Scientists who study the cosmos have a favorite philosophy known as the "mediocrity principle," which, in essence, suggests that there's really nothing special about Earth, the sun or the Milky Way galaxy compared to the ...
Astronomy
Jun 3, 2022
7
2334
Scientists using the H.E.S.S. observatory in Namibia have detected the highest energy gamma rays ever from a dead star called a pulsar. The energy of these gamma rays clocked in at 20 tera-electronvolts, or about 10 trillion ...
Astronomy
Oct 5, 2023
2
297
Astronomers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and elsewhere report the detection of a new ultra-high energy (UHE) gamma-ray source in the Galactic plane. The newly identified source, designated LHAASO J0341+5258, ...
A Lancaster physicist has proposed a radical solution to the question of how a charged particle, such as an electron, responded to its own electromagnetic field.
General Physics
Jan 25, 2022
6
895
Solar energy is a popular candidate for a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. A solar cell, or photovoltaic (PV) cell, converts sunlight directly into electricity. However, the conversion efficiency has not been enough ...
Optics & Photonics
Jun 1, 2022
0
234
After nearly two decades, the Sun has set for NASA's SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE), a mission that continued and advanced the agency's 40-year record of measuring solar irradiance and studying its influence ...
Space Exploration
Mar 20, 2020
55
454
Comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN), perhaps the brightest comet we will see this year, is at its best from now until mid-June. It should be visible in from the UK in the northwestern sky after sunset, close to the horizon.
Space Exploration
May 20, 2020
2
452
Researchers at the University of Chicago (UChicago) have recently reported an experimental observation of a matter field with thermal fluctuations that is in accordance with Unruh's radiation predictions. Their paper, published ...
During the course of a deep space mission, astronauts are routinely in various degrees of peril. Depending on which Hollywood sci-fi thrillers you choose, these intrepid explorers are at the mercy of malicious aliens, psychotic ...
Space Exploration
Aug 6, 2019
8
462
A newly discovered exoplanet could be worth searching for signs of life. Analyses by a team led by astronomer Diana Kossakowski of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy describe a planet that orbits its home star, the red ...
Astrobiology
Feb 3, 2023
3
2135
