Science & Tech

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

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

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

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

Rubin Observatory Begins 10-Year Legacy Survey of Space and Time

NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory launches full 10-year LSST operations, beginning nightly imaging and fast public alerts to map the changing sky.

#astronomy, #rubinobservatory, #lsst, #timedomain

Scientists digitally unroll and read surviving portion of Herculaneum papyrus PHerc. 1667

Researchers used X‑ray imaging and computational unwrapping to read a continuous 1.5m section of a Herculaneum scroll without opening it.

#herculaneum, #papyrology, #imaging, #virtualunwrapping

James Webb Finds Uranus’s Major Moons Carry Comet-like Water Signature

JWST finds Uranus’s five regular moons have comet-like deuterium-to-hydrogen ratios in their water ice, challenging models that mix large amounts of Uranian material.

#uranus, #jameswebb, #planetaryscience, #moons

AI Agents Reproduce and Extend CERN Analyses, Claim First AI-Produced Novel Result on LEP Data

Researchers using Anthropic’s Claude Code ran end-to-end collider analyses on public CERN data, releasing code and claiming an AI-produced novel Lund-plane result.

#ai, #particlephysics, #cern, #claudecode

Preprint Claims ~100 TeV Neutrinos From Milky Way’s Fermi Bubbles; Confirmation Pending

An arXiv preprint reports a >3σ correlation of ~100 TeV neutrinos with the Milky Way’s Fermi bubbles in public IceCube data; independent confirmation is needed.

#neutrinos, #astrophysics, #icecube, #fermi-bubbles

Study: Webb observes z=10.255 galaxy that may leak nearly all ionizing radiation

A Webb study finds a compact z=10.255 galaxy with almost no nebular lines, implying a very high Lyman-continuum escape fraction and possible impact on reionization.

#astronomy, #jameswebb, #reionization, #highredshift

Webb detects unusual isotopes in interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, suggesting formation in an ancient cold environment

JWST spectra of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS show very high deuterium and uncommon carbon ratios, pointing to formation in a cold, ancient, metal-poor region.

#interstellar, #comet, #jameswebb, #isotopes

Papers Clash Over Whether BE Lyncis Hides a Nearby Black Hole

Two newly accepted papers reach opposing conclusions about BE Lyncis: pulsation timing suggests a massive unseen companion, while Gaia astrometry disagrees.

#astronomy, #blackhole, #gaia, #hipparcos

NOAA Declares El Niño Underway as NASA Satellites Show Strengthening in Equatorial Pacific

NOAA says El Niño is underway and likely to strengthen; NASA satellite altimetry shows higher sea levels across the equatorial Pacific, raising odds of a strong 2026–27 event.

#climate, #elnino, #nasa, #noaa

ArXiv preprint claims axion early dark energy model raises Hubble constant to 71.6, easing Hubble tension

Unreviewed arXiv preprint reports an axion early dark energy fit to CMB, DESI and JWST data gives H0 = 71.58 ± 1.05 km/s/Mpc, largely easing the Hubble tension.

#cosmology, #hubble-tension, #early-dark-energy, #arxiv

Preprint Presents Sharper Spectroscopic Case for a Recoiling Black Hole in Quasar 3C 186

A revised arXiv preprint reports precise blueshifted spectra in quasar 3C 186, strengthening — but not proving — the case for a recoiling supermassive black hole.

#astronomy, #blackhole, #quasars, #gravitationalwaves