Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features a stunning view of the spiral galaxy NGC 1309 captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. 



The galaxy, located about 100 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Eridanus, shines with bluish stars and trails of dusty gas.



The real fascination lies not just in how NGC 1309 looks - it’s what happened there that keeps astronomers coming back.



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-galaxies-revealed-in-a-single-webb-image/">galaxy</a> has been a familiar subject for Hubble, appearing in images released in both 2006 and 2014. That continued interest isn’t just because it’s photogenic.&nbsp;



NGC 1309 is a site of rare astronomical events that have helped researchers understand what happens when stars die, and in one case, what happens when they don't quite finish the job.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hundreds-of-galaxies-surround-ngc-1309">Hundreds of galaxies surround NGC 1309</h2>



Hubble’s newest look at NGC 1309 captures more than just one galaxy. As ESA noted, countless distant galaxies are visible in the background of the image.&nbsp;



But one sharp point of light stands out near the top of the frame. It’s not a galaxy, but a nearby star from our own <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/milky-way-galaxy-may-be-inside-a-giant-void-in-the-universe-explains-hubble-tension/">Milky Way</a>, just a few thousand light-years away.



“This stunning Hubble image encompasses NGC 1309’s bluish stars, dark brown gas clouds and pearly white centre, as well as hundreds of distant background galaxies,” noted <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/08/A_supernova-rich_spiral#msdynmkt_trackingcontext=8d9474de-58be-45fd-9fca-2f9985620200" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESA</a>.



“Nearly every smudge, streak and blob of light in this image is an individual galaxy. The only exception to the extragalactic ensemble is a star, which can be identified near the top of the frame by its diffraction spikes.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-unusual-story-of-ngc-1309">The unusual story of NGC 1309</h2>



Even though the view is crowded, all eyes are on NGC 1309. This galaxy gained attention after two significant explosions lit it up in the past few decades. The first, a textbook Type Ia supernova named SN 2002fk, occurred in 2002.&nbsp;



These types of supernovae are known for being reliable “standard candles” that help astronomers measure cosmic distances. They happen when a white dwarf - the leftover core of a dead star - gets pushed past its limit and explodes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-supernova-that-left-something-behind">Supernova that left something behind</h2>



In 2012, Hubble detected a second <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supernovae-explosions-seem-to-have-altered-earths-climate-in-the-past-and-could-do-so-again-at-any-time/">supernova</a> in NGC 1309 - SN 2012Z. This one threw scientists a curveball. On the surface, it looked like another Type Ia event, but its brightness didn’t quite measure up. It turned out to be part of a lesser-known category called Type Iax supernovae.



Unlike typical Type Ia explosions, SN 2012Z didn’t tear the white dwarf completely apart. What was left behind surprised astronomers: a “zombie star.”&nbsp;



Instead of fading into the background, the star remained - and it actually became brighter after the explosion. That’s not something astronomers were expecting to see.



This discovery made NGC 1309 the site of something that had never been captured before: the exact white dwarf that triggered a supernova, seen in images taken before the explosion.&nbsp;



Usually, supernovae are identified after the fact, based on the light they release. But in this case, the star was already in Hubble’s earlier images of the galaxy. That allowed scientists to link the before-and-after views in a way they’d never been able to do.



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



Studying supernovae helps astronomers learn about the life cycles of stars, and how the elements created in those explosions spread through galaxies.&nbsp;



Type Ia supernovae, in particular, have been crucial for measuring how fast the universe is expanding. But Type Iax <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-travels-back-in-time-to-better-understand-supernovae-science/">events</a> like SN 2012Z add a wrinkle to that story.



These smaller explosions don’t follow the usual rules. They’re dimmer, take longer to unfold, and - as SN 2012Z revealed - they might not mark the end of a star’s life. 



Ultimately, weaker explosions are less reliable for measuring distances in space. But they offer something different: a look at what could happen when a supernova doesn’t finish the job.



Observing a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hungry-white-dwarf-stars-eat-heavy-metals/">white dwarf</a> that somehow survives its own explosion gives scientists a chance to rethink their models. Maybe some stars don’t die as completely as once thought. Maybe there’s a middle ground between a full explosion and a quiet fade.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hubble-s-long-memory-pays-off">Hubble’s long memory pays off</h2>



Thanks to its sharp vision and longevity, the Hubble Space Telescope has been able to watch NGC 1309 across decades. The long record made it possible to notice changes and connect the dots between past and present.&nbsp;



Even though newer telescopes like the <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">James Webb Space Telescope</a> are joining the game, Hubble still has a key role.&nbsp;



Hubble's deep image of NGC 1309 is a map of astronomical history - and in this case, a rare chance to catch a supernova before and after its big moment.



Image Credit: ESA



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Hubble captures a star that survived its own explosion 

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

Today’s Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features a persistent algae bloom along the coastline of South Australia near Adelaide. For more than five months, the waters have been marked by the unusual phenomenon. 



A bloom of microscopic organisms, almost invisible to the naked eye, has painted the sea with hints of yellow-green, signaling an ecological shift that scientists have been watching closely.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-persistent-bloom-near-australia">Persistent bloom near Australia </h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-ocean-turning-green-thanks-to-climate-change-algae-blooms/">bloom</a> began in mid-March around the Fleurieu Peninsula and has yet to fade away. Its persistence has raised alarms for both marine ecosystems and people living along the coast.



The culprit behind this event is a dinoflagellate called Karenia mikimotoi. Although this algae is not classified as toxic to humans, it can still cause skin and eye irritation, along with respiratory discomfort for those who spend time near the shore.&nbsp;



For marine animals, however, the impact is far more serious. The bloom can damage fish gills, suffocating entire populations and threatening local fisheries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heatwaves-and-unstable-seas">Heatwaves and unstable seas</h2>



The Government of South Australia has linked the prolonged bloom to an equally persistent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-temperatures-are-rising-faster-than-expected-and-likely-to-accelerate/">marine heatwave</a>. Since September 2024, southern waters have been unusually warm, setting the stage for algal growth on an unprecedented scale.&nbsp;



Warm conditions, paired with calm and nutrient-rich waters, create an ideal environment for Karenia mikimotoi to thrive.



The species flourishes in stratified waters. When the ocean layers remain stable, sunlight penetrates the surface while nutrients accumulate in the shallows.&nbsp;



That balance, while favorable for algae, disrupts the natural cycles that coastal ecosystems depend on. Once blooms like this take hold, they can be extremely difficult to break.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-closer-look-from-space">A closer look from space</h2>



While the bloom has unfolded along South Australia’s coast, the story is being told from far above.&nbsp;



Satellites orbiting Earth now act as essential sentinels, offering wide-ranging views that scientists on the ground could never achieve alone.&nbsp;



The Copernicus <a href="https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sentinel-3</a> mission, equipped with its Ocean and Land Colour Instrument, has been tracking this bloom with remarkable precision. By measuring chlorophyll-a, which is a pigment that signals the presence of algae, researchers have been able to map the bloom’s reach and intensity.



Satellite data has become more than just a monitoring tool. It provides decision-makers with early warnings and helps governments respond faster to environmental changes that might otherwise go unnoticed. 



In this case, the <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">extended bloom</a> highlights the importance of pairing ground-based studies with large-scale observations from orbit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-long-algae-blooms-matter">Why long algae blooms matter</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-have-caused-toxic-algae-blooms-since-the-bronze-age/">Algal blooms</a> are not unusual in coastal waters, but their duration and scale often dictate their impact. Short-lived blooms may come and go without causing much disruption.&nbsp;



Extended events like the one unfolding near Adelaide are different. They alter food webs, reduce oxygen levels, and can trigger cascading effects across entire marine ecosystems.



Fisheries are among the first sectors to feel the strain. When fish die in large numbers, not only do local communities face economic losses, but the region’s biodiversity also suffers. Recovery can take years, especially when multiple species are affected.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-uncertain-future">An uncertain future</h2>



The South Australian bloom is part of a larger story unfolding worldwide. As oceans warm and marine heatwaves become more frequent, conditions that favor harmful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/algae-that-thrives-on-ice-plays-an-unexpected-role-in-glacier-melting/">algae</a> are expected to expand.&nbsp;



Blooms that once occurred sporadically may become seasonal features. For coastal communities, this means preparing for more frequent disruptions to fisheries, tourism, and public health.



Even as scientists work to understand the mechanics of Karenia mikimotoi blooms, the bigger picture points to climate change as a driving force.&nbsp;



Marine systems are highly dynamic, and shifts in temperature, currents, and nutrient flow create openings for species that thrive in disturbance.&nbsp;



The bloom near Adelaide may be a local event, but it represents global challenges that are becoming harder to ignore.



Image Credit: Copernicus Sentinel data (2025), processed by ESA



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Algae bloom lingers for months off Australia 

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

Today's Image of the Day from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope features the most detailed view to date of the planetary nebula NGC 1514.



The nebula sits about 1,500 light-years away in the Taurus constellation. Webb’s latest <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2025/news-2025-118#section-id-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">observation</a> reveals two dusty rings wrapped around a fading star system, surrounded by orange arcs and glowing gas. 



This scene isn’t new - it’s been evolving for at least 4,000 years. Until now, much of its structure remained hidden. Thanks to Webb’s powerful mid-infrared camera, scientists can finally see the full extent of the nebula’s complexity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dust-rings-and-broken-shells">Dust rings and broken shells</h2>



At the center of NGC 1514, two stars locked in a tight nine-year orbit are driving this dramatic display. One of them - formerly several times the mass of our Sun - has shed its outer layers as it reached the end of its life.&nbsp;



What’s left is a hot, compact white dwarf star blasting out faster, weaker winds that may have swept earlier material into thin, fragile shells.



What Webb has <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-telescope-may-have-just-found-its-first-planet/">uncovered</a> is a tangled mess of dust, much of which was invisible to previous telescopes. The rings now appear fuzzy and uneven, like clumps floating through space.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-material-ejected-from-a-dying-star">Material ejected from a dying star</h2>



Some areas show distinct holes near the center, marking where faster material appears to have punched through the older gas. The telescope also picked up signs of oxygen in the nebula’s pink core, especially around the edges of the holes.



“Before Webb, we weren’t able to detect most of this material, let alone observe it so clearly,” said Mike Ressler, a project scientist for Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.&nbsp;



Ressler first spotted the rings in 2010 using an earlier infrared mission, but they were faint and hard to analyze. “With MIRI’s data, we can now comprehensively examine the turbulent nature of this nebula,” he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-nebula-s-unusual-shape">The nebula’s unusual shape</h2>



Unlike the perfectly round shapes many might expect, NGC 1514 isn’t a sphere. Webb’s observations show that the whole formation is tilted at about 60 degrees - like a can being tipped over - but its true shape is more like an hourglass with the ends sliced off.&nbsp;



Subtle pinches of dust in shallow V-shapes give clues to this structure, particularly near the top left and bottom right of the image.



The bizarre shape may be due to the interaction between the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-map-twin-stars-to-discover-hidden-planets-with-unprecedented-accuracy/">two stars</a>. During the period when the larger star was losing its outer layers, its companion may have drifted extremely close.&nbsp;



“That interaction can lead to shapes that you wouldn’t expect,” said David Jones, a senior scientist who confirmed the central binary system in 2017. “Instead of producing a sphere, this interaction might have formed these rings.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-patchy-rings-with-a-fuzzy-appearance-nbsp">Patchy rings with a fuzzy appearance&nbsp;</h2>



Between the rings, dim and semi-transparent clouds stretch through the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/six-rogue-worlds-discovered-inside-a-young-star-forming-nebula/">nebula</a>, adding body and giving hints at the object’s full three-dimensional shape.&nbsp;



The rings themselves aren’t evenly lit - they fade out toward the top right and bottom left. This patchiness, along with their fuzzy appearance, points to their makeup: very small dust grains.



“We think the rings are primarily made up of very small dust grains,” Ressler explained. “When those grains are hit by ultraviolet light from the white dwarf star, they heat up ever so slightly, which we think makes them just warm enough to be detected by Webb in mid-infrared light.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-simple-mix-of-ingredients">A simple mix of ingredients</h2>



Notably, the nebula lacks something usually seen in similar objects: carbon and its more complex molecules.&nbsp;



Most planetary nebulae contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - carbon-rich compounds that resemble soot. But <a href="https://webbtelescope.org/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Webb</a> didn’t find any trace of them in NGC 1514.



The absence of the molecules could be due to the swirling motion of the two central stars, which may have prevented more complex molecules from forming. This also allows more light from the stars to escape, helping to illuminate the faint, outer rings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-glowing-shells-of-dying-stars">Glowing shells of dying stars</h2>



Astronomers have been studying NGC 1514 for centuries. Back in 1790, William Herschel described it as the first deep-sky object he saw that looked truly cloudy - not just a collection of stars. He couldn’t resolve it into individual points of light the way he could with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trio-of-star-clusters-may-be-the-same-system-at-different-ages/">star clusters</a>. 



That cloudy impression was one of the earliest clues pointing toward the existence of planetary nebulae - the glowing shells of gas that dying stars leave behind.



Now, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-telescope-uncovers-secrets-of-dark-matter-in-cosmic-collision-zone/">Webb</a> has revealed the full extent of the cloud Herschel saw. NGC 1514 has turned out to be a complex, dynamic structure still shifting over time.



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Michael Ressler (NASA-JPL), Dave Jones (IAC)



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Webb captures the fading legacy of a dying star

Today's Image of the Day from NASA’s James Webb Space...

Today’s Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features IRAS 04302, a young star wrapped in a massive planet-forming disc about 525 light-years away in the Taurus star-forming region.&nbsp;



The young star sits deep in a dark cloud, hidden behind a veil of dusty gas. The material around it is raw fuel for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planet-formation-new-insights-mechanics-physics/">planet formation</a>.&nbsp;



The birth of planets is not something we can watch unfold in real time. It takes millions of years for the ingredients of a solar system to come together.&nbsp;



Still, astronomers can get snapshots of these processes by turning powerful telescopes toward stellar nurseries. This <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images">image</a> from the James Webb Space Telescope offers an intimate look at one of the most striking planet-forming discs ever seen.



What Webb shows us is not only beautiful, but also a clue to how our own Solar System may have looked some 4.5 billion years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-protostar-wrapped-in-dust">A protostar wrapped in dust</h2>



At the heart of the IRAS 04302 system lies a protostar - a star still in the process of gathering mass. Around it is a giant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planet-forming-disks-surrounding-stars-often-last-much-longer-than-expected/">protoplanetary disc</a> that Webb has measured at about 65 billion miles across, several times wider than the Solar System we know.&nbsp;



This is the environment where planets might be taking shape, as dust grains collide, stick together, and gradually grow into larger bodies.



From Webb’s vantage point, the disc is tilted edge-on. That angle creates a dark band across the image, blocking light from the star itself.&nbsp;



The shadow is not empty space. It is packed with dust and gas, the very material that could eventually give rise to planets. Scientists can use this perspective to study the vertical structure of the disc, including how efficiently dust settles toward its midplane - a process essential for building worlds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-butterfly-star">The Butterfly Star</h2>



The striking appearance of IRAS 04302 has earned it a nickname: the Butterfly Star. The dense streak of dust bisects the view, while two glowing wings stretch above and below.&nbsp;



These wings are reflection <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/six-rogue-worlds-discovered-inside-a-young-star-forming-nebula/">nebulas</a>, lit up by starlight bouncing off surrounding clouds. They provide a softer glow that contrasts with the sharp dark lane running through the middle.



Seen from a different angle, protoplanetary discs often reveal features such as rings, gaps, or spirals. These patterns may point to baby planets carving out paths, or to other processes like gravitational instabilities.&nbsp;



The edge-on view here does not highlight those structures, but instead gives a rare look at the thickness of the disc itself.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stellar-system-in-transition-nbsp">Stellar system in transition&nbsp;</h2>



To capture this image, astronomers combined data from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera and Mid-Infrared Instrument with optical observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. Each tool adds its own piece of the puzzle.&nbsp;



<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/">Webb</a> is especially sensitive to the distribution of fine dust grains and the scattering of infrared light over great distances. Hubble, meanwhile, picks out sharp details in the dust lane and reveals clumps and streaks that hint at jets and outflows still erupting from the star.



Together, these telescopes show a stellar system in transition. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gas-streamers-may-help-high-mass-stars-grow-despite-strong-radiation/">protostar</a> is still feeding on its surroundings, but it is also shaping them with energy and motion. That push and pull is part of how young stars mature and carve out the conditions for planets to emerge.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-first-steps-of-planet-formation">The first steps of planet formation</h2>



IRAS 04302 is one of four discs studied as part of Webb’s General Observer program #2562. The program focuses on discs oriented edge-on, since those views allow scientists to measure how dust grains evolve over time.&nbsp;



Dust growth is believed to be a crucial early step toward making planets. By watching how particles settle into dense midplanes, researchers can begin to reconstruct the timeline of planetary birth.



The Taurus region is a well-known nursery where dozens of young stars are found. Observing IRAS 04302 in such detail adds to our understanding of how stars and planets are connected.&nbsp;



Every glimpse like this one helps astronomers piece together the story of how ordinary gas and dust can turn into complex systems of worlds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-back-to-our-own-beginnings">Looking back to our own beginnings</h2>



Although IRAS 04302 is hundreds of light-years away, it offers a mirror to our past. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-our-sun-is-unusually-calm-and-what-that-means-for-earth/">Sun</a> once sat inside its own cloud of dust, pulling in material while planets assembled around it.&nbsp;



Seeing another star at a similar stage helps remind us that solar systems are not accidents. They are natural outcomes of star formation, happening again and again across the galaxy.



The Butterfly Star is still in its infancy, and any planets taking shape there are far from complete. Yet in its shadowed disc and glowing wings, we catch a glimpse of the processes that once shaped Earth.&nbsp;



Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA &amp; CSA, M. Villenave et al.



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Butterfly Star shows off its planet-forming disc

Today's Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features the Butterfly Nebula, located about 3,400 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.&nbsp;



It’s what astronomers call a planetary nebula - the brief phase when a dying star sheds its outer layers into space.



Despite the name, planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets. Early astronomers thought these glowing shells looked round, like distant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/six-rogue-worlds-discovered-inside-a-young-star-forming-nebula/">worlds</a> seen through primitive telescopes.&nbsp;



The name stuck, even though many nebulae are anything but round. The Butterfly Nebula, with its outstretched “wings” of gas and dust, is a perfect example.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-butterfly-with-a-hidden-heart">Butterfly with a hidden heart</h2>



At the center of this spectacular cloud lies the remnant of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sun-like-stars-release-massive-superflares-every-100-years/">Sun-like star</a>. It has burned through its fuel and shed most of its mass, leaving behind a blazing hot core.&nbsp;



The star energizes the nebula, making it glow across the spectrum. Yet until recently, the star itself remained hidden.



A dark band of dust and gas cuts through the nebula like the “body” of the butterfly. This band is actually a torus, a doughnut-shaped structure that blocks visible light.&nbsp;



The torus shapes the nebula by forcing gas outward in two opposite directions, creating the iconic bipolar wings. It also conceals the central star from optical view.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-webb-telescope-brings-clarity">Webb telescope brings clarity</h2>



The <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">James Webb Space Telescope</a> has now pierced the dust with its Mid-Infrared Instrument, offering the sharpest view yet of the nebula’s core. 



By working in “integral field unit mode,” Webb captured <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Webb/Webb_investigates_complex_heart_of_a_cosmic_butterfly" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">images</a> and spectra at multiple wavelengths simultaneously. The result is a detailed portrait of how the nebula looks in different slices of light.



The team also added data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile, which revealed colder gas and dust.&nbsp;



Together, these instruments exposed a structure of extraordinary complexity, with nearly 200 spectral lines tracing atoms and molecules woven into layered shells.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-central-star-revealed">The central star revealed</h2>



The Webb observations finally pinned down the location of the nebula’s hidden <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-stars-shape-planetary-systems-like-ours-with-ultraviolet-radiation/">star</a>. Its surrounding dust cloud glows brightly in mid-infrared light, betraying its position for the first time.&nbsp;



With a scorching temperature of 220,000 Kelvin - around 400,000 degrees Fahrenheit - this is one of the hottest known central stars in a planetary nebula.



That heat drives the nebula’s glow, but its power doesn’t escape evenly. The dense torus channels the outflow, creating the striking wings that stretch across space.&nbsp;



Webb data show that the torus contains crystalline silicates such as quartz, along with irregular grains about a millionth of a meter across. For cosmic dust, that’s relatively large, suggesting the particles have been accumulating for a long time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-jets-layers-and-chemical-signatures">Jets, layers, and chemical signatures</h2>



Outside the torus, the nebula displays a multilayered design. Atoms that need the most energy to ionize cluster near the center. Those requiring less energy appear farther out.&nbsp;



Among the highlights are iron and nickel, which mark out two jets blasting away from the star in opposite directions. These fast-moving streams help sculpt the overall shape of the nebula.



The team also found evidence of carbon-based molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs.&nbsp;



On Earth, PAHs are common in soot from fires, exhaust fumes, and even burnt toast. In the Butterfly Nebula, they appear to form when bursts of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tracing-solar-wind-directly-to-its-source-for-the-first-time/">stellar wind</a> collide with the surrounding gas.&nbsp;



This could be the first time PAHs have been spotted forming in an oxygen-rich planetary nebula, offering a rare window into the chemistry of dying stars.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fleeting-beauty-of-the-butterfly-nebula">Fleeting beauty of the Butterfly Nebula</h2>



The entire spectacle will not last long by cosmic standards. The planetary nebula stage endures only about 20,000 years - a brief flicker compared to a star’s lifetime of billions of years.&nbsp;



The Butterfly Nebula is a reminder of how short-lived and yet astonishingly beautiful the final chapters of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-star-redefines-our-understanding-of-stellar-evolution/">stellar evolution</a> can be.



The results of this study are <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/542/2/1287/8241385" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 



The research shows that even well-studied objects like the Butterfly Nebula can surprise us when viewed with fresh eyes.&nbsp;



Webb’s infrared vision has revealed not only the hidden star at the heart of the butterfly, but also the intricate chemistry that surrounds it - from crystalline dust to unexpected organic molecules.



Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA &amp; CSA, J. Kastner, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)



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Secrets of the Butterfly Nebula uncovered by Webb

When plants face a drought, they stop growing. That part isn’t surprising - no water means no business as usual. But what happens when the rain finally returns? You might expect plants to bounce back and grow rapidly to make up for lost time. That’s not what actually happens.



Instead, new research shows plants go into defense mode. Their priority isn’t growing - it’s fighting off threats.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plants-hit-pause-to-survive">Plants hit pause to survive </h2>



A tiny plant known as Arabidopsis thaliana helped scientists understand this. Researchers have long experimented with this plant in labs because it is easy to cultivate and has a simple genetic makeup. It also shares many genes with common crops such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gene-edited-wheat-turns-soil-microbes-into-fertilizer/">wheat</a>, rice, and tomatoes.



When water is scarce, Arabidopsis closes its pores, slows down its activity, and conserves resources.



When water returns, those pores reopen, allowing the plant to rehydrate quickly. But this also welcomes disease-spreading bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Rather than going straight into growth, the plant prepares to protect itself..



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genes-tracked-cell-by-cell">Genes tracked cell by cell</h2>



Scientists at the <a href="https://www.salk.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Salk Institute</a> used cutting-edge technology to monitor what happens inside the plant immediately after rehydration.



They focused on how gene activity varies from cell to cell, not just across the whole plant. This kind of research once required grinding up plant tissue and averaging the data, which concealed many details.



Using single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, the team zoomed in on individual cells to see how they responded the moment water returned.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plants-activate-hidden-defenses">Plants activate hidden defenses</h2>



Just 15 minutes after watering the dried-out plants, something big happened. Genes across the leaves started turning on - thousands of them. 



This sudden burst of gene activity wasn’t random. It formed a clear pattern of immune defense. The team calls this “Drought Recovery-Induced Immunity” (DRII).



This rapid and targeted immune response is triggered as soon as rehydration occurs, helping the plant fight off infections while it is still vulnerable. 



“What’s really incredible here,” said Natanella Illouz-Eliaz, first author of the study, “is we would have entirely missed this discovery had we not decided to capture data at these early time points.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crops-share-drought-defenses">Crops share drought defenses</h2>



After spotting DRII in Arabidopsis, the team checked if it happened in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-find-a-surprising-case-of-reverse-evolution-in-wild-tomatoes/">tomatoes</a> too - both wild and farmed. It did. Both types activated the same kind of immune response after drought.



That means DRII probably isn’t just a lab-only thing. It could be common in many crops, especially ones closely related to tomatoes or Arabidopsis. And if that’s true, understanding how DRII works might help us grow tougher crops in the future.



“Drought poses a major challenge for plants, but what is less understood is how they recover once water returns,” said senior author Joseph Ecker. “We found that, rather than accelerating growth to compensate for lost time, Arabidopsis rapidly activates a coordinated immune response.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unanswered-genetic-puzzles">Unanswered genetic puzzles</h2>



The speed of the immune response was striking. Within minutes of rehydration, leaves were already activating defense genes. 



That raises some big questions for scientists. How does a signal from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-roots-could-be-key-to-fighting-climate-change/">roots</a> reach the leaves so quickly? What is the signal?



Experts also want to figure out how DRII might be used in real-world farming. Can <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tree-crops-a-path-to-feeding-the-world-and-saving-the-planet/">crops</a> be bred or engineered to trigger this response more effectively? Could that protect yields during unpredictable weather?



“Our results reveal that drought recovery is not a passive process but a highly dynamic reprogramming of the plant’s immune system,” Ecker said. 



“By defining the early genetic events that occur within minutes of rehydration, we can begin to uncover the molecular signals that coordinate stress recovery and explore how these mechanisms might be harnessed to improve crop resilience.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stronger-plants-for-dry-times">Stronger plants for dry times</h2>



Droughts are becoming more frequent and more extreme in many parts of the world. Crops that can bounce back strong - and defend themselves when they do - could make a real difference in keeping food supplies steady.



This discovery shows that the moment after water returns may be just as important as the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/droughts-and-extreme-weather-events-are-escalating/">drought</a> itself. 



The research also demonstrates that plants don’t passively wait to grow again - they make a quick and strategic move to survive. And that’s something we are only beginning to understand.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-63467-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Plants trade growth for survival after drought

When plants face a drought, they stop growing. That part...

The universe feels simple at first glance: stars, gas, dust, and the gravity that binds it all. Then you look more closely and realize that nothing could be farther from the truth. 



For decades, the standard picture has said that most of what is out there is not what we can see. It is a mix of ordinary matter and two invisible components often called dark matter and dark energy.



That picture has guided textbooks, space missions, and how we read the sky. It has also raised tough questions that have never quite gone away, mainly because of the fact that dark matter and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/is-dark-energy-changing-the-mystery-of-cosmic-expansion-deepens/">dark energy</a> have never actually been "seen."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenging-dark-matter-s-existence">Challenging dark matter's existence</h2>



A new line of thinking takes those questions seriously and suggests we may not need those "dark" invisible components after all.



After years spent probing longstanding cosmology puzzles, physics professor <a href="https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-science/professors/rajendra-gupta" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rajendra Gupta</a> has proposed a model that aims to explain the universe without dark matter or dark energy. 



Gupta teaches astrophysics at the <a href="https://www.uottawa.ca/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Ottawa</a> and argues that familiar assumptions might be impeding progress.



"The study's findings confirm that our <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/524/3/3385/7221343?login=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previous work</a> ("JWST early universe observations and ΛCDM cosmology") about the age of the universe being 26.7 billion years has allowed us to discover that the universe does not require dark matter to exist," explains Gupta.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tired-light-and-the-ccc-theory">"Tired light" and the CCC theory</h2>



Gupta’s approach blends two concepts: covarying coupling constants (<a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023Univ....9...70G/abstract" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CCC</a>) and "tired light" (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tired_light" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TL</a>). 



CCC asks whether the so-called constants of nature - like the strength of forces or the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-matter-may-consist-of-particles-that-travel-faster-than-light/">speed of light</a> - might shift across time or space. If they do, even slightly, many calculations about how the universe evolves would change.



TL offers a different take on why light from faraway galaxies appears redshifted. Instead of treating redshift solely as a sign of cosmic expansion stretching light, TL suggests that photons shed energy over vast distances, shifting their color toward red. 



Taken together, the CCC+TL model seeks to account for cosmic signals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-most-scientists-think-dark-matter-is-real">Most scientists think dark matter is real</h2>



The idea of dark matter did not arise in a vacuum. In the 1930s, astronomer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Zwicky" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fritz Zwicky</a> noticed that galaxy clusters seemed to move in ways that did not match their visible mass. 



Later, astronomers saw that many galaxies rotate faster than expected at their outskirts. Something appears to add extra gravity. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/einstein-ring-discovered-normal-galaxy-ngc-6505-gravitational-lens/">Gravitational lensing</a> - the way mass bends light - also points to more pull than starlight alone can explain.



In the standard breakdown, dark matter is thought to make up about 27% of the universe. Ordinary matter - everything we can directly detect - adds up to less than 5%. 



The rest is labeled <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/universe-expansion-rate-dark-energy-measured-11-billion-years-ago/">dark energy</a>, a placeholder for whatever drives the universe’s accelerated expansion. This picture also includes a commonly accepted age of roughly 13.8 billion years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-questioning-the-need-for-dark-matter">Questioning the need for dark matter</h2>



Gupta contends that if the forces of nature weaken over time, we do not need dark energy to explain why the expansion appears to speed up. 



He also argues that major observations can be matched without dark matter by allowing constants to vary and by letting light lose a small amount of energy as it travels long distances to reach us, the observers.



"Contrary to standard cosmological theories where the <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/dark-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accelerated expansion</a> of the universe is attributed to dark energy, our findings indicate that this expansion is due to the weakening forces of nature, not dark energy," Gupta continues.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-redshifts-and-cosmic-observations">Redshifts and cosmic observations</h2>



A substantial part of the work centers on <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/What_is_red_shift" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">redshifts</a> - how light shifts toward longer wavelengths as it travels. 



The analysis compares how galaxies are distributed at low redshift with patterns from the early universe at high redshift. 



The claim is that these signals align under the <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.04277" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CCC+TL approach</a> without requiring dark matter in the equations.



"There are several papers that question the existence of dark matter, but mine is the first one, to my knowledge, that eliminates its cosmological existence while being consistent with key cosmological observations that we have had time to confirm," Gupta confidently concludes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-does-all-of-this-mean">What does all of this mean?</h2>



If CCC+TL continues to pass tests, much would change. The model would offer new routes to explain the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ground-based-telescopes-detect-light-from-the-cosmic-dawn/">cosmic microwave background</a>, the timeline of how galaxies formed and grew, and the way light bends on its journey to our telescopes. 



It would also change how we read distance and time from the sky, since redshift would no longer be only a ruler for expansion.



It would challenge the Big Bang–anchored timeline. Those are substantial claims that require careful tests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-gupta-s-theory">Testing Gupta’s theory</h2>



Specific predictions need to be articulated. Any model has to meet observations head-on: galaxy rotation profiles, lensing maps, the pattern of hot and cold spots in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-capture-baby-pictures-of-the-very-early-universe-cosmic-microwave-background/">microwave background</a>, and the way <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-cosmic-particle-cloud-ever-found-has-stunned-astronomers/">galaxies cluster</a> across hundreds of millions of light-years. 



If constants vary, even a little, that could leave signatures in atomic spectra from distant quasars. If light tires, the effect should be measurable with enough precision and a clean way to separate it from other causes.



Teams are already poring over deep-sky surveys, precise supernova samples, and high-resolution microwave maps. 



As instruments improve, the bar for any alternative rises. The goal is straightforward: make a clear, testable forecast, then see if the universe agrees.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dark-matter-ccc-tl-and-next-steps">Dark matter, CCC+TL, and next steps</h2>



Two central questions remain. Are dark energy and dark matter just bookkeeping devices we used while working with fixed constants and a single redshift story? Could the true age of the universe be significantly older than the standard estimate? 



The only way to answer is to press for independent tests that can separate one picture from the other.



Researchers are tuning methods to compare models fairly, using the same data pipelines and error checks. That helps avoid apples-to-oranges results. 



If CCC+TL keeps matching the sky, interest will grow. If it stumbles on a key observation, that will be clear too.



Cosmology moves forward when claims meet data. This study advances a bold alternative: a universe where constants can change, light can lose energy across great distances, and neither dark matter nor dark energy need to be included in the ledger. 



It offers clear, testable statements about cosmic age and the cause of the apparent acceleration.



The work will be validated or refuted by measurements. That is how the field operates: no shortcuts, no hand-waving - only observations and models that either fit or fail.



The full study was published in <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ad1bc6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Astrophysical Journal</a>.



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Study claims dark matter does not exist and the universe is 27 billion years old

The universe feels simple at first glance: stars, gas, dust,...

Wi-Fi is no longer just for internet access. A new system named WhoFi uses how the human body alters radio waves to identify a person with up to 95.5 percent rank 1 accuracy, according to a new study.



It runs on consumer grade gear and still works in poor light. The approach relies on radio measurements, not cameras.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-whofi-system-works">How the WhoFi system works</h2>



The idea is simple to state but technical under the hood. A WhoFi deployment captures Channel State Information (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/channel-state-information" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CSI</a>), the fine-grained description of how a Wi-Fi signal changes as it moves through a room and around a person. 



It then turns those changes into a compact biometric signature that is unique to that individual.



The work comes from Danilo Avola, of the <a href="https://www.uniroma1.it/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sapienza University of Rome</a>, whose team built and tested the pipeline on public data. 



The team reports that Wi-Fi is not just a stand-in for cameras, but offers different strengths that visual systems lack.



CSI is a matrix of amplitudes and phases across antennas and subcarriers. In plain terms, it captures tiny differences in how radio energy arrives at the receiver, which encode body shape and motion.



Those CSI sequences feed a deep network that learns a person-specific embedding. The best results came from a Transformer encoder that excels at long-range temporal patterns in the signal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-data-say">What the data say</h2>



The researchers evaluated WhoFi on the NTU-Fi Human ID benchmark, which contains recordings of 14 subjects performing short walks under different clothing conditions. 



The <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10028433/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NTU-Fi Human ID dataset</a> includes measurements captured with higher resolution CSI tools that expose many subcarriers, allowing finer distinctions between people.



WhoFi’s top line result is a 95.5 percent rank 1 identification rate, with a mean average precision of 88.4 percent on the test split. 



That score came from the Transformer configuration that was trained on amplitude sequences and validated against a held-out set of test data.



The hardware was not unusual. The paper documents tests using two TP-Link N750 routers, one transmitter and one receiver, recording 114 subcarriers per antenna pair and roughly 2,000 packets per sample.



The sample size is small, which matters because biometric systems can drift when scaled. The authors acknowledge that training stability and overfitting are real risks when models get deeper than necessary.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-whofi-is-different">How WhoFi is different</h2>



Early attempts tied Wi-Fi to cameras to get the job done. In 2020, a camera Wi-Fi fusion system called <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7837618/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EyeFi</a> demonstrated about 75 percent accuracy in identifying people during live tests, when group sizes ranged from two to ten.



WhoFi goes a different route. It removes cameras from the loop and learns directly from CSI dynamics, which travel with a person across spaces.



The change is not just academic. Removing cameras avoids face capture, reduces sensitivity to clothing variation, and uses infrastructure that already exists in homes and offices.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-it-matters">Why it matters</h2>



The promise of radio based sensing is not new. A decade ago, researchers at <a href="https://people.csail.mit.edu/fadel/papers/wivi-paper.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MIT</a> showed that low bandwidth Wi-Fi could track people through walls, establishing that consumer frequencies propagate through common barriers.



WhoFi rides that physics. It is insensitive to lighting, it can operate when a person is not in direct line of sight, and it can keep working when cameras would be occluded.



The system is also quiet in operation. There is no need to ask users to wear anything or carry a device, which changes the conversation about consent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-whofi-fingerprint-forms">How the WhoFi fingerprint forms</h2>



Wi-Fi routers <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-chatbots-can-be-easily-manipulated-to-make-us-share-more-personal-data/">send data</a> across many narrow frequency slices called subcarriers. 



When a person stands or walks between a transmitter and receiver, the amplitudes and phases on those slices shift in ways that correlate with their body and gait.



WhoFi ingests those time series and uses an encoder to create a fixed length vector that represents that person. 



The encoder’s output is normalized, then matched against a gallery to see if there is a close neighbor from the same individual.



Training leans on in batch negatives. Each training batch pairs queries and galleries so the model learns to push mismatched people apart while pulling the same person’s signatures together.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wi-fi-and-whofi">Wi-Fi and WhoFi</h2>



The NTU-Fi benchmark is controlled, with short walks inside a defined area and set clothing conditions. That reduces real world noise from crowds, variable furniture, and reflections that can interfere in busy environments.



Sample diversity is another constraint. Fourteen subjects do not capture the range of body types, mobility aids, and cultural garments found in daily life.



“Wi-Fi <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/brain-processing-speed-is-millions-of-times-slower-than-wi-fi/">signals</a> offer several advantages over camera-based approaches: they are not affected by illumination, they can penetrate walls and occlusions, and most importantly, they offer a privacy preserving mechanism for sensing,” wrote Avola.



The paper’s conclusion stresses that the Transformer encoder was both accurate and efficient in this setting. The authors also note that common preprocessing steps, like amplitude filtering, did not always help.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-security-and-privacy-questions">Security and privacy questions</h2>



Accuracy numbers excite engineers, but deployment raises policy issues. A store could in principle use this technique to ping returning customers without asking for permission.



Law enforcement and regulators have a stake as well. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/strange-radio-waves-anita-experiment-coming-from-under-the-antarctic-ice-defy-particle-physics/">Radio</a> based identifiers might bypass laws written with cameras and faces in mind, which means legal frameworks will need review.



Wi-Fi operates on a shared spectrum, which makes sensing cheap to scale. That lowers the barrier for third parties who want to track presence and movement across access points.



The flip side is that any re-identification tool needs a gallery. Without a reference signature, a system can say the same person appeared twice, but it cannot assign a civil identity.



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



There are benign uses. Hospitals might want fall detection in dark rooms, and home routers already ship with motion sensing features that rely on CSI.



Industrial safety is another candidate. In zones where <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-traffic-cameras-are-preventing-thousands-of-crashes-each-year/">cameras</a> are banned, radio could watch for entry violations and trigger alarms.



The WhoFi team kept the system purely academic so far. They trained with public data, documented every step, and compared encoders in a reproducible way.



Future validation will need larger cohorts, varied buildings, and longer time gaps to test stability. It will also need clearer rules on consent and retention.



The study is published in <a href="https://arxiv.org/html/2507.12869v1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arXiv</a>.



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New tech uses a common Wi-Fi network to identify who you are and where you are

Wi-Fi is no longer just for internet access. A new...

<figure class="wp-block-embed 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">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Greenland Bedrock Rising Faster Than Sea Levels" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WXXGGiynIjs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the opposite.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-contrasting-climate-response">A contrasting climate response</h2>



Most coastal towns are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sinking-land-will-intensify-the-effects-of-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preparing for higher sea levels</a>, but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-no-longer-has-to-worry-about-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greenland presents</a> a different scenario during climate change. The ground there is rising at a remarkable rate. Over the past decade, some areas have lifted about 20 centimeters, which translates to roughly 2 meters per century. This rate significantly exceeds current projections for sea level rise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-geological-rebound-process-through-climate-change">Geological rebound process through climate change</h2>



The mechanism behind this phenomenon is straightforward. As the ice sheet melts, the immense weight is removed from the bedrock, causing the land to rebound upward. This process resembles the way compressed material springs back when pressure is released.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-monitoring-networks">Scientific monitoring networks</h2>



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.dtu.dk/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Technical University of Denmark</a> are documenting this uplift using the GNET network, consisting of 61 GPS stations positioned around Greenland&#8217;s coast. These sensors can detect movement with millimeter precision, providing detailed measurements of the ongoing changes.



The data reveal that current uplift rates exceed the gradual rebound occurring since the last ice age ended approximately 12,000 years ago. This acceleration corresponds directly with increased ice sheet melting rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coastal-transformation">Coastal Transformation</h2>



This uplift is actively reshaping Greenland&#8217;s coastline. New islands and rocky formations, called &#8220;skerries,&#8221; are emerging as previously submerged land surfaces rise above the water level. This represents a notable contrast to global concerns about rising seas.



The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, demonstrates the varied regional impacts of climate change. While many locations face rising water levels, Greenland&#8217;s bedrock is literally rising above the surrounding seas.



The full study was recently published in <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2023GL104851" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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Greenland's ground rises while coasts worldwide face higher seas

A contrasting climate response

Geological rebound process through climate change

Scientific monitoring networks

Coastal Transformation

News coming your way