlife such as ibex live in the higher peaks to elevations of 3,400 m (11,155 ft), and plants such as Edelweiss grow in rocky areas in lower elevations as well as in higher elevations.

Heavy snow and cloud cover in the Alps

Monitoring Earth Changes with MODIS

Aqua is a NASA scientific research satellite that studies precipitation, evaporation, and water cycles. Terra and Aura make up the Earth Observing System. It's the second component of the system.

A frozen Lake Erie in February Today’s Image of the Day comes from the <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> and features a look at a frozen <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/icy-lake-erie/">Lake Erie</a>, which is currently 93.3 percent iced over. A frozen Lake Erie in February
This false-color image was created using data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Aqua satellite to differentiate between snow, ice, and clouds.
Lake Erie /ˈɪəri/ (French: Lac Érié) is the fourth-largest lake (by surface area) of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the eleventh-largest globally if measured in terms of surface area.It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. At its deepest point Lake Erie is 210 feet (64 metres) deep. 
Situated on the International Boundary between Canada and the United States, Lake Erie&#8217;s northern shore is the Canadian province of Ontario, specifically the Ontario Peninsula, with the U.S. states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York on its western, southern, and eastern shores. These jurisdictions divide the surface area of the lake with water boundaries. 
The lake was named by the Erie people, a Native American people who lived along its southern shore. The tribal name &#8220;erie&#8221; is a shortened form of the Iroquoian word erielhonan, meaning long tail
&#8212;
By <a href="mailto:rarnold@earth.com">Rory Arnold</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer
Image Credit: <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a>

A frozen Lake Erie in February

Aqua Earth Observing Satellite

This beautiful photo gallery contains 50 incredible images of Earth from Space. These images were taken by astronauts onboard the International Space Station, as well as by a multitude of NASA satellites orbiting the earth.

Today’s Image of the Day comes thanks to the <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=90654&amp;eocn=home&amp;eoci=iotd_readmore">NASA Earth Observatory</a> and features a look at Super Typhoon Noru in the Pacific Ocean just south of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/first-blue-chrysanthemums-created/">Japan</a>.
This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on July 31, 2017. 
At the time the photo was taken, Typhoon Noru was located just 250 kilometers south of Iwo Jima. Maximum sustained winds hit 150 miles per hour.
The storm briefly became a category 5 on July 30, before being downgraded to a category 4 one day later.
&#8211;
By <a href="mailto:rarnold@earth.com">Rory Arnold</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer
Source: <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=90654&amp;eocn=home&amp;eoci=iotd_readmore">NASA Earth Observatory</a>

Super Typhoon Noru in the Pacific Ocean

Incredible Images of Earth from Space

Photos from the International Space Station are found in this awesome Earth.com image gallery. Flat-earthers won't agree, but these incredible photos of the Earth were taken by astronauts onboard the International Space Station. The International Space Station is a modular space station in low Earth orbit.

Northern Italy from the space station is seen here in this Image of the Day from the <a href="http://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> (ESA). The view includes the top half of the Italian Peninsula, along with <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/wildfires-burn-northern-corsica/">Corsica</a> and Sardinia off the coast. This image was captured by ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli on his third and final mission to the Space Station.

Northern Italy from the Space Station

Photos from the International Space Station

In the vast, slow-moving waters of the Florida Everglades, an endangered songbird struggles to survive. With its soft trill and modest size, the Cape Sable seaside sparrow has long evoked admiration from birdwatchers and conservationists alike. 



But beneath the surface of its fragile habitat, an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-but-mighty-the-significance-of-world-sparrow-day/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">invisible danger</a> is mounting - one that doesn’t just affect the bird’s health but may be robbing it of its very ability to reproduce.



The sparrow’s world is shrinking. Its native range exists only within Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. Less than 2,500 individuals remain. 



While habitat degradation and water mismanagement have already strained its numbers, scientists now believe that mercury contamination poses a new and silent threat. The toxic metal has entered the bird’s food chain, disrupting mating behavior and pushing the species closer to collapse.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mercury-and-sparrow-mating-opportunities">Mercury and sparrow mating opportunities </h2>



Alan Mock, a doctoral candidate at Florida International University, has been studying the sparrow for several years. His team recently published groundbreaking findings in the journal Ecotoxicology, revealing how mercury exposure impacts the reproductive success of the Cape Sable seaside sparrow. 



The research marked the first formal investigation of mercury <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sparrows-have-fewer-friends-as-they-age-just-like-most-people/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">concentrations</a> in this species and the results are deeply concerning.



Mock and his colleagues discovered that sparrows with higher levels of mercury were significantly less likely to find mates. These birds are already under pressure from shrinking wetland areas and unpredictable hydrological cycles. Adding mercury to the equation further complicates their fight for survival.



"This is the first research published on mercury concentrations in the Cape Sable seaside sparrow," said Mock. 



The findings suggest that male sparrows with higher mercury burdens saw a 63% decline in their likelihood of pairing with a mate - an enormous drop for a bird that only gets a limited number of breeding opportunities in a lifetime.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-drying-wetlands-increase-mercury">Drying wetlands increase mercury</h2>



To understand how mercury infiltrates the sparrow’s system, researchers looked at hydrologic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/weaver-birds-build-strikingly-unique-nests/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">patterns</a> across three breeding seasons, from 2016 to 2018. 



They collected breast feathers from both adult and juvenile sparrows to measure total mercury concentrations (THg). These samples revealed a strong link between local water conditions and mercury levels.



Four models were used to explain how hydrologic variation influenced mercury uptake. The most accurate model showed that mercury concentrations rose with the rate of water recession during the dry season and fell when droughts in the previous season lasted longer. 



The model’s adjusted R² value was 0.82, a high level of statistical confidence that emphasizes the relationship between water conditions and mercury exposure.



In simple terms, faster-drying marshes led to greater mercury <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/penguins-are-threatened-by-mercury-contamination/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">contamination</a>. This exposure occurred before the sparrows even began breeding, which meant many males were already disadvantaged before mating season began.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mercury-stops-sparrows-from-breeding">Mercury stops sparrows from breeding </h2>



One of the study’s most revealing insights was that mercury didn’t significantly impact nesting success or the number of chicks fledged from active nests. 



Instead, the main issue was that many birds didn’t get to the nesting stage at all. Elevated mercury levels seemed to prevent breeding from starting - what the researchers call early breeding failure.



This nuance matters. Nest success might look unaffected when only successful pairs are considered, but a broader view shows the population-level consequences. 



Through demographic modeling, the team predicted a staggering 60% drop in population productivity due to reduced male mating success. In a species with such small numbers, even modest changes in reproductive output can have outsized effects.



Mock warned that fewer “love connections” could tip the already-vulnerable population into irreversible decline. The birds are not just missing mates; they are losing the ability to pass their genes on to future generations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mercury-s-path-from-pollution-to-predator">Mercury’s path from pollution to predator</h2>



Mercury does not originate in the Everglades. It travels there through air pollution and land runoff, eventually settling into the water. Once in wetlands, microbes convert mercury into methylmercury - a highly toxic form that accumulates in aquatic insects.



These mercury-contaminated insects form a key part of the sparrow’s diet. As the birds consume more of them, mercury accumulates in their tissues, especially in feathers. 



Unlike some pollutants that can break down or be expelled, methylmercury persists and interferes with biological processes. Its most alarming effect, in this case, is on mating behavior and reproductive timing.



As a result, the birds are left biologically ready but behaviorally blocked from reproducing. The problem grows worse with every dry season that speeds up water recession and raises mercury levels further.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-local-interventions-vs-global-responsibility">Local interventions vs. global responsibility</h2>



Efforts to counteract the effects of mercury contamination have mostly focused on local water management. By adjusting water levels and slowing marsh drying, it’s possible to slightly reduce mercury exposure for native sparrows and other wildlife. 



But Mock cautions that such strategies can only go so far. "We can manage recession rate and water levels to try to reduce exposure, but that's kind of putting Band-Aids on the overall mercury pollution problem."



The real cause lies further upstream - in industrial emissions and global environmental practices that allow mercury to spread through the atmosphere and across landscapes. Without international cooperation to reduce mercury emissions, efforts within the Everglades may fall short.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-restoration-remains-essential">Restoration remains essential</h2>



Despite these challenges, local restoration work remains vital. Ongoing efforts to improve water quality and restore natural flow patterns could lessen the burden of mercury on the Cape Sable seaside sparrow. This requires continued investment, monitoring, and adaptive management.



The sparrow’s fate may hinge on how well scientists, policymakers, and conservationists respond to these new findings. Addressing mercury pollution is no longer just an environmental concern - it is a matter of preserving the song of one of America’s rarest birds.



By recognizing the interconnectedness of pollution, water systems, and wildlife survival, there’s still hope that the sparrow’s story can continue - not as a cautionary tale, but as one of resilience and renewal.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10646-025-02851-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ecotoxicology</a>.



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Mercury pollution makes it hard for sparrows to find a partner

In the vast, slow-moving waters of the Florida Everglades, an...

The Step Pyramid rises taller than a 20‑story building on the edge of Egypt’s desert plateau, about 15 miles south of the modern sprawl of Giza. Built roughly 4,650 years ago, it was the first gigantic structure ever assembled entirely from carved stone blocks. 



Yet for all its fame, scholars have long puzzled over how its builders coaxed more than 11 million cubic feet of limestone into perfectly symmetrical positions with the tools of their day.



A fresh study now hints that the secret may have flowed through channels and pools rather than up crumbling earthen ramps. 



By tracing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/egypts-pyramids-were-built-along-a-buried-branch-of-the-nile-river/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ancient watercourses</a> visible in satellite radar images and matching them with clues cut into bedrock, researchers suggest that water power - a type of hydraulic elevator - did most of the work of raising the pyramid, tier by tier.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-king-djoser-s-step-pyramid">King Djoser's Step Pyramid</h2>



Half a century before the better‑known pyramids at Giza, Pharaoh Djoser ordered his chief architect, Imhotep, to design a tomb like no other -- The Step Pyramid of Djoser.



The result was a six‑stepped monument that still stands between 197 ft and 203 ft tall. 



Instead of a single-level structure, Imhotep stacked six <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/3800-year-old-hexagonal-pyramid-discovered-possibly-a-royal-tomb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">layers of stone</a>, creating a striking staircase to the heavens. For the first time, Egyptian builders used large, carved limestone blocks.



In the decades that followed, the know‑how refined at Saqqara sparked a construction sprint in the region. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/great-pyramids_Djoser_Saqqara-plateau_water-course_Volcano-hydraulic-lift_Paleotechnic_PLOS-One_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/great-pyramids_Djoser_Saqqara-plateau_water-course_Volcano-hydraulic-lift_Paleotechnic_PLOS-One_1s.webp" alt="Map of the Saqqara plateau showing the water course from the Gisr el-Mudir dam to the water treatment facility near Djoser pyramid. The water is then transferred to the pyramid's network of pipes to power the hydraulic elevator. Credit: Paleotechnic of Paris, France" class="wp-image-1968267"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Map of the Saqqara plateau showing the water course from the Gisr el-Mudir dam to the water treatment facility near Djoser pyramid. The water is then transferred to the pyramid's network of pipes to power the hydraulic elevator. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Paleotechnic of Paris, France</figcaption></figure>



Stones ballooned in size from 660 pounds apiece to more than 5,000 pounds, and roughly 28 million tons of masonry went into building just seven royal pyramids.



Surrounding the pyramid was an elaborate complex of courtyards, temples, and ceremonial spaces, all designed to serve the pharaoh in the afterlife. 



These spaces weren’t just symbolic - they were functional parts of a belief system that saw the king as a god on Earth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-finding-clues-etched-in-stone">Finding clues etched in stone</h2>



Leading the latest push towards unraveling this mystery is Dr. Xavier Landreau of the <a href="https://www.cea.fr/english/Pages/Welcome.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CEA Paleotechnic Institute</a>. 



His French team combed through decades of excavation notes and paired them with high‑resolution radar scenes. 



“Satellite imagery clearly shows that a rectangular stone enclosure known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gisr_el-Mudir" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gisr el‑Mudir</a>, located west of the Saqqara necropolis, has all the technical characteristics of a check dam," explains Dr. Landreau. 



"This feature would have been used to control the flow of flash floods and capture heavy objects coming from upriver.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vanished-lake-purpose-built-moat">Vanished lake, purpose‑built moat</h2>



On the lee side of the dam, the landscape bows into a shallow basin. Soil chemistry there hints at a lake that swelled during seasonal Nile surges. 



When the water dropped, channels funneled the remaining flow into a rock‑cut trench now nicknamed the Dry Moat ringing the pyramid precinct. 



Its southern arm contains a line of chambers whose stepped floors resemble today’s sedimentation basins at municipal water plants.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/great-pyramids_Djoser-complex_North-Saqqara_water-course-map_credit-Airbus_PLOS-ONE_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/great-pyramids_Djoser-complex_North-Saqqara_water-course-map_credit-Airbus_PLOS-ONE_1s.webp" alt="North Saqqara map showing the relation between the Abusir water course and the Step Pyramid construction process (Inset). The arrows figuring the flow directions are approximate and given for illustrative purposes based on the Franco-Egyptian SFS/IGN survey. Satellite image: Airbus Pléiades" class="wp-image-1968271"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">North Saqqara map showing the relation between the Abusir water course and the Step Pyramid construction process (Inset). The arrows figuring the flow directions are approximate and given for illustrative purposes based on the Franco-Egyptian SFS/IGN survey. Click image to enlarge. Satellite image: Airbus Pléiades</figcaption></figure>



“Together, the Gisr el‑Mudir and the Dry Moat’s inner south section work as a unified hydraulics system that improves water quality and regulates flow for practical purposes and human needs,” the authors write. 



The cleaned runoff, they argue, arrived just in time to solve a pressing construction headache.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-water-and-the-step-pyramid-stones">Water and the Step Pyramid stones</h2>



Inside the pyramid, stone corridors angle upward from a central shaft. Their shape and wear patterns nudge the imagination toward a liquid‑powered lift. 



“The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-buildings-used-passive-cooling-methods-to-reduce-heat-with-out-air-conditioning/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ancient architects</a> likely raised the stones from the pyramid center in a volcano fashion using the sediment‑free water from the Dry Moat’s south section,” the authors write. 



Picture buoyant barges - or perhaps sealed sleds - nudged ever higher as fresh water flowed beneath them.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/great-pyramids_Djoser-complex_subterranean-layout_credit-PLOS-One_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/great-pyramids_Djoser-complex_subterranean-layout_credit-PLOS-One_1s.webp" alt="Overview of Djoser’s complex subterranean layout, focusing on the Latvian mission’s discoveries (orange parts)–courtesy of Monnier. Credit: PLOS One" class="wp-image-1968273"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Overview of Djoser’s complex subterranean layout, focusing on the Latvian mission’s discoveries (orange parts)–courtesy of Monnier. Click image to enlarge. Credit: PLOS One</figcaption></figure>



Numbers support the idea. With a column of water roughly 30 ft deep, upward pressure could cancel out two‑thirds of a limestone block’s weight, leaving workers on terraced ledges to guide the payload into place. 



Such a system would sidestep the need for massive ramps long thought to encircle early pyramids yet never found in situ.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-floods-first-droughts-later">Floods first, droughts later</h2>



“Before the Fourth Dynasty, there were more problems with floods than with a lack of water,” Dr. Landreau noted, highlighting why the Saqqara workforce might have embraced hydraulic engineering. 



Annual inundations could swallow work sites, rot timber, and strand supplies. Turning surplus water into a construction ally would have converted a hazard into free labor.



The shift paid off quickly. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solar-eclipse-may-have-changed-the-architecture-of-ancient-egypt-forever/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stone sizes doubled</a> within a generation, and by the time Khufu’s Great Pyramid went up around 2550 B.C., individual blocks tipped the scales at more than 5 tons. 



Specialists calculate that hauling such loads up a mile‑long ramp would have required at least 4,000 men at any given moment. A water‑driven elevator could slash that headcount and keep quarry teams ahead of schedule.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-all-of-that-work-for-what">All of that work for what?</h2>



Yet the Step Pyramid keeps one trick buried deep: its burial chamber is empty. No royal mummy, no treasure, no wall texts. 



Where is Pharaoh Djoser?



Some archaeologists have floated the idea that the hollow core acted less as a tomb and more as a pressure vessel, a technical heart that made the water lift possible. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/great-pyramids_Djoser-complex_rock-cut-trench_workers_credit-PLOS-One_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/great-pyramids_Djoser-complex_rock-cut-trench_workers_credit-PLOS-One_1s.webp" alt="View of compartment-1 of the rock-cut deep trench (1943), 27m deep, 3m wide. a: View from the west; b: View from the east. The workers in the background provide a sense of the structure’s immense scale and technicity. Credit: PLOS One" class="wp-image-1968277"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">View of compartment-1 of the rock-cut deep trench (1943), 27m deep, 3m wide. a: View from the west; b: View from the east. The workers in the background provide a sense of the structure’s immense scale and technicity. Click image to enlarge. Credit: PLOS One</figcaption></figure>



The maze of tunnels, hinged stone doors, and drop‑block traps hint at mechanical ingenuity as sophisticated as any irrigation canal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-step-pyramid-and-modern-engineers">Step Pyramid and modern engineers</h2>



Today, Saqqara’s mastery of fluid dynamics may sound eerily familiar to civil engineers who harness controlled floods to build delta land in Louisiana or raise entire houses atop pneumatic lifts. 



If ancient builders truly manipulated water columns to float stones skyward, they pulled off a feat that resonates with modern efforts to work with natural forces rather than fight them.



The findings don't close every gap in the long saga of Egypt’s pyramids, but they do open an inviting corridor for future digs. 



Drill cores from the Dry Moat’s silt layers could confirm lake deposits; mineral stains on interior shafts might betray repeated wet cycles. 



Either way, the Step Pyramid is an engineering marvel that continues to teach us that even in antiquity, people were willing to tackle colossal challenges with solutions as fluid as the Nile itself.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0306690" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS One</a>.



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Ancient high-tech machinery was used to build Egypt's pyramids, study claims

The Step Pyramid rises taller than a 20‑story building on...

Researchers investigating a type of virus that was once dismissed as a side note have shown that it may be hiding everywhere. They found that this so-called “curiosity” virus is no small player but instead a major presence in certain bacterial populations.



Professor Trevor Lithgow, who is senior author and head of the <a href="https://www.monash.edu/discovery-institute" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute</a>'s Bacterial Cell Biology Lab, is connected with the team that brought this <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bacteria-recreate-an-ancient-war-trick-to-defeat-viruses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">discovery</a> to light. His group at <a href="https://www.monash.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Monash University</a> has been examining how these viruses, known as bacteriophages (or phages), target their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bacteria-pass-down-their-memories-to-fight-viruses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bacterial</a> hosts. 



At least 120 research teams at the Institute explore how microorganisms adapt and spread in different conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-telomere-phages-in-bacterial-cells">Telomere phages in bacterial cells</h2>



Some phages use telomere-like structures to replicate their genomes. Because of this, they are also known as telomere <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37896796/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">phages</a>. They were once overlooked, partly because researchers assumed these phages were too rare to deserve much attention.



Scientists in the current study used <a href="https://www.mpie.de/4675247/advanced-electron-microscopy-techniques" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">advanced electron microscopy</a> to check how these telomere phages assemble inside bacterial cells. They saw many viral particles, each equipped with special strategies to spread between cells.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-telomere-phages-matter">Why telomere phages matter</h2>



One surprising twist is that telomere phages that have infected bacteria can bestow weapons on their hosts. The research team showed that these tools, called <a href="https://www.biology.utah.edu/uncategorized/tailocins-the-next-generation-of-antibiotics-might-just-come-from-understanding-the-viruses-that-infect-bacteria/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">telocins</a>, help certain infected bacteria to kill off less "friendly" strains of bacteria. 



Telocins have the potential to knock out neighboring bacteria, including variants that resist antibiotics. That finding raises hopes for new approaches to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-first-bacteria-used-oxygen-about-one-billion-years-earlier-than-we-thought/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bacterial</a> control, especially in hospital settings where <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20929376/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">antibiotic-resistant microbes</a> cause big problems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-telomere-phages-hiding-in-plain-sight">Telomere phages hiding in plain sight</h2>



The group sequenced a type of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-type-of-microbes-found-earths-deep-soil-critical-zone/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bacterium</a> that is sometimes found in people with lung infections. They noticed that telomere phages were abundant, despite years of prior scientific efforts that failed to record their existence.



“For more than 20 years of intensive bacterial genomics, telomere phages had remained hidden in plain sight. We have missed an entire aspect of biology,” said Professor Lithgow.



Specialists once wrote these viruses off as mere oddities, but they appear to be quite common and widespread. Researchers refer to telomere phages as stealthy elements that integrate seamlessly and replicate in unusual ways.



Now they recognize these phages as big influencers. They can help shape which bacteria thrive and which ones stay in check, especially in places where many bacterial types compete.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-telocins-and-their-impact">Telocins and their impact</h2>



“Our discovery of toxins that we call ‘telocins’ (for telomere-phage toxins) has a potential translation as a bacterial management strategy: ‘good’ bacteria carrying telomere phages will kill neighboring ‘bad’ <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/klebsiella/about/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Klebsiella</a>. An example of ‘bad’ bacteria would be antibiotic-resistant Klebsiella,” explained Professor Lithgow.



The scientists discovered that the phages carry instructions for these telocins. This toxin can destroy neighboring bacterial cells if they lack immunity genes that the phage also encodes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-future-care">Implications for future care</h2>



Infections involving drug-resistant Klebsiella strains remain a major concern in hospitals. Some strains evade treatment, and can trigger severe complications in patients.



Telomere phages could point scientists toward creative therapies for controlling these threatening microbes. By harnessing telocins, it might be possible to target specific bacterial populations without wiping out beneficial strains.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-viruses-present-in-bacterial-populations">Viruses present in bacterial populations </h2>



The same investigations hint that such phages exist not only in one type of Klebsiella but also in multiple related species. This suggests there may be broad viral diversity that remains undocumented.



Further analysis indicated that telomere phages might be common in water sources and other places where these bacteria reside. Researchers say that ignoring them might be risky, given the practical value in knowing how to manipulate or 'tame' them.



Scientists used different bacterial strains to test how widespread telocin activity might be. They observed that many strains were vulnerable, which hints at how potent these toxins can be.



They are now exploring the methods these toxins use to enter and destroy target cells. Understanding each step could pave the way for more precise antibacterial tools.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-phages-live-peacefully-inside-their-hosts">Phages live peacefully inside their hosts</h2>



Investigators confirmed that carrying these telomere phages typically does not slow bacterial growth in the lab. This points to a balanced coexistence where the virus “lives” inside the bacterium.



“We now want to understand how the host secretes the toxin and also understand how the toxin wheedles its way into the unsuspecting bacterial neighbors," said first author Sally Byers from the Lithgow Laboratory.



"While all of our work has been done in Klebsiella, we predict that yet to be discovered telomere phages may be common in other species of bacteria too."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-viruses-and-bacterial-evolution">Viruses and bacterial evolution</h2>



These revelations stand out because they push us to challenge old assumptions. Viruses once shrugged off as bit players could actually be important forces in the evolution of bacterial populations.



They have a knack for arming their hosts with special features, which creates ripple effects in the microbial community. That dynamic might help clarify how antibiotic-resistant bacteria get an upper hand, or how some strains survive stressful environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-work-on-virus-toxin-links">More work on virus-toxin links</h2>



Uncovering the prevalence of telomere phages is step one in a longer journey. Scientists believe there is still much to learn about these viruses in other bacterial groups.



They hope the findings will inspire deeper studies into phage-toxin partnerships. With more data, we might discover ways to control bacterial infections by turning their own viral partners against them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-phages-may-control-microbes-in-nature">Phages may control microbes in nature</h2>



Everyday environments, from soil to fresh water, could be teeming with similar viruses. Telomere phages may hold sway over the balance of microbes that live in those habitats.



If researchers manage to harness telocins outside medical settings, they might be able to limit harmful bacteria in agriculture or in waste water systems. Such efforts may help defend plants, livestock, and broader ecosystems against dangerous infections.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fighting-antibiotic-resistance">Fighting antibiotic resistance</h2>



It is clear that antibiotic resistance is a global threat that demands new tactics. These viruses could serve as a fresh line of research to guide us to target antibiotic-resistant bacteria more precisely.



Telomere phages may also help scientists figure out how to give helpful microbes a competitive edge. By doing so, we might encourage healthier ecosystems and better patient outcomes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-telomere-phages-and-microbial-biology">Telomere phages and microbial biology</h2>



Experts say the presence of telomere phages across various species of bacteria might reshape how we categorize viruses. Past labels like “rare curiosity” no longer fit, given their potentially substantial roles.



They suspect that these phages exist under our noses and have gone unnoticed for a very long time. By shining a light on them, we may upgrade our overall understanding of the way microbial life functions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions </h2>



Although telocins and phages present interesting opportunities, the work is still in its early stages. Researchers stress that real-world applications will depend on careful testing to ensure safety and reliability.



They also emphasize the need to evaluate any unintended effects on beneficial bacteria. Balanced strategies that avoid widespread harm to the broader microbial community are essential for success.



Further research will aim to identify more telomere phages. Surveying other bacterial populations could reveal how widespread these viruses are in medical, environmental, and industrial settings.



Refining phage-based methods could support modern medicine’s quest to combat resistant bacteria. Current findings suggest it is wise to keep an eye on these once-ignored viruses.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt1627" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Previously-overlooked viruses may secretly shape bacterial populations

Researchers investigating a type of virus that was once dismissed...

SPHEREx, NASA’s latest space observatory, has officially begun scanning the skies after weeks of careful preparation in orbit. Each day, it captures around 3,600 images to build a vibrant, detailed map of the universe that is unlike anything seen before.



Launched into space on March 11, the observatory was created by scientists from the <a href="https://www.caltech.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">California Institute of Technology</a> (Caltech), NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and other institutions. Over six weeks, the mission team checked and calibrated every part of the observatory to ensure it would perform as planned. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exploring-the-origins-of-the-universe">Exploring the origins of the universe </h2>



On May 1, SPHEREx entered its full science phase. Over the next two years, it will use its powerful infrared sensors to explore the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shapes-of-one-million-galaxies-hint-at-the-universes-origins/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">origins of the universe</a>, trace the history of galaxies, and search for the ingredients of life scattered across our galaxy.



“Thanks to the hard work of teams across NASA, industry, and academia that built this mission, SPHEREx is operating just as we’d expected and will produce maps of the full sky unlike any we’ve had before,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. 



“This new observatory is adding to the suite of space-based astrophysics survey missions leading up to the launch of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Together with these other missions, SPHEREx will play a key role in answering the big questions about the universe we tackle at NASA every day."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-spherex-sees-the-universe">How SPHEREx sees the universe</h2>



SPHEREx, short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer, circles Earth roughly 14½ times a day. It follows a <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/tracking-polar-orbiting-satellites/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polar orbit</a>, passing over the North and South Poles, and captures images in strips that wrap around the planet. 



Each day adds another strip. Over six months, the telescope will observe the full sky, and over 25 months, it will do this four times.



To control its movement, the spacecraft doesn’t use thrusters. Instead, it adjusts its orientation using reaction wheels, which are spinning devices inside the observatory.



Unlike some telescopes, SPHEREx doesn’t move its mirrors or detectors to shift its view. Instead, the entire <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/farewell-to-gaia-the-spacecraft-that-mapped-the-milky-way/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spacecraft</a> tilts slightly to change its pointing direction.



Each image is actually a set of six, with each detector capturing a different part of the infrared spectrum. These are called exposures. SPHEREx takes about 600 exposures every day.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-the-beginning-of-everything">Understanding the beginning of everything</h2>



Over two years, the observatory will generate hundreds of thousands of images. These will be woven into four complete maps of the entire sky. Scientists will use them to look for clues about what took place during the earliest moments after the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/if-the-big-bang-theory-is-correct-what-exactly-happened/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">big bang</a>.



One key moment the experts are interested in is called cosmic inflation, which occurred a fraction of a second after the universe began. During this time, the universe expanded faster than the speed of light - to a trillion-trillion times its starting size. This sudden growth left subtle traces in how matter is spread across space.



“We’re going to study what happened on the smallest size scales in the universe’s earliest moments by looking at the modern universe on the largest scales,” said Jim Fanson, the mission’s project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “I think there’s a poetic arc to that.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-echoes-of-early-universe-expansion">Echoes of early universe expansion </h2>



The positions of galaxies today still carry echoes of early universe expansion. These patterns hold the secrets to what kind of energy triggered inflation. Studying them may reveal something never seen before in nature - the kind of energy that could have powered this vast transformation.



“Some of us have been working toward this goal for 12 years,” said Jamie Bock, the mission’s principal investigator at Caltech and JPL. 



“The performance of the instrument is as good as we hoped. That means we’re going to be able to do all the amazing science we planned on and perhaps even get some unexpected discoveries.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-map-has-a-spectrum-of-possibilities">The map has a spectrum of possibilities</h2>



While SPHEREx is not the first observatory to chart the entire sky, it is the first to do so in 102 colors of infrared light. That’s far more than previous missions. 



Infrared light is invisible to human eyes but carries important information about distant stars, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hidden-galaxies-discovery-would-upend-current-understanding-of-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a>, and clouds of gas and dust.



The observatory uses a method called spectroscopy to break down light into its component wavelengths, similar to how a prism splits sunlight into a rainbow. Each color tells a different story.



For instance, this method helps determine how far away a galaxy is. That turns a flat map of galaxy locations into a 3D picture of the cosmos. Spectroscopy also lets scientists measure the total light from all galaxies that ever existed and how it has changed over billions of years.



And in our own galaxy, it will help look for key molecules that support life. Water, for example, can be detected in frozen form on dust grains. Scientists believe these icy grains were the source of Earth’s ocean water.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-spherex-could-reveal-next">What SPHEREx could reveal next</h2>



SPHEREx is expected to make over nine million measurements of interstellar clouds across the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-found-something-strange-at-core-of-milky-way-galaxy-webb-meerkat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Milky Way</a>. These data will help scientists understand how chemistry varies in different space environments. It may even explain how life-friendly molecules found their way to Earth.



With a simple approach and sophisticated tools, this small spacecraft is investigating some of the biggest questions humanity has ever asked. And it’s doing it one image at a time.



Details of SPHEREx and its mission are available in this <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-spherex-space-telescope-begins-capturing-entire-sky/">press release</a> from NASA's JPL.



Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech



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SPHEREx is mapping the universe in unprecedented detail

SPHEREx, NASA’s latest space observatory, has officially begun scanning the...

When the Webb Telescope began sending back its first deep‑field images, astronomers expected a gentle trickle of faint, infant galaxies. Instead, they found massive, bright "red monster" galaxies shining barely 500 million to one billion years after the Big Bang.



That early cosmic boom of redshifted galaxies surprised even seasoned researchers who thought they had a solid grip on how galaxies grow.



Those jumbo galaxies - some as hefty as today’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-found-something-strange-at-core-of-milky-way-galaxy-webb-meerkat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Milky Way</a> - seemed to upend the standard <a href="https://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/education/graphic_history/univ_evol.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lambda Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM) framework</a>. After all, if giants showed up so soon, maybe the textbook timeline for star formation needed a fresh look. 



To pin down what Webb had really seen, an international team dug into the telescope’s FRESCO survey, which pairs crisp imaging with spectroscopic measurements that reveal a galaxy’s exact distance and age.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sky-full-of-red-galaxies">Sky full of 'red' galaxies</h2>



Using <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/525/2/2864/7243412" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FRESCO</a>, the team sifted through 36 dust‑shrouded galaxies. Precise redshifts confirmed that most of them fit neatly within ΛCDM expectations. 



Three objects, however, refused to play by the usual rules. Each one boasts a stellar mass greater than 10¹¹ times that of the Sun - impressive for any epoch, but absolutely astounding for the universe’s first billion years. 



Together the galaxies may have fueled about 17 percent of all star formation between redshifts 5 and 6, when the cosmos was just under a billion years old.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-peering-back-13-billion-years">Peering back 13 billion years</h2>



“Our findings are reshaping our understanding of galaxy formation in the early universe,” says Dr. Mengyuan Xiao, lead author of the study from the <a href="https://www.unige.ch/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Geneva</a>. 



The trio’s extreme efficiency stands out: they appear to have turned roughly half of the normal matter available inside their dark‑matter halos into stars, two to three times the rate seen in later epochs. 



Typical galaxies manage no more than 20 percent. Yet the emission from these early behemoths is spread across each system, hinting that a ravenous central black hole is not the main driver.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-red-monster-galaxies-emerge">"Red monster" galaxies emerge</h2>



High dust content reddens these galaxies in the <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Webb Telescope</a>’s near‑infrared view, earning them the nickname "red monsters." 



"The massive properties of these ‘red monsters’ had hardly been determined before JWST because they are optically invisible owing to dust attenuation,” explained Dr. David Elbaz of <a href="https://www.cea.fr/english/Pages/Welcome.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CEA Paris‑Saclay</a>. 



That veil once hid their true size from earlier telescopes that relied on ultraviolet light, which dust readily absorbs.



<a href="https://jwst-docs.stsci.edu/jwst-near-infrared-camera/nircam-instrumentation/nircam-grisms#gsc.tab=0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Webb’s NIRCam/grism</a> setup changes the game, catching the faint glow of star‑forming regions even when soot‑like grains block shorter wavelengths. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/red-monsters_very-early-galaxies_JWST-discovery_NASA_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/red-monsters_very-early-galaxies_JWST-discovery_NASA_1s.webp" alt="Image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. The three red monsters represent the core findings of this work — extremely massive and dusty galaxies in the first billion years after the Big Bang, indicating that the Universe is forming stars more efficiently than we expected. Credits: NASA/CSA/ESA" class="wp-image-1968072"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. The three red monsters represent the core findings of this work — extremely massive and dusty galaxies in the first billion years after the Big Bang, indicating that the Universe is forming stars more efficiently than we expected. Click image to enlarge. Credits: NASA/CSA/ESA</figcaption></figure>



“Our findings highlight the remarkable power of NIRCam/grism spectroscopy,” explains Pascal Oesch, principal investigator of the program. 



“The instrument on board the space telescope allows us to identify and study the growth of galaxies over time and to obtain a clearer picture of how stellar mass accumulates over the course of cosmic history.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-rules-for-the-early-universe">New rules for the early universe</h2>



The ΛCDM model says dark‑matter halos act as cosmic scaffolding, snagging gas that later cools and condenses into stars. Over billions of years, most galaxies never convert more than a fifth of that gas. 



The red monsters push that limit hard. Forming stars nearly twice as efficiently as smaller systems of the same era, they hint that early conditions - higher gas densities, faster cooling, or more frequent mergers - offered shortcuts to rapid growth.



“These results indicate that galaxies in the early universe could form stars with unexpected efficiency,” Dr. Xiao concludes. 



“As we study these galaxies in more depth, they will offer new insights into the conditions that shaped the universe's earliest epochs. The red monsters are just the beginning of a new era in our exploration of the early universe.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-do-red-monster-galaxies-matter">Why do red monster galaxies matter?</h2>



Because light takes time to travel, Webb’s mirrors act like a time machine. Looking 13 billion light‑years away means seeing the cosmos as it was <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/newly-discovered-stars-milky-way-are-old-as-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">13 billion years ago</a>. 



Catching massive galaxies so soon after the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/if-the-big-bang-theory-is-correct-what-exactly-happened/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Big Bang</a> forces theorists to revisit the ingredients in their simulations. 



Did early gas clouds cool faster? Did primordial stars explode in ways that seeded galaxies with heavy elements sooner than thought? Or do current models underestimate how quickly halos pull matter together at high redshift?



While the latest measurements leave ΛCDM standing, they shrink its wiggle room. Galaxy‑formation codes must now reproduce both the typical dust‑rich galaxies and these overachievers without breaking other well‑tested predictions, such as the distribution of the cosmic microwave background.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-next">What happens next?</h2>



Future Webb programs will broaden the census of early massive systems, while the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (<a href="https://public.nrao.edu/telescopes/alma/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ALMA</a>) maps cold gas and dust in finer detail. 



Together they can show whether the red monsters are rare oddities or signposts of a busier‑than‑expected era. 



If more turn up, theorists may need to refine how feedback from newborn stars and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/evidence-of-massive-early-universe-black-hole-stuns-astronomers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nascent black holes</a> regulates star formation when the universe is young, dense, and eager to shine.



For now, the trio of red monsters stands as a reminder that the cosmos still holds plenty of secrets. Webb’s sharp eyes and spectroscopic tools have opened a fresh window on those first luminous giants. 



As astronomers peel back more layers, they’re likely to find that the universe’s childhood was livelier - and more efficient - than anyone guessed.



-----



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08094-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



Featured Image Credit: NASA / CSA / ESA / M. Xiao &amp; P. A. Oesch / G. Brammer / Dawn JWST Archive



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Three 'Red Monsters' discovered, scientists declare "beginning of a new era"

When the Webb Telescope began sending back its first deep‑field...

Children’s first encounters with math usually happen at the breakfast table or on the playground, not in a classroom. Developmental scientists have long known that these everyday experiences - like counting blocks or footsteps to the front door - nurture an intuitive sense of quantity.



According to a comprehensive report, a strong “number sense” builds arithmetic fluency, which later supports success in algebra, geometry, and adult earnings. 



Yet the route from cereal-box counting to fluent calculation has been hotly debated: Should teachers focus on memorizing multiplication tables, or on fostering deeper conceptual reasoning? The new review concludes that the debate sets up a false choice.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-framework-for-learning-math">New framework for learning math</h2>



Drawing on behavioral experiments, longitudinal research, neuroimaging data, and classroom design studies, the researchers propose a three-stage cycle in which facts and concepts reinforce one another.



They believe fluency starts with understanding, improves with timed practice, and deepens through reflection and discussion.



“We want to be clear: Educators don’t have to choose between timed practice and rich classroom discussions," said study lead author Nicole McNeil of the <a href="https://www.nd.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Notre Dame</a>.



"A carefully structured approach - pairing brief, timed sessions that strengthen facts in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-our-brain-form-long-term-memories/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">memory</a> with purposeful reasoning and discussion activities that weave those facts into an integrated knowledge network - gives students the fluency they need to succeed.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brain-shifts-with-practice">Brain shifts with practice</h2>



The researchers frame math learning as a dynamic movement between two knowledge states. Young children start with implicit insights: they can combine two sets of crackers and anticipate a larger pile without articulating why.



Over time, guided instruction turns these hunches into explicit strategies, such as “counting on from the bigger number” or recognizing that addition is commutative. 



With continued, targeted practice - ideally in short, carefully timed bursts - these explicit strategies become automatic, freeing up mental resources for higher-level problem solving.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-imaging-method-will-unravel-mysteries-of-neural-processes/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neuroimaging</a> studies cited in the report reveal that as this process unfolds, brain activation patterns begin to shift. Brain activity shifts from effortful reasoning to rapid recall, reflecting the child’s move from counting slowly to instant retrieval.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-no-more-math-wars">No more math wars</h2>



Because fluency develops through intertwined conceptual and procedural growth, the authors argue, classroom instruction should regularly cycle between the two. 



Early progress monitoring is recommended to spot gaps in mental number representations. Explicit teaching of thinking strategies, such as making tens, can help address those gaps. 



The research team also suggests using retrieval exercises designed to be brief enough to encourage speed only after accuracy has been achieved.



Each timed practice session should end with group discussion where students explain methods and link facts to broader ideas. This “explain–practice–explain” rhythm avoids the pitfalls of rote memorization while ensuring that knowledge can be deployed automatically when needed, noted the researchers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-math-skills-shape-futures">Math skills shape futures</h2>



The paper’s authors and an <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/15291006251326581" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accompanying commentary</a> by Melissa E. Libertus of the <a href="https://www.pitt.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Pittsburgh</a> highlight the practical stakes. 



Students who leave elementary school fluent in arithmetic adapt more readily to algebraic symbolism, grasp fraction magnitudes more accurately, and solve multi-step word problems more efficiently.



Longitudinal data link early math skills to later academic attainment and even adult income. The experts argue that arithmetic fluency is essential in today’s data-driven world - just as important as reading.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-training-teachers-with-research">Training teachers with research</h2>



Despite the strong evidence base, many teacher-preparation programs devote limited time to the cognitive science of math <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/secrets-of-learning-how-our-brains-neurons-make-and-retrieve-memories/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">learning</a>. The researchers call for more explicit coursework that helps future educators evaluate instructional materials through the lens of learning research.



Digital tutoring systems and adaptive practice apps can help - but only when educators integrate them into conceptual discussions and reflective reasoning. 



Future research should explore how parents’ math anxiety affects children and how digital tools can personalize practice while preserving depth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-classroom-model">A new classroom model</h2>



The report arrives at a moment when timed tests and “math wars” rhetoric still spark controversy. Speed and understanding aren’t opposing goals - they build on each other in a well-designed learning process.



By letting children’s initial intuitions surface, honing them through targeted practice, and weaving them back into rich conceptual networks, educators can cultivate the kind of fluency that supports future math learning. This fluency also aids in real-world problem solving.



The science of learning, the authors argue, shows that arithmetic proficiency is built not on memorization alone and not on exploration alone, but on a deliberate interplay of the two. This is proof that, in mathematics as in many areas of education, balance and evidence go hand in hand.



Nancy Jordan of the <a href="https://www.udel.edu/">University of Delaware</a>, Alexandria Viegut of the <a href="https://www.uwec.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire</a>, and Daniel Ansari of <a href="https://www.uwo.ca/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Western University</a> are co-authors of the study.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15291006241287726">Psychological Science in the Public Interest</a>.



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Scientists discover a better way for kids to learn math

Children’s first encounters with math usually happen at the breakfast...

A flash of intense radiation seen in space has upended long-held ideas about how some of our heaviest metals emerge. Scientists have found that such a flare can pump out vast amounts of heavy, rare atoms in mere seconds, revealing a surprising origin for valuables like gold and platinum.



Brian Metzger from the Flatiron Institute’s <a href="https://www.simonsfoundation.org/flatiron/center-for-computational-astrophysics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Center for Computational Astrophysics</a> in New York City is one of the researchers behind this magnetar flare discovery.



Metzger and his colleagues worked to show how these unusually powerful neutron star <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mysterious-magnetar-has-unknown-origins/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">outbursts</a> can forge precious metals, called called <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021RvMP...93a5002C/abstract" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">r-process elements</a>, at unimaginable scales.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-magnetars-the-basics">Understanding magnetars - the basics</h2>



Magnetars are the universe’s most intense magnets, and they’re not just strong - they’re wildly extreme. Born from the explosive death of massive stars, these neutron stars pack more mass than our sun into a ball just a dozen miles wide. 



Their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/huge-outbursts-from-quiet-magnetars-have-a-surprising-source/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">magnetic fields</a> are a thousand times stronger than typical neutron stars, and trillions of times beyond anything found on Earth. 



If you stood anywhere near one (which, thankfully, you can’t), it could scramble your atoms just by existing. That’s how intense these cosmic beasts are.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-magnetar-flares-and-heavy-metals">Magnetar flares and heavy metals</h2>



What makes magnetars even more bizarre is their behavior. They occasionally unleash powerful bursts of X-rays and gamma rays - <a href="https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/02/aa52268-24/aa52268-24.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">giant flares</a> so energetic they can mess with satellites on Earth, even from thousands of light-years away. 



One recent flare analysis suggests that as much as two million billion billion kilograms of heavy atoms formed in a single event.



Astronomers think these bursts come from “starquakes” that crack the surface of the magnetar when its magnetic field twists and snaps.



Researchers have now determined that flares of this sort could explain up to 10 percent of our galaxy’s gold, platinum, and similar metals. 



Each flare is like an elemental factory, hot enough and dense enough for neutrons to ram into lighter elements and create heavier, neutron-rich <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unusual-activity-detected-from-earths-closest-magnetar/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">materials</a> in a matter of minutes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-magnetar-flares-make-gold-and-uranium">Magnetar flares make gold and uranium</h2>



“This is really just the second time we've ever directly seen proof of where these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fastest-spinning-magnetar-reveals-secrets-of-neutron-stars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">elements</a> form. It’s a substantial leap in our understanding of heavy elements production,” said Metzger.



That confirmation, along with the latest finding, helps clarify how the universe stocks its cupboards with metals far heavier than iron.



Beyond gold and platinum, other materials like uranium can also appear through this r-process. It takes extraordinary places to host so many free neutrons. 



Flares from magnetars happen to create just the right conditions, letting nuclei snatch up these stray particles and jump up the elemental ladder.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-novel-insight-on-stardust">Novel insight on stardust</h2>



Historically, scientists believed most heavy elements took shape in supernova explosions or during neutron star mergers. 



While those events remain important, magnetar flares add another piece of the cosmic puzzle. Their high-energy jets can toss newly formed metals out into surrounding space, seeding future star systems and even rocky planets.



Observations of a magnetar flare in <a href="https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xte/Greatest_Hits/sgr_bell.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">December 2004</a> first hinted at this possibility. By piecing together data from space telescopes, researchers noticed an unexplained pulse of gamma-ray light roughly minutes after the initial blast. 



That signal, experts argue, was the radioactive glow of freshly minted heavy nuclei cooling off.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eruptions-eject-vast-amounts-of-matter">Eruptions eject vast amounts of matter</h2>



Magnetars have long fascinated astronomers because of their intense fields and sudden outbursts. 



Each flare involves an extreme rearrangement of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-magnetic-field-has-a-dent-and-nasa-is-watching-closely/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">magnetic</a> lines, generating shock waves that knock matter from the star’s surface. 



The ejected material experiences a runaway chain of nuclear reactions, which can lead to entire mountains of precious metals.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Magnetar_Gold_platinum_infographic_credit-Simons-Foundation_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Magnetar_Gold_platinum_infographic_credit-Simons-Foundation_1s.webp" alt="Credit: Lucy Reading-Ikkanda/Simons Foundation" class="wp-image-1968252"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Click image to enlarge. Credit: Lucy Reading-Ikkanda/Simons Foundation</figcaption></figure>



Such flares are rare, which complicates efforts to catch them at the exact moment they happen. Even so, astronomers remain hopeful that future telescopes will detect more evidence. 



Missions like <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.12362" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA’s Compton Spectrometer and Imager</a>, expected to launch in 2027, may be able to track these fleeting signals in greater detail.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-magnetar-flares-and-early-metals">Magnetar flares and early metals</h2>



Astronomers say these discoveries reshape how we understand metal formation in young galaxies. 



Because magnetars can flare at earlier epochs than some other events, their blasts might add heavy elements earlier in a galaxy’s life cycle. This could explain why certain <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/529487" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">metal signatures</a> appear sooner than expected in distant stars.



On Earth, these metals underlie countless technologies. It’s remarkable to think a phone’s circuit board may hold atoms brewed inside a magnetar’s angry outburst. 



The new findings also put magnetars on par with neutron star collisions, highlighting them as a real contender in fueling the cosmic supply of r-process elements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-waiting-for-the-next-magnetar-eruption">Waiting for the next magnetar eruption</h2>



Looking ahead, the team anticipates more data from modern observatories as soon as another magnetar decides to erupt. 



Detecting its high-energy afterglow would offer an unmatched peek at nuclear reactions in real time. That fleeting flash of gamma rays encodes signatures of newly formed isotopes, letting scientists chart how matter evolves.



Once a flare is caught in action, researchers plan to spin telescopes around fast enough to observe the after-effects. That could confirm whether the same pattern holds for multiple flares or if the 2004 event was a standout case. 



Either way, the odds of future catches rise as instruments become more sensitive across multiple wavelengths.



The study is published in <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adc9b0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Astrophysical Journal Letters</a>.



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New source of gold, platinum, and uranium discovered in space

A flash of intense radiation seen in space has upended...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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