Astronomers watch ‘lingering death’ of comet as it passes near the Sun

19 Jul 2022

Heating up: 323P/SOHO as observed by the Subaru Telescope in December 2020 (left) and the Canada France Hawaii Telescope in February 2021. (Courtesy: Subaru Telescope/CFHT/Man-To Hui/David Tholen)

For the first time, astronomers have clearly observed the partial disintegration of a comet at its closest point to the Sun. Led by Man-to Hui at Macau University of Science and Technology, the international team made the observation using a combination of ground- and space-based telescopes.

Here is the first full-colour science image from the James Webb Space Telescope

11 Jul 2022 Michael Banks

First look The James Webb Space Telescope’s first “deep field” image was released today at a special event at the White House (Courtesy: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI)

US president Joe Biden has unveiled the first spectacular full-colour science image from the $10bn James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Martian meteorite analysis overturns planet formation theory

20 Jul 2022 Isabelle Dumé

New study overturns previous ideas about how rocky planets form. (NASA image)

The atmosphere on Mars may have formed in a way that contradicts current theories, say researchers at the University of California, Davis, US. The team formed this conclusion thanks to a new analysis of the Chassigny meteorite, which fell to Earth in north-eastern France in 1815 and is believed to represent the Martian interior.

 

James Webb Space Telescope reveals its first spectacular images of the cosmos

12 Jul 2022 Michael Banks

First light An image of the “southern ring” nebula was released today as part of first images from the James Webb Space Telescope. Left is from the NIRCam instrument while right is using the MIRI instrument. (Courtesy: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)

The first tranche of images and data from the $10bn James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been released today by NASA and partners. The four spectacular pictures – showing nebulae, a galaxy constellation as well as the atmospheric spectra of an exoplanet – follows the unveiling of the JWST’s first “deep field” image yesterday.

 

Manganese joins a new family of superconductors

18 Jul 2022 Isabelle Dumé

The T-P phase of RbMn6Bi5 and the high-pressure approach. Courtesy: J-G Cheng

Researchers from the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, have spotted the tell-tale signs of superconductivity in a quasi-one-dimensional manganese-based material, RbMn6Bi5. The material, which has a superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of 9.5 K at a pressure of around 15 GPa, is the latest in a relatively new family of superconductors, the first of which was discovered in 2015 by the same group.

 

Free-floating black hole could be distorting light from distant star

11 Jul 2022

Distorted star: Hubble Space Telescope image of a distant star that was brightened and distorted by an invisible but very compact and heavy object between it and Earth. (Courtesy: STScI/NASA/ESA)

 

Noise-resistant quantum computing comes a step closer

05 Jul 2022 Ieva Čepaitė

Physical and logical qubits: The ion trap used in the experiment, seen through the window of an ultrahigh vacuum chamber. (Courtesy: Robbie Shone)

Quantum computers are a study of extremes. On the one hand, they promise to be far more powerful than classical machines in solving certain problems. On the other, their quantum nature is remarkably fragile and sensitive to environmental noise. To perform scalable, useful quantum computations, therefore, scientists need to correct these errors in an efficient way.