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. Researchers at the University of Basel and the Laboratoire Kastler Brossel have demonstrated how quantum mechanical entanglement can be used to measure several physical parameters simultaneously with greater precision. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-entangled-atomic-clouds-enable-precise.html General Physics Thu, 22 Jan 2026 14:00:01 EST news688310401 The interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS, was first discovered in July 2025, and made its closest approach to the sun (perihelion) in late October. New observations of 3I/ATLAS were taken in December from the SPHEREx observatory—a near-infrared space observatory used for spectrophotometry. The analysis of these observations was recently discussed by a team of scientists in a paper on arXiv, and reveals some dramatic differences from the data taken before 3I/ATLAS reached perihelion. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-spherex-imaging-reveals-sublimation-3iatlas.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:14:16 EST news688137238 Since the interstellar object (ISO) 3I/ATLAS was first discovered on July 1, 2025, it has garnered much attention, including speculation, hopes and fears that it may somehow contain evidence of technologically advanced civilizations outside of our solar system. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-sensitive-radio-date-evidence-technosignature.html Astronomy Tue, 30 Dec 2025 11:30:01 EST news686315306 Light undergoes a unique phenomenon called superscattering, an optical illusion where a very small object scatters far more light than expected. This happens when multiple scattering modes overlap and interact, allowing tiny objects to scatter far more light than their size should allow. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-thermal-metasurfaces-amplify-signatures-factor.html Condensed Matter Wed, 17 Dec 2025 08:00:08 EST news685126474 Between the 16th and 19th centuries, when colonialism was the prevailing order, it is not surprising that scientific expeditions, specimen deposits in natural history museums, and descriptions of species from European colonies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America were carried out only by naturalists from the Old World. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-descriptions-mollusks-global-south-result.html Plants & Animals Wed, 10 Dec 2025 15:04:15 EST news684601441 Sometime in 2029, the European Space Agency is scheduled to launch its Comet Interceptor Mission. The Interceptor will wait for a long-period comet to arrive in the inner solar system then set off on a trajectory to rendezvous with it. These objects are ancient and primordial, carrying material largely unaltered by time that holds clues to how the solar system formed. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-blueprint-interstellar-comet.html Space Exploration Thu, 04 Dec 2025 10:33:38 EST news684066781 What can an ancient supernova teach scientists about Earth and celestial objects? This is what a study recently published in Astronomy & Astrophysics hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated the interaction of the remnants of supernova that occurred 10 million years ago with Earth. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand how Earth is influenced by celestial objects and what this could mean for the future of life on Earth, along with potentially habitable worlds beyond Earth. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-gaia-constraints-myr-nearby-supernova.html Astronomy Mon, 01 Dec 2025 10:21:38 EST news683806861 A vast region of our solar system, called the Kuiper belt, stretches from the orbit of Neptune out to 50 or so astronomical units (AU), where an AU is the distance between Earth and the sun. This region consists mostly of icy objects and small rocky bodies, like Pluto. Scientists believe Kuiper belt objects (KPOs) are remnants left over from the formation of the solar system. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-potentially-distinct-kuiper-belt-clustering.html Astronomy Fri, 21 Nov 2025 14:00:05 EST news682951980 At this point in history, astronomers and engineers who grew up watching "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon," two movies about the destructive power of asteroid impacts, are likely in relatively high ranking positions at space agencies. "Don't Look Up" also provided a more modern, though more pessimistic (or, unfortunately, realistic?), look at what might potentially happen if a "killer" asteroid is found on approach to Earth. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-asteroid-yr4-earth-real-life.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 17 Nov 2025 16:23:04 EST news682618982 The story depicted on the ˁAin Samiya goblet—an 8 cm tall silver vessel from the Intermediate Bronze Age (c. 2650–1950 BCE)—might actually represent a different myth than originally thought, according to a new study. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-imagery-year-goblet-depict-cosmic.html Archaeology Sat, 15 Nov 2025 07:50:01 EST news682340215 The interstellar object known as 3I/ATLAS just flew past Mars, and China's Tianwen-1 mission managed to snap some pics with its high-resolution camera. According to the China National Space Agency (CNSA), the orbiter's high-resolution camera captured images of the comet from a distance of about 30 million km (18.6 million mi). This makes the Tianwen-1 orbiter, which has been orbiting Mars for four years and eight months, one of the closest missions to observe the ISO since it was first detected (on May 7th, 2025). https://phys.org/news/2025-11-china-tianwen-orbiter-3iatlas.html Astronomy Mon, 10 Nov 2025 15:50:03 EST news682012201 Interest in the moon has been high—just in the past two years there have been 12 attempts to send missions to the moon, nearly half of which private companies undertook. With so much activity, it's important to start thinking about coordination and safety. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-moon-missions-horizon-crowding-collisions.html Space Exploration Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:16:04 EDT news681045361 How can artificial intelligence (AI) help astronomers identify celestial objects in the night sky? This is what a recent study published in Nature Astronomy hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated the potential for using AI to conduct astrophysical surveys of celestial events, including black holes consuming stars or even exploding stars themselves. This study has the potential to help astronomers use AI to enhance the field by reducing time and resources that have traditionally been used to scan the night sky. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-ai-stars-examples.html Astronomy Mon, 27 Oct 2025 11:03:03 EDT news680781781 A powerful new telescope has captured its first glimpse of the cosmos, and could transform our understanding of how stars, galaxies and black holes evolve. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-telescope-window-southern-sky.html Astronomy Tue, 21 Oct 2025 12:32:05 EDT news680268722 The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has been something of a mystery ever since it graced our solar system. From all outward appearances, the object appears to be a comet that originated in another star system and was ejected by gravitational perturbations. This was evident from the way it has been actively releasing water vapor as it draws closer to the sun, forming a coma and a tail. Nevertheless, it has exhibited some anomalous behavior, fueling speculation that it may be an interstellar visitor of another kind. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-esa-mars-exomars-orbiters-glimpse.html Astronomy Mon, 13 Oct 2025 10:39:04 EDT news679570741 UNSW engineers have made a significant advance in quantum computing: they created 'quantum entangled states'—where two separate particles become so deeply linked they no longer behave independently—using the spins of two atomic nuclei. Such states of entanglement are the key resource that gives quantum computers their edge over conventional ones. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-quantum-atoms-chatting-distance.html Quantum Physics Thu, 18 Sep 2025 14:00:13 EDT news677405582 The earliest images of 3I/ATLAS, newly uncovered by Michigan State University, reveal how the interstellar object evolved as it traveled through our solar system—and how other distant solar systems might be different from our own. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-3iatlas-solar.html Astronomy Thu, 11 Sep 2025 12:00:01 EDT news676810440 One of the advantages of having so many telescopes watching large parts of the sky is that, if astronomers find something interesting, there are probably images of it from before it was officially discovered sitting in the data archives of other satellites that no one thought to look at. That has certainly been the case for our newest interstellar visitor, 3I/ATLAS, which, though discovered in early July, had been visible on other telescopes as early as May. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-tess-3iatlas-months.html Astronomy Thu, 28 Aug 2025 13:40:05 EDT news675606347 Researchers hope to use neutrinos to find the sources of cosmic radiation. New algorithms out of Bochum are aiding in the search, and have also eliminated a few candidates. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-neutrino-trajectories-real.html Astronomy Fri, 22 Aug 2025 08:46:11 EDT news675071164 Most people are aware that an asteroid wiped out much of life on Earth around 65 million years ago, and this knowledge contributes to that chill of fear that many people experience, at least occasionally, that something like this could happen again. The science is clear that it could happen again, but how likely is it to happen in the average person's lifetime? https://phys.org/news/2025-08-lifetime-odds-dying-asteroid-impact.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 11 Aug 2025 08:40:01 EDT news673875072 ESA's Hera mission has captured images of asteroids (1126) Otero and (18805) Kellyday. Though distant and faint, the early observations serve as both a successful instrument test and a demonstration of agile spacecraft operations that could prove useful for planetary defense. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-asteroid-sightings-hera-camera-limit.html Astronomy Thu, 07 Aug 2025 07:44:58 EDT news673771493 In an advance at the intersection of neuromorphic engineering and photonics, researchers have developed an ionic-electronic photodetector that not only detects light but also performs in-sensor image processing, offering the potential to surpass some limitations of human vision—including color vision deficiencies. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-ionic-electronic-photodetector-sensor-vision.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 04 Aug 2025 11:16:04 EDT news673524961 Is there a massive undiscovered planet on the outer reaches of the solar system? The idea has been around since before the discovery of Pluto in the 1930s. Labeled as planet X, prominent astronomers had put it forward as an explanation for Uranus's orbit, which drifts from the path of orbital motion that physics would expect it to follow. The gravitational pull of an undiscovered planet, several times larger than Earth, was seen as a possible reason for the discrepancy. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-planet-massive-edge-solar.html Astronomy Tue, 29 Jul 2025 15:30:01 EDT news673020970 Looking up at the night sky, it may seem our cosmic neighborhood is packed full of planets, stars and galaxies. But scientists have long suggested there may be far fewer galaxies in our cosmic surroundings than expected. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-distorted-early-universe-giant-void.html Astronomy Mon, 28 Jul 2025 12:25:04 EDT news672924302 The largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth was sold for just over $5 million at an auction of rare geological and archaeological objects in New York on Wednesday. But a rare young dinosaur skeleton stole the show when it fetched more than $30 million in a bidding frenzy. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-largest-piece-mars-earth-meteoric.html Space Exploration Wed, 16 Jul 2025 16:26:11 EDT news671901966 Trans-Neptunian objects (TNO) are some of our solar system's lesser-known objects. They number in the thousands, and they get their name from their orbits. These dwarf planets orbit the sun at a greater average distance than Neptune does. Pluto is the group's most well-known member, having been demoted from planet to TNO in recent years. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-astronomers-trans-neptunian-track-ancient.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 16 Jul 2025 10:38:16 EDT news671881083 Interstellar objects are visitors from solar systems beyond our own, and the third ever such object, known as 3I/ATLAS, has just been discovered. Using the Gemini North telescope, astronomers have captured 3I/ATLAS as it makes its temporary passage through our cosmic neighborhood. These observations will help scientists study the characteristics of this rare object's origin, orbit, and composition. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-gemini-north-comet-3iatlas-interstellar.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 16 Jul 2025 10:30:13 EDT news671879662 A mystery interstellar object discovered last week is likely to be the oldest comet ever seen—possibly predating our solar system by more than 3 billion years, researchers say. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-3iatlas-interstellar-oldest-comet.html Astronomy Fri, 11 Jul 2025 05:00:02 EDT news671364488 Celestial objects known as dark dwarfs may be hiding at the center of our galaxy and could offer key clues to uncover the nature of one of the most mysterious and fundamental phenomena in contemporary cosmology: dark matter. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-dark-dwarfs-lurking-center-galaxy.html Astronomy Mon, 07 Jul 2025 00:00:03 EDT news670751054 Astronomers on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of an interstellar object racing through our solar system—only the third ever spotted, though scientists suspect many more may slip past unnoticed. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-astronomers-track-solar.html Astronomy Thu, 03 Jul 2025 04:35:44 EDT news670688408