Multi-Region Brain Organoid (MRBO) SciTech Daily 2025-08-14 | scitechdaily.com/this-tiny-brain-grown-in-a-lab-could-revolutionize-mental-health-researchJohns Hopkins researchers used light sheet microscopy to confirm cerebral organoids, endothelial organoids, and mid/hindbrain organoids fused into one Multi-Region Brain Organoid.Credit: Kathuria Lab, Johns Hopkins University
Gemini North Discovers Long-Predicted Stellar Companion of Betelgeuse SciTech Daily 2025-08-13 | scitechdaily.com/after-decades-of-searching-astronomers-finally-spot-betelgeuses-elusive-companion-starUsing the NASA-NSF-funded ‘Alopeke instrument on the Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by NSF NOIRLab, astronomers have discovered a companion star in an incredibly tight orbit around Betelgeuse. This discovery answers the millennia-old question of why this famous star experiences a roughly six-year-long periodic change in its brightness, and provides insight into the physical mechanisms behind other variable red supergiants. ‘Alopeke is funded by the NASA-NSF Exoplanet Observational Research Program (NN-EXPLORE).Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/E. Slawik/ESO/L. Calçada/T. MatsopoulosImage Processing: M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)Motion graphics: Mik GarrisonMusic: Never Alone/Never Dark - Mik Garrison
Alpha Centauri Stellar System SciTech Daily 2025-08-13 | scitechdaily.com/nasas-webb-may-have-found-a-planet-next-door-then-it-vanishedPan from our Sun to the Alpha Centauri Stellar System.At 4.3 light-years away, Alpha Centauri A and B are the nearest Sun-like stars to our solar system. They orbit with Proxima Centauri as a triple star system.Alpha Centauri A is a Class G star that is 1.1 times the mass of the Sun. Alpha Centauri B is slightly cooler Class K star that is 0.9 times the mass of the Sun. Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, is a much smaller and cooler star, called a red dwarf. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab Animator Jenny McElligott (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.) Technical support Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.) Producers Joy Ng (KBR Wyle Services, LLC) Miles S. Hatfield (Telophase)
Zooming Into the Young Star HD 135344B and Its Planet Candidate SciTech Daily 2025-08-11 | scitechdaily.com/astronomers-just-caught-a-giant-baby-planet-sculpting-spirals-in-spaceThis video zooms into HD 135344B, a young star located around 440 light-years away. The star is surrounded by a disc of dust and gas with prominent spiral features. New observations obtained with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) may have unveiled a planet that could be sculpting these features. The video combines images taken with different telescopes at different times and various wavelengths. The journey begins with a wide view of the night sky in visible light. As we approach HD 135344B we see three images of the immediate vicinity of the star. First, an image of the star’s dusty disc taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Then, an infrared view of the spiral arms within the disc, captured with the SPHERE instrument at the VLT. Finally, a new infrared image revealing a candidate planet, taken with the VLT’s new ERIS instrument. Credit: ESO/L. Calçada/N. Risinger (skysurvey.org)/VMC Survey/Digitized Sky Survey 2/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/N. van der Marel et al./T. Stolker et al./F. Maio et al.
Answers to Existence of Alien Life Might be Found in Earth’s Deep-Sea Volcanoes SciTech Daily 2025-08-11 | scitechdaily.com/the-621000-hunt-for-alien-chemistry-on-earthThe hydrothermal microbes Holden studies thrive in lightless, oxygen-less conditions a mile or more beneath the ocean’s surface.Credit: UMass Amherst
The Plasma Column Used To Kickstart the Process for ‘Green Ammonia’ SciTech Daily 2025-08-11 | scitechdaily.com/scientists-use-lightning-to-make-ammonia-out-of-thin-airThe plasma column used to kickstart the process for 'green ammonia.'Credit: PJ Cullen/ Plasmaleap
How Researchers Identified Specific Genes Involved in Zebrafish Sensory Hair Cell Regrowth SciTech Daily 2025-08-11 | scitechdaily.com/this-fish-can-regrow-its-hearing-cells-and-scientists-just-found-out-howTatjana Piotrowski, Ph.D., discusses how her team identified specific genes involved in zebrafish sensory hair cell regrowth. The findings reveal new insights that could inform future research into hearing loss treatments.Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Millisecond Pulsar With Magnetic Field Structure SciTech Daily 2025-08-11 | scitechdaily.com/nasa-just-discovered-where-these-mysterious-space-x-rays-really-come-fromThis animation zooms into a neutron star and its accretion disk to show a millisecond pulsar in close-up.A pulsar is a rapidly rotating neutron star that emits pulses of radiation (such as X-rays and radio waves) at regular intervals. A millisecond pulsar is one with a rotational period between 1 and 10 milliseconds, or from 60,000 to 6,000 revolutions per minute. Pulsars form in supernova explosions, but even newborn pulsars don’t spin at millisecond speeds, and they gradually slow down with age. If, however, a pulsar is a member of a binary system with a normal star, gas transferred from the companion can spin up an old, slow pulsar to the millisecond range.Credit: NASA
Average Total Power of Individual Airport Radar Systems AU Microscopii SciTech Daily 2025-08-11 | scitechdaily.com/earth-is-broadcasting-its-location-to-aliens-and-we-didnt-mean-toThis animation reveals the same average total power of individual airport radar systems and total power of airport radar leakage radiation as would be seen from AU Microscopii.Credit: Ramiro Saide/Professor Michael Garrett
Average Total Power of Individual Airport Radar Systems Barnard’s Star Animation SciTech Daily 2025-08-11 | scitechdaily.com/earth-is-broadcasting-its-location-to-aliens-and-we-didnt-mean-toIn the upper panel, the animation shows the average total power of individual airport radar systems, averaged over one-hour intervals. The lower panel reveals the total power of airport radar leakage radiation as a function of time, plotted over a 24-hour period in the direction of Barnard’s Star.Credit: Ramiro Saide/Professor Michael Garrett
M MATISSE simulation SciTech Daily 2025-08-11 | scitechdaily.com/the-mars-mission-that-could-make-human-landings-possibleA simulation of the M-MATISSE spacecraft, Henri and Marguerite, exploring the plasma environment around Mars.Credit: M-MATISSE team
Can the Large Hadron Collider Snap String Theory? SciTech Daily 2025-08-11 | scitechdaily.com/this-forbidden-particle-could-break-string-theoryHow to falsify string theory on a collider.Credit: Raphael Martinez / University of Pennsylvania
NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Performing Very Large Roll SciTech Daily 2025-08-11 | scitechdaily.com/nasa-flips-a-mars-orbiter-upside-down-and-discovers-a-hidden-worldThis animation depicts NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) performing what's called a "very large roll": a 120-degree roll that can increase the capabilities of the spacecraft's subsurface radar instrument, called Shallow Radar, or SHARAD. Very large rolls boost SHARAD's signal by 10 times or more, giving scientists a clearer and deeper look below the Martian surface than MRO has ever had before.The orbiter was designed to roll up to 30 degrees in any direction so that it can point its instruments at surface targets. These standard rolls give cameras like the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) prime viewing at the front of MRO at the expense of SHARAD, which has an antenna mounted at the back of the orbiter. While this setup helps the cameras, it also means that radio signals SHARAD pings onto the surface below encounter parts of the spacecraft, interfering with the signals and resulting in images that are less clear.In 2023, the team decided to try developing 120-degree rolls – the very large rolls – that rotate SHARAD's antenna toward the planet and provide the radio waves an unobstructed path to the surface. That lets the radar's signals reach deeper and get a clearer picture of rocks, sand, and geologic layers underground. It also helps SHARAD look for water ice in the near-subsurface that could be accessed by astronauts to produce rocket propellant for the trip home and is important for learning more about the climate, geology, and potential for life at Mars.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA Whats Up: Skywatching Highlights for August 2025 SciTech Daily 2025-08-05 | scitechdaily.com/dont-miss-venus-and-jupiter-glow-together-in-a-rare-morning-alignmentWhat are some skywatching highlights in August 2025?A close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus peaks on the 11th and 12th. Viewing the Perseid meteors will be hampered by a bright Moon. And look for the Dumbbell Nebula, which offers a peek into how stars like our Sun go out in style.0:00 Intro0:13 August planet viewing1:17 Perseids outlook1:43 The Dumbbell Nebula3:07 August Moon phasesCredit: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Witnessing the Dawn of a New Solar System | Chasing Starlight SciTech Daily 2025-07-20 | scitechdaily.com/dawn-of-a-new-solar-system-watch-planets-begin-to-form-1300-light-years-awayWe have observed the formation of giant planets in discs around young stars before. But now, for the first time, we have found a planetary system that turns the clock back even further, right to when the first specks of planet-forming material were created.In this Chasing Starlight episode, we’ll explore how we could be witnessing the dawn of a new Solar System.Credit: ESODirected by: L. Calçada, M. KornmesserHosted by: S. RandallWritten by: A. Briggs, S. Bromilow, B. FerreiraEditing: M. Kornmesser, L. CalçadaVideography: A. TsaousisAnimations & footage: ESO, ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al,M. Kornmesser, L. Calçada, ESA, NASA, BBC, B. Tafreshi (twanight.org),NASA Eyes on Asteroids, Vernazza et al./MISTRAL algorithm (ONERA/CNRS)Music: envatoWeb and technical support: E. Arango, R. Yumi ShidaScientific consultant: P. AmicoPromotion: O. SanduFilming Locations: ESO Supernova (supernova.eso.org)Produced by ESO, the European Southern Observatory (eso.org)
Zoom Into the Baby Star HOPS-315 SciTech Daily 2025-07-20 | scitechdaily.com/dawn-of-a-new-solar-system-watch-planets-begin-to-form-1300-light-years-awayThis video zooms into HOPS-315, a baby star where astronomers have identified gas condensing into solid minerals for the first time.This zoom was created with images from different telescopes stitched together, covering progressively smaller areas in the sky. Most of the video shows the night sky in visible light, and at the end, we see an image taken with the ALMA telescope at submillimeter wavelengths.Credit: ESO/L. Calçada/N. Risinger (skysurvey.org)/Digitized Sky Survey 2/VISTA/ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al. Music: Azul Cobalto
Animation of the Formation of Minerals Around the Baby Star HOPS-315 SciTech Daily 2025-07-20 | scitechdaily.com/dawn-of-a-new-solar-system-watch-planets-begin-to-form-1300-light-years-awayThis animation illustrates how hot gas condenses into solid minerals around the baby star HOPS-315. At the beginning, we see molecules of silicon monoxide which then condense into solid dust grains. The video then zooms out to reveal an actual image of HOPS-315 taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner. This image shows different molecules blowing away from the star: carbon monoxide in orange and silicon monoxide in blue.Credit: ESO/L. Calçada/ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al.
Cosmic Caverns in the Cat’s Paw Nebula SciTech Daily 2025-07-20 | scitechdaily.com/webbs-birthday-blockbuster-baby-suns-ignite-tiered-rings-inside-the-cosmic-cats-pawThis visualization explores a subset of toe bean-reminiscent structures within a section of the Cat’s Paw Nebula, a massive, local star-forming region located approximately 4,000 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.This image by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in near-infrared light was released in honor of the telescope’s third science operations anniversary. Since it began science operations in July 2022, Webb’s observations of our universe have wowed scientists and the public alike.Glide into the lower left toe bean, moving past many small yellow stars along the way, where filaments of gas and dust frame the cavernous area. The region’s nebulous glow, represented in blue, is from the bright light of massive young stars.Float toward the top toe bean, which is nicknamed the “Opera House” for its circular, tiered-like structure. As you move, you’ll pass plumes of orange-brown dust that vary in density and small, fiery red clumps where star formation is occurring, albeit in an obscured manner.CreditsProducer: Greg Bacon (STScI), Frank Summers (STScI)Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)Music: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)Designer: Ralf Crawford (STScI), Leah Hustak (STScI), Christian Nieves (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI)Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, VISTA
Zoom Into the Cat’s Paw Nebula SciTech Daily 2025-07-20 | scitechdaily.com/webbs-birthday-blockbuster-baby-suns-ignite-tiered-rings-inside-the-cosmic-cats-pawThis zoom-in video shows the location of the Cat’s Paw Nebula on the sky. It begins with a ground-based photo by the late astrophotographer Akira Fujii, then shows views from the Digitized Sky Survey. The video then homes in on a select portion of the sky to reveal a European Southern Observatory image of the Cat’s Paw Nebula in visible light. The video continues to zoom in on a section of the Cat’s Paw, which gradually transitions to the stunning image captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in near-infrared light.Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI)Acknowledgment: VISTA, Akira Fujii, DSS
NASA SPHEREx Survey Animation SciTech Daily 2025-07-12 | scitechdaily.com/nasas-spherex-is-mapping-the-infrared-universe-in-102-colors-and-its-all-publicThis animation visualizes how SPHEREx will survey the entire sky.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/IPAC
The Closest Images Ever Taken of the Sun’s Atmosphere SciTech Daily 2025-07-11 | scitechdaily.com/nasa-just-flew-through-the-suns-atmosphere-and-what-it-saw-is-jaw-droppingOn its record-breaking pass by the Sun in December 2024, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe captured stunning new images from within the Sun’s atmosphere. These newly released images — taken closer to the Sun than we’ve ever been before — are helping scientists better understand the Sun’s influence across the solar system, including events that can affect Earth.Video credit: NASAProducer: Joy Ng (eMITS)Scientist: Nour Rawafi (Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab)Videographer: John Philyaw (eMITS), Lacey Young (eMITS)Music credits: “Up There” by Alexandre Prodhomme [SACEM]; “Temporal Shift” by Alessandro Rizzo [PRS] and Elliot Greenway Ireland; “Micro Life” by Peter Larsen [PRS]; “Hope and Relief” by Eddy Pradelles [SACEM] via Universal Production Music
Fast and Slow Solar Wind SciTech Daily 2025-07-11 | scitechdaily.com/nasa-just-flew-through-the-suns-atmosphere-and-what-it-saw-is-jaw-droppingThis artist’s concept shows a representative state of Earth’s magnetosphere immersed in the so-called “slow” solar wind, which averages between about 180 - 300 miles per second (approx. 300 - 500 kilometers per second). The slow solar wind originates from coronal streamers and other solar features most commonly found around the Sun’s equator, which make the slow solar wind the typical state of the solar wind along the equatorial plane in which the planets orbit.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
Parker Solar Probe Captures Solar Wind Racing Out From the Sun’s Corona SciTech Daily 2025-07-11 | scitechdaily.com/nasa-just-flew-through-the-suns-atmosphere-and-what-it-saw-is-jaw-droppingThis video, made from images taken by Parker Solar Probe’s WISPR instrument during its record-breaking flyby of the Sun on Dec. 25, 2024, shows the solar wind racing out from the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona.Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Naval Research Lab
NASA Whats Up: Skywatching Highlights for July 2025 SciTech Daily 2025-07-09 | scitechdaily.com/dont-miss-sky-show-mars-glows-venus-blazes-and-an-eagle-soarsWhat are some skywatching highlights in July 2025?Look for Mars in the evening, Venus and Jupiter in the morning, and find the eagle constellation, Aquila, soaring overhead.0:00 Intro0:14 July planet viewing1:43 The Constellation Aquila3:12 July Moon phasesCredit: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Perseverance Drills a Rock on Jezero Crater Rim SciTech Daily 2025-07-09 | scitechdaily.com/lasers-gas-blasts-and-hidden-water-how-perseverance-cracked-mars-stubborn-rockIn this video, the robotic arm on NASA's Perseverance Mars rover uses its percussive drill on a rocky outcrop near the rim of Jezero Crater that the science team calls "Kenmore" on June 10, 2025, the 1,531st Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Before drilling, the team abraded the rock to determine it was worthy of drilling.The eight images that make up this GIF were taken approximately one minute apart by one of the rover's front hazard-avoidance cameras.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Perseverances gDRT Gets a Test Under Vaccuum SciTech Daily 2025-07-09 | scitechdaily.com/lasers-gas-blasts-and-hidden-water-how-perseverance-cracked-mars-stubborn-rockThis video of the Perseverance rover's gDRT (Gaseous Dust Removal Tool) in action was taken during a test in a vacuum chamber at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in August 2020.The tool fires 12-pounds-per-square-inch (about 83-kilopascal) puffs of nitrogen at the tailings and dust that cover a rock after it has been abraded by the rover. Five puffs are required per abrasion – one to vent the tanks and four to clear the abrasion.JPL, which is managed for the agency by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Cosmic Treasure Chest – Vera C. Rubin Observatory SciTech Daily 2025-07-06 | scitechdaily.com/worlds-largest-space-camera-snaps-breathtaking-first-photos-of-the-universeMade from over 1100 images captured by the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the video begins with a close-up of two galaxies, then zooms out to reveal about 10 million galaxies. Those 10 million galaxies are roughly .05% of the approximately 20 billion galaxies Rubin Observatory will capture during its 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time.Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory
A Swarm of New Asteroids – Vera C. Rubin Observatory SciTech Daily 2025-07-06 | scitechdaily.com/worlds-largest-space-camera-snaps-breathtaking-first-photos-of-the-universeIn about 10 hours of observations, NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory discovered 2104 never-before-seen asteroids in our Solar System, including seven near-Earth asteroids (which pose no danger). Annually, about 20,000 asteroids are discovered in total by all other ground and space-based observatories. Rubin Observatory alone will discover millions of new asteroids within the first two years of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time. Rubin will also be the most effective observatory at spotting interstellar objects passing through the Solar System.Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory
Rhythms in the Stars – Vera C. Rubin Observatory SciTech Daily 2025-07-06 | scitechdaily.com/worlds-largest-space-camera-snaps-breathtaking-first-photos-of-the-universeIn this video, NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory showcases 46 subtly pulsating RR Lyrae variable stars in an early glimpse of the dynamic sky Rubin will reveal. Over the next 10 years, Rubin will detect up to about 100,000 of these stars extending out to more than a million light-years away, allowing scientists to map the outer reaches of our Galaxy and explore the structure of the Galactic halo that surrounds the Milky Way and extends nearly halfway to our closest neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy.Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory
Fish Schooling Experiment SciTech Daily 2025-07-06 | scitechdaily.com/new-study-overturns-50-year-assumption-about-fish-schoolsExample video of fish school tracked for 2 minutes.Credit: Ko et al.
First Visual Proof of a Star Destroyed by Pair of Explosions SciTech Daily 2025-07-06 | scitechdaily.com/star-explodes-twice-astronomers-capture-stunning-supernova-remainsAstronomers have found the first visual evidence that a star has died by detonating twice. Observations taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) revealed concentric shells of calcium in the supernova remnant SNR 0509-67.5. These features indicate that the now-dead star exploded with two detonations.Credit: ESODirected by: Angelos Tsaousis and Martin Wallner.Editing: Angelos Tsaousis.Web and technical support: Raquel Yumi Shida and E. Arango.Written by: Amy Briggs and Sean Bromilow.Music: Stellardrone – Comet Halley.Footage and photos: ESO, Luis Calçada, Angelos Tsaousis, Martin Kornmesser, P. Das et al., K. Noll et al., Gerhard Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com), Daniele Gasparri (www.astroatacama.com)Scientific consultant: Paola Amico, Mariya Lyubenova.
Zooming Into a Star That Detonated Twice SciTech Daily 2025-07-06 | scitechdaily.com/star-explodes-twice-astronomers-capture-stunning-supernova-remainsThis video zooms into the supernova remnant SNR 0509-67.5, the expanding remains of a star that died by detonating twice. This object is located 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small galaxy that orbits the Milky Way.This zoom was created by blending images taken at different times and with different telescopes. The video ends with an image captured with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), which shows the distribution of different chemical elements ejected when the star died. Calcium is shown in blue, and it is arranged in two concentric shells. This indicates that the star exploded with a double detonation.Credit: ESO/L. Calçada/N. Risinger (skysurvey.org)/Digitized Sky Survey 2/P. Das et al. Background stars (Hubble): K. Noll et al. Music: Azul Cobalto
Double-Detonation Supernova Animation SciTech Daily 2025-07-06 | scitechdaily.com/star-explodes-twice-astronomers-capture-stunning-supernova-remainsThis animation illustrates the supernova remnant SNR 0509-67.5, the leftovers of a star that died with a double-detonation. These two blasts imprinted a characteristic layered structure in the expanding material around the star. At the end of the animation, we show a real image captured with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), which displays different chemical elements in different colors. There are two concentric shells of calcium, seen here in blue, a telltale sign that the star met its end with two detonations. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser/P. Das et al. Background stars, final image (Hubble): K. Noll et al.
Asteroid 2024 YR4: From Discovery to Potential Lunar Impact SciTech Daily 2025-07-06 | scitechdaily.com/this-city-killer-asteroid-has-a-4-chance-of-hitting-the-moonThis animation demonstrates why the asteroid 2024 YR4 was only discovered two days after it passed Earth in December 2024, and why we will have to wait three years to know for certain whether it will impact the Moon on 22 December 2032. Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
iRonCub3, the World’s First Jet-Powered Flying Humanoid Robot SciTech Daily 2025-07-02 | scitechdaily.com/real-life-iron-man-worlds-first-jet-powered-humanoid-robot-takes-flightResearchers in Italy at Italian Institute of Technology achieved a first flight of iRonCub3. The robot was able to lift off the floor by approximately 50 cm while maintaining its stability.The result has been possible thanks to thermodynamics and aerodynamics studies, combined with robotics and AI-powered control systems.Credit: IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
First Artificial Solar Eclipse in Space SciTech Daily 2025-06-24 | scitechdaily.com/esa-just-faked-a-solar-eclipse-and-caught-the-suns-hidden-haloProba-3 artificially created what is normally a rare natural phenomenon: a total solar eclipse.In a world first, ESA’s Proba-3 satellites flew in perfect formation, blocking the Sun’s bright disc to reveal its fiery corona. This enigmatic outer layer burns millions of degrees hotter than the Sun’s surface and drives the solar storms that can disrupt life on Earth.With its first artificial eclipse, Proba-3 has captured detailed images of this mysterious region, offering scientists new insights into our star’s behavior.Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
What Is the Origin of the Moon? SciTech Daily 2025-06-24 | scitechdaily.com/the-moons-explosive-backstory-how-a-planetary-smash-spawned-our-nightlightThe Moon has been circling the Earth for over four billion years, but where did it come from? In this video, Ralf Jaumann, planetary geologist at the German Aerospace Centre, DLR, discusses the four theories that could explain the origin of the Earth-Moon system.There are four theories about the origin of the Earth-Moon system. The first is that Earth captured a celestial body in its orbit. Another possibility is that a rapidly rotating Earth could have thrown material out to form the Moon around it. A third theory is that Earth and the Moon formed at the same time out of the same material. Today, most scientists believe the Moon is ‘Earth's child’ – a large body collided with Earth, destroying our planet’s mantle and sending material into orbit from which the Moon formed. This ‘big splash’ theory would explain why the Moon’s rocks are similar to those on Earth. Credit: ESA
NASA’s Chandra Sees Surprisingly Strong Black Hole Jet at Cosmic “Noon” SciTech Daily 2025-06-16 | scitechdaily.com/nasa-detects-11-billion-year-old-black-hole-jet-lit-by-the-big-bangA black hole has blasted out a surprisingly powerful jet in the distant universe, according to a new study from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. This jet exists early enough in the cosmos that it is being illuminated by the leftover glow from the Big Bang itself.Astronomers used Chandra and the Very Large Array, an array of radio dishes in New Mexico, to study this black hole and its jet. They are seeing this black hole at a period they call “cosmic noon,” which occurred about three billion years after the universe began. During this time most galaxies and supermassive black holes were growing faster than at any other time during the history of the universe.Scientists are hoping to use this jet to probe questions about how black holes helped shape their surroundings during this critical era in cosmic history. They are finding that some black holes may carry a bigger punch at this stage in the universe than they thought.The researchers identified and then confirmed the existence of two different black holes with jets over 300,000 light-years long. The two black holes are 11.6 billion and 11.7 billion light-years away from Earth, respectively. The team discovered that one of the jets is remarkably powerful, because they found it carries roughly half as much energy as the intense light from hot gas orbiting the black hole.Only Chandra could detect these very distant black holes because they are very close together on the sky. Even then, Chandra needed the photons to be boosted by the leftover glow from the Big Bang — known as the cosmic microwave background — to get a signal.As the electrons in the jets fly from the black holes, they move through the sea of cosmic microwave background radiation and collide with microwave photons. The cosmic microwave background was much denser in the very early Universe than it is now. These collisions boost the energy of the photons up into the X-ray band to be detected by Chandra.By combining the X-ray and radio data, the researchers calculated that the particles in the jets are moving at between 95% and 99% of the speed of light for one jet and between 92% and 98% of the speed of light for the other. The researchers were also able to measure the magnetic fields of these jets, providing more clues about the nature of these very distant and very powerful black hole jets.Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart
Quick Look: NASA’s Chandra Sees Surprisingly Strong Black Hole Jet at Cosmic “Noon” SciTech Daily 2025-06-16 | scitechdaily.com/nasa-detects-11-billion-year-old-black-hole-jet-lit-by-the-big-bangA black hole is blasting out a powerful jet just 3 billion years after the Big Bang.We can only see this jet because its particles boost the Big Bang’s leftover glow.NASA’s Chandra and NSF’s Very Large Array joined together to make this discovery.This jet allows astronomers to probe how black holes affect the young Universe. Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart
Space Storm Captured by NRL Spurs New Era in CME Research SciTech Daily 2025-06-13 | scitechdaily.com/massive-solar-storm-sparks-rare-g4-alert-what-it-means-for-earthImages from NOAA’s CCOR-1 coronagraph showing the ‘halo’ coronal mass ejection on May 31, 2025. Launched last year, and designed and built by NRL, the CCOR-1 coronagraph is the first operational coronagraph providing critical real-time observations for NOAA to issue space weather forecasts and storm alerts.Credit: NOAA's CCOR-1
The Origin of Vertebrate Teeth and Evolution of Sensory Exoskeletons SciTech Daily 2025-06-13 | scitechdaily.com/paleontologists-uncover-465-million-year-old-secret-the-true-purpose-of-the-first-teethYara Haridy and Neil Shubin discuss their new study in Nature on the origins of sensitive teeth in vertebrates.Credit: Julian Romano
Winter Field Expedition on the Colville River Bone Layer Removal SciTech Daily 2025-06-13 | scitechdaily.com/73-million-year-old-discovery-reveals-arctic-birds-nesting-with-dinosaursMembers of the research team remove a chunk of frozen material from the bone layer during a winter field expedition on the Colville River. They take the material back to the lab to find and study the fossils.Credit: Lauren Wilson
Necrosis in Lab Grown Cells SciTech Daily 2025-06-13 | scitechdaily.com/pausing-cell-death-could-be-the-key-to-longevityThe video shows a cluster of cells growing in the lab, before necrosis occurs and a necrotic core (red area) forms and spreads.Credit: LinkGevity
Time-Lapse Shows a Complexly Shaped Plasma Stream Traveling at Almost 100 Kilometers per Second SciTech Daily 2025-06-09 | scitechdaily.com/raindrops-on-a-fireball-sharpest-ever-look-inside-the-suns-wild-coronaThis time-lapse movie shows the formation and collapse of a complexly shaped plasma stream traveling at almost 100 kilometers per second in front of a coronal loop system. This is likely the first time such a stream, which the scientists refer to as “plasmoid”, has been observed, leaving them wondering about the physical explanation of the observed dynamics. This video was taken by the Goode Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory using the new coronal adaptive optics system Cona. The video shows the hydrogen-alpha light emitted by the solar plasma. The video is artificially colorized, yet based on the color of hydrogen-alpha light, and darker color is brighter light.Credit: Schmidt et al./NJIT/NSO/AURA/NSF
Time-Lapse of a Solar Prominence Shows How Plasma “Dances” and Twists With the Sun’s Magnetic Field SciTech Daily 2025-06-09 | scitechdaily.com/raindrops-on-a-fireball-sharpest-ever-look-inside-the-suns-wild-coronaThis time-lapse movie of a solar prominence shows how plasma “dances” and twists with the Sun’s magnetic field. This video was taken by the Goode Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory using the new coronal adaptive optics system Cona. The video shows the hydrogen-alpha light emitted by the solar plasma. The video is artificially colorized, yet based on the color of hydrogen-alpha light, and darker color is brighter light.Credit: Schmidt et al./NJIT/NSO/AURA/NSF
Time-Lapse Video of a Prominence Above the Solar Surface Reveals Its Turbulent Restructuring SciTech Daily 2025-06-09 | scitechdaily.com/raindrops-on-a-fireball-sharpest-ever-look-inside-the-suns-wild-coronaThis time-lapse video of a prominence above the solar surface reveals its rapid, fine, and turbulent restructuring with unprecedented detail. The Sun’s fluffy-looking surface is covered by “spicules”, short-lived plasma jets, whose creation is still subject of scientific debate. The streaks on the right of this image are coronal rain falling down onto the Sun’s surface. This video was taken by the Goode Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory using the new coronal adaptive optics system Cona. The video shows the hydrogen-alpha light emitted by the solar plasma. The video is artificially colorized, yet based on the color of hydrogen-alpha light, and darker color is brighter light.Credit: Schmidt et al./NJIT/NSO/AURA/NSF
Time-Lapse Video of the Highest Resolution Images Ever Made of Coronal Rain SciTech Daily 2025-06-09 | scitechdaily.com/raindrops-on-a-fireball-sharpest-ever-look-inside-the-suns-wild-coronaCoronal rain forms when hotter plasma in the Sun’s corona cools down and becomes denser. Like raindrops on Earth, coronal rain is pulled down to the surface by gravity. Because the plasma is electrically charged, it follows the magnetic field lines, which make huge arches/loops, instead of falling in a straight line. This time-lapse video is composed of the highest resolution images ever made of coronal rain. The scientists show in the paper that the strands can be narrower than 20 kilometers. This video was taken by the Goode Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory using the new coronal adaptive optics system Cona. The video shows the hydrogen-alpha light emitted by the solar plasma. The video is artificially colorized, yet based on the color of hydrogen-alpha light, and darker color is brighter light.Credit: Schmidt et al./NJIT/NSO/AURA/NSF
NASA Whats Up: Skywatching Highlights for June 2025 SciTech Daily 2025-06-08 | scitechdaily.com/dont-miss-this-rare-chance-to-see-the-milky-ways-glowing-coreWhat are some skywatching highlights in June 2025?Saturn and Venus in the morning sky, and Mars at night. June brings the longest and shortest day of the year, depending on your hemisphere. And make your way out to dark skies to marvel at the Milky Way Galaxy's core.0:00 Intro0:13 June planet viewing1:09 Milky Way core season1:59 June solstice3:36 June Moon phasesCredit: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
A Young Chimpanzee Cares for a Wound on His Knee SciTech Daily 2025-06-02 | scitechdaily.com/new-clues-to-the-origins-of-human-medicine-chimpanzees-caught-healing-each-others-wounds-in-the-wildA young chimpanzee cares for a wound on his left knee with chewed stem bark and fresh leaves, filmed by Dr. Elodie Freymann.Credit: Dr. Elodie Freymann
Heat Map Animation of Dive Concentration in North Atlantic SciTech Daily 2025-06-02 | scitechdaily.com/weve-barely-scratched-the-surface-scientists-reveal-only-0-001-of-the-deep-ocean-has-been-imagedThis heatmap anination shows the concentration of known deep-sea dives with visual observations in the North Atlantic.Credit: Ocean Discovery League
