https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. In this Picture of the Month from the NASA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope, we visit a turbulent cauldron of star formation to see what is brewing inside dense clumps of gas. This is a star-forming region named LHA 120-N 159, or simply N159, located 161,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), one of the satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way galaxy. This image spans about 230 light-years across. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-webb-image-reveals-young-stars.html Astronomy Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:40:01 EDT news711892283 By analyzing data on around 100,000 quasars, or extremely luminous galactic nuclei, researchers at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) have found statistical evidence that some supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies are ejected from their positions after forming. The relationship now identified in the data was predicted 10 years ago by members of the same research group, Peter Raffai and Zsolt Frei, together with Zoltán Haiman. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-supermassive-black-holes-ejected-galactic.html Astronomy Thu, 22 Oct 2026 12:20:25 EDT news711886019 Technion researchers have presented evidence for the existence of solar-storm-like outbursts near supermassive black holes, which can be a million times larger than the sun or more. The phenomenon was discovered in the vicinity of the black hole in the galaxy NGC 3783, and the researchers' findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-black-hole-uncover-evidence-solar.html Astronomy Thu, 22 Oct 2026 11:03:31 EDT news711885705 An international team of scientists from the University of Sheffield and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, led by a postdoctoral research fellow from the University of Newcastle, Australia, has discovered that solar jets called spicules, which are 6–8 Mm long, take the form of warped, denser plasma sheets like pleated drapery. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-curtain-plasma-solar-jets-apparent.html Astronomy Thu, 22 Oct 2026 10:20:06 EDT news711877531 An international team of researchers, including members from the University of Michigan, has revealed surprising results that could rewrite our understanding of a key transition in the early universe. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-hubble-supernova-role-cosmic-reionization.html Astronomy Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:20:15 EDT news711800461 Some supermassive black holes rapidly consume surrounding matter while simultaneously firing powerful streams of plasma into space at nearly the speed of light. However, this creates a physical puzzle: rapid feeding is expected to form a cold, flat accretion disk around the black hole, which prevents powerful jets from forming. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-hot-plasma-rapidly-black-holes.html Astronomy Tue, 20 Oct 2026 12:40:01 EDT news711711481 The gas orbiting Sagittarius A (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, is rich in metals, researchers at McGill University's Trottier Space Institute have found. The metal enrichment probably resulted from stars that exploded and released material into the black hole's surroundings over time, they said. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-webb-reveals-metal-rich-gas.html Astronomy Mon, 19 Oct 2026 16:00:15 EDT news711642481 The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope has discovered its first previously unknown comet in images taken between Sept. 16 and 24, 2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-euclid-comet-million-miles-earth.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 19 Oct 2026 13:20:01 EDT news711626041 Astronomers using China's FAST radio telescope have discovered a compact cloud of hydrogen with no visible stars or galaxy around it. This could be one of the strongest candidates yet for an isolated "dark galaxy," containing nearly 500,000 times the sun's mass in neutral hydrogen. The discovery paper was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Sept. 24. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-lone-starless-cloud-dark-galaxy.html Astronomy Sat, 17 Oct 2026 09:40:04 EDT news711014768 A University of Missouri astronomer is leading a team of 130 researchers from 62 institutions—including NASA, the California Institute of Technology, Princeton University and Harvard University—on an ambitious mission to capture an unprecedented view of the early universe. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-astronomer-global-team-nasa-mission.html Astronomy Fri, 16 Oct 2026 19:20:01 EDT news711376043 How do young stars reshape the clouds from which they are born? A new high-resolution 3D model developed by an international team led by Dr Brandt Gaches from the University of Duisburg-Essen shows how the uneven structure of stellar nurseries creates shadows that alter their chemistry and influence the infrared emission observed by the James Webb Space Telescope. The model has now been published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-3d-reveals-shadows-reshape-chemistry.html Astronomy Fri, 16 Oct 2026 18:40:04 EDT news711374216 Astronomers have discovered a star being torn apart by a massive black hole more than 1,000 parsecs from the center of its host galaxy. The tidal disruption event, TDE 2023mfm, was first discovered by ZTF and then studied with a wide range of telescopes, including Keck, Lick, Hubble, Swift, Chandra, XMM-Newton and the VLA. The discovery paper was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Sept. 28. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-shredded-star-reveals-massive-black.html Astronomy Fri, 16 Oct 2026 09:20:17 EDT news711112932 Astronomers have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to break down the cause of a remarkable formation of radio waves they have nicknamed the "Treble Clef" because its distinct shape strongly resembles the musical symbol. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chandra-treble-clef-galaxy-cluster.html Astronomy Thu, 15 Oct 2026 12:20:14 EDT news711283870 University of Warwick astronomers have shown that white dwarf stars can glow in a range of colors, including the first star ever found that would appear green to the human eye. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-green-pink-purple-astronomers-reveal.html Astronomy Wed, 14 Oct 2026 20:10:01 EDT news711185462 Astronomers have found two actively feeding supermassive black holes separated by just 175 parsecs (570 light-years) in a galaxy seen when the universe was only about 2 billion years old. The system, MG B2016+112, lies at a redshift of 3.273 and is the most compact dual AGN known at this redshift. The study was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Sept. 25. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-evidence-black-holes-parsecs-lurking.html Astronomy Wed, 14 Oct 2026 09:40:17 EDT news711113832 The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has detected a possible supernova in the early universe just days after the star exploded. Called AT 2026abck, the transient lies in a star-forming galaxy at a redshift of 5.017 and was found without the help of gravitational lensing. JWST observations suggest the event was caught only about four to 10 days after the explosion. The paper was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Sept. 29. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-webb-early-universe-supernova-days.html Astronomy Tue, 13 Oct 2026 10:50:01 EDT news711104454 For many years, the simplest view of dark energy has been that it remains unchanged. Throughout cosmic history, the mysterious ingredient believed to drive the universe's accelerated expansion is thought to have behaved in the same way at every epoch. However, an increasing number of observations are challenging this idea. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-alternative-gravity-theory-explanation-dark.html Astronomy Mon, 12 Oct 2026 13:40:14 EDT news711029618 NASA's SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the universe, Epoch of Reionization, and ices Explorer) space telescope is shedding light on brown dwarfs, celestial objects that blur the line between stars and exoplanets. New findings published in The Astrophysical Journal show that these dark and cloudy worlds have chemically rich atmospheres not unlike the giant planets in our own solar system. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-spherex-menagerie-brown-dwarfs-atmospheric.html Astronomy Fri, 09 Oct 2026 09:20:05 EDT news710755921 Astronomers have detected and traced the most distant fast radio burst ever recorded, a powerful flash of radio waves that traveled for more than 10 billion years across the cosmos before reaching Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-astronomers-distant-fast-radio.html Astronomy Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:00:36 EDT news710612761 Using data from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys, with help from artificial intelligence, an international team of scientists has discovered 70 new gravitational lenses—rare cosmic alignments that act as natural magnifying glasses. The new lenses further expand one of the largest collections of confirmed lenses to date and will allow scientists to study dark matter, galaxy evolution and the structure of the universe. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-largest-2d-universe-scientists-gravitational.html Astronomy Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:40:12 EDT news710669701 Francis Halzen, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, spoke with pride on Wednesday about his early promotion of artificial intelligence in his research on neutrinos. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nobel-physics-winner-pride-ai.html General Physics Wed, 07 Oct 2026 18:40:01 EDT news710587906 An undergraduate astrophysics student at UC Berkeley has found three unusual galaxies—cataloged as Shapiro Dwarf Galaxies I, II and III. Each galaxy is far from other galaxies and has stopped making stars, a combination that is extremely rare. The discovery, published in The Astrophysical Journal, provides compelling observational evidence of a long-held astronomical theory. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-undergraduate-student-puzzle-isolated-galaxies.html Astronomy Wed, 07 Oct 2026 17:20:11 EDT news710603101 Astronomers have confirmed a powerful radio galaxy from nearly 12.5 billion years ago. The source, TXS 2354+015, was originally identified as a high-redshift candidate from its characteristic drop in optical light, and follow-up spectroscopy placed it at a redshift of 4.946. Their paper was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Sept. 23. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-radio-galaxy-billion-years-powerful.html Astronomy Wed, 07 Oct 2026 15:40:10 EDT news710589777 An international team of astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), of which the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a partner (NSF NRAO), has combined expertise from across the globe to open a new window on how the organic molecules that seed planets, and potentially life, form in space. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-alcohol-space-exotic-methanol-planet.html Astronomy Wed, 07 Oct 2026 10:40:18 EDT news710587401 Physicist Francis Halzen has an impressively long list of academic accolades—but every October, as the Nobel Prize rolled around, his failure to bag the biggest award of them all left him "miserable," he admits. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nobel-winner-halzen-years-october.html General Physics Tue, 06 Oct 2026 21:00:01 EDT news710520383 Astronomers have observed the longest-lasting central engine activity ever recorded from a gamma-ray burst. The burst occurred at a redshift of 0.8577, and the activity lasted about 27 days in the burst's own rest frame—around 20 days longer than the previous record. The paper, posted to the arXiv preprint server on Sept. 18, explores different mechanisms that could be powering this puzzling burst. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-gamma-ray-stayed-month-previous.html Astronomy Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:20:14 EDT news710505906 Evidence for hypernovae, theorized to be the most powerful explosions in the universe, has been disputed in two papers by University College London (UCL) researchers. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-unusual-stars-owe-hypernovae.html Astronomy Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:20:17 EDT news710499782 The only known supernova remnant of its kind in the Milky Way has an unexpectedly intricate structure: chains of gas knots resembling pearls on a string, each wide enough to fit the solar system multiple times. Using the Gemini North telescope, an international team co-led by Ilaria Caiazzo, assistant professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), captured the most detailed view yet of Pa 30, revealing striking new features of the remnant associated with a historical supernova witnessed nearly 850 years ago. The findings are published in The Astrophysical Journal. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-images-unique-supernova-remnant-reveal.html Astronomy Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:00:18 EDT news710494434 Earth seems like a troubled place right now, but at least our cosmic surroundings appear peaceful. This is not universally true, as explosions, collisions and other dangers lurk in other places and times. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-life-cosmos-universe-supercomputer-yields.html Astronomy Tue, 06 Oct 2026 10:40:29 EDT news710498341 Francis Halzen won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for his efforts to demystify a rare group of neutrinos, tiny cosmic particles that scientists believe offer clues to how the universe evolved. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-francis-halzen-nobel-prize-physics.html General Physics Tue, 06 Oct 2026 06:12:06 EDT news710485847