Science

Astronomers have found a giant planet that is 10 times bigger than Jupiter and is orbiting a pair of massive, extremely hot stars, an environment previously thought too inhospitable for a planet to form. Scientists have named the planet “b Centauri (AB)b” or “b Centauri b”. The European Southern Observatory (ESO), which photographed the planet

India will launch its much-awaited human spaceflight mission in 2023, Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said. Named Gaganyaan, the first human space mission to launch from Indian soil was initially set for August 2022, to mark 75 years of India’s independence but the coronavirus-induced pandemic forced a delay in its timeline. Singh acknowledged

NASA has warned about the potential impacts of “swirling Sun debris” created by a solar storm likely to hit the Earth by December 11. The agency said a coronal mass ejection (CME) of plasma and magnetic field escaped the Sun earlier this week and is expected to possibly strike by Saturday. Astronomers and space scientists

NASA has a number of powerful telescopes in orbit that assist scientists in better understanding the chaotic environments far away from the Earth. On Thursday, the space agency launched another telescope. Named the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, or IXPE, the telescope will aid scientists in better understanding what’s inside a black hole and how bright

Researchers are setting up an indestructible “Black Box” for Earth to record the events which could lead to our demise. This giant structure, about the size of a bus, sits on a granite plain surrounded by mountains on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. Just like the black boxes in aeroplanes, this steel box will

NASA’s new laser technology is finally space-bound. After much anticipation and a two-year delay, the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) was launched today (December 8) at 5:19am EST. According to NASA’s social media updates, the LCRD was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on an Atlas V rocket of the United Launch

This year’s last solar eclipse occurred last week. It was not visible from most parts of the world, including India. This eclipse was visible from Antarctica, while people in some other countries such as Australia and New Zealand were able to see a partial solar eclipse. But ever wondered how a total solar eclipse would

A site in northern Italy has been churning out dinosaur discoveries for the past 25 years. Researchers have now discovered the biggest and most complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in the country at the site. Fossils of 11 dinosaurs have been unearthed at Villaggio del Pescatore, a former limestone quarry close to the north-eastern port

A comet is expected to fly past Earth next week during its journey through our Solar System towards the Sun. The comet, named Leonard after the astronomer Gregory Leonard, who discovered it earlier this year, is likely to be bright when it makes its closest approach to Earth on December 12. In fact, the comet

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated technology adoption in a stunning way. Almost every field of work and life is now connected online to their target audience or consumers. Education, too, is a booming sector with more and more students studying online and institutions trying out new ways to teach in hybrid classes. Technology adoption has

As an ardent birder, nothing gives me more joy than the simple act of cleaning my binoculars (‘bins’ in birder slang). A clean pair of ‘bins’ is the most indispensable tool that a birder needs to spot and observe birds doing what they naturally do. Bird-watching or ‘birding’ is watching and observing birds and their

Scientists have developed a new mathematical theorem using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. This finding has revealed for the first time that artificial intelligence can assist in pure mathematics. Mathematicians from the universities of Oxford and Sydney teamed up with DeepMind, a Google-owned company based in London, to investigate knot theory and representation theory.

Fossils of armoured dinosaurs have fascinated researchers for a long time. Giving insight into a new species, researchers have now brought to light the fossils of an ankylosaur from the subantarctic region in Chile. This species had a uniquely shaped armoured tail. Named Stegouros elengassen, it featured a large flat tail and at the end

Magnets play a critical role in physics research as they help guide the path of particle beams and allow them to collide at high speeds. This collision helps researchers study the behaviour of different particles and arrive at groundbreaking discoveries. But not all magnets have the same properties. For instance, some magnets generate the required

NASA is set to test its new laser communication technology this week, which is aimed at speeding up space communications. Also called optical communications because they use light to send information, it will allow 10-100 times more data transmission back to Earth when compared to the traditional radio frequencies. The space agency will launch the

After a year that made the terms WFH (work from home) and metaverse instantly recognizable for many people, there are a new set of technological trends headed this way for 2022. Here’s a selection of how technology may change lives in the coming year: Meatless meat Meat alternatives have become common in an increasing number

The job of astronomers is as intriguing as it is frustrating. There are days when they find nothing of interest despite putting in a lot of effort and resources, and then there are days when they discover celestial objects or events that have the potential to change the course of history, or rather the future.

There’s been increased anxiety after epidemiologists warned of a new and significantly more virulent coronavirus variant, Omicron, circulating in parts of South Africa and some other countries. With it, the race to find ways to stop the COVID-19 pandemic has acquired more urgency. In that effort, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, US, have tested

Artificial Intelligence has come a long way to explore the possibilities hidden in the world of robots. AI has enabled robots to walk, swim, and communicate. Now, they are even able to replicate themselves. New research shows that living robots can biologically replicate themselves in a unique way. The discovery was made by the scientists,

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have invented a soft, jelly-like material that can endure the equivalent of an elephant standing on it and not explode like a water balloon — even though it’s 80 percent water. When the weight is removed, the material returns to its former shape completely without being permanently deformed. The material,