Science & Tech

James Webb Finds Hidden Third Planet in Beta Pictoris System

James Webb detected a previously hidden gas giant, β Pic d, in Beta Pictoris by its atmospheric spectrum — the first planet found primarily via moderate-resolution spectroscopy.

#exoplanets, #astronomy, #jameswebb, #betapictoris

SCIENCE

New star orbiting close to Milky Way’s central black hole could let astronomers probe its spin

Astronomers have identified S301, an 8.7-year star whose close, fast orbit around Sagittarius A* could enable tests of the black hole's spin.

#astronomy, #blackhole, #galacticcenter, #relativity

SCIENCE

Astronomers Confirm Long-Period Stellar-Mass Black Hole in Omega Centauri

Hubble and Webb data reveal a 4.46-solar-mass, long-period black hole in the Milky Way’s Omega Centauri globular cluster.

#astronomy, #blackhole, #omegacentauri, #hubble, #webb

SCIENCE

FAST survey catalogs 156,411 hydrogen-rich galaxies and sets new local HI mass-function benchmark

China’s FAST releases a catalog of 156,411 neutral-hydrogen galaxies — the largest single-dish census — and a new benchmark for the local HI mass function.

#astronomy, #radioastronomy, #hydrogen, #galaxies, #fast

SCIENCE

Gauss Fusion preprint outlines plasma-equilibrium design basis for proposed 1 GWe stellarator

Gauss Fusion’s arXiv preprint lays out a fixed‑boundary plasma equilibrium as the design basis for a proposed 1 GWe stellarator — a simulation study, not an operating reactor.

#fusion, #stellarator, #gaussfusion, #arxiv

SCIENCE

UCL Reanalysis Confirms 20 GeV Gamma‑Ray Halo Around Milky Way, but Stops Short of Dark‑Matter Claim

UCL reanalysis finds a persistent 20 GeV gamma‑ray halo in Fermi-LAT data around the Milky Way but cautions it's consistent with—not proof of—dark matter.

#astronomy, #darkmatter, #fermilat, #astrophysics

SCIENCE

Claim of 1.7-Second Periodicity in Repeating FRB 20201124A Sparks Debate

A revised arXiv preprint reports a ~1.7-second period in repeating FRB 20201124A suggesting a spinning magnetar; independent reanalysis disputes the claim.

#frb, #magnetar, #astronomy, #astrophysics

SCIENCE

First Peer-Reviewed In‑Situ Observations of Goblin Sharks Documented in the Pacific

A May 2026 paper reports the first peer‑reviewed video observations of live goblin sharks, extending their known range and depth in the Pacific.

#science, #ocean, #marinebiology, #deepsea

SCIENCE

Neutron scattering reveals at least nine-partite entanglement in a strange metal

Neutron scattering on a centimeter-scale Ce3Pd20Si6 crystal yields quantum Fisher information indicating at least nine-partite entanglement tied to strange-metal behavior.

#quantum, #entanglement, #condensedmatter, #neutron_scattering

SCIENCE

JWST detects hydrocarbons, aerosols and excess heat in atmosphere of white-dwarf planet WD 1856 b

Nature paper reports JWST transmission spectrum of WD 1856 b, revealing hydrocarbons, aerosols and unexpected warmth — the first atmospheric probe of a white-dwarf planet.

#jwst, #exoplanets, #white-dwarf, #astronomy

SCIENCE

GWTC-5.0 population study finds structured black-hole masses and a rapidly spinning subpopulation

Analysis of 267 compact-binary mergers (GWTC-5.0) reveals peaks in black-hole masses and a rapidly spinning subpopulation consistent with hierarchical mergers.

#gravitational-wave, #black-holes, #ligo, #astrophysics

SCIENCE

Commercial Robot Set to Launch to Reboost Aging Swift Space Telescope

A commercial robotic servicer will launch July 2 to rendezvous with and raise NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, averting possible reentry in 2026.

#nasa, #space, #orbitalservicing, #swift

SCIENCE

TESS finds distant super-Jupiter via microlensing — its first planet discovery using the method

NASA’s TESS used gravitational microlensing to detect a distant super-Jupiter about 1.6 times Jupiter’s mass, nearly 40,000 light-years away — its first microlensing discovery.

#exoplanets, #tess, #microlensing, #nasa, #astronomy

SCIENCE