Science

NASA’s experimental X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (Quesst) aircraft has reached a crucial testing milestone with its engine fired up for the first time. Since late October, engineers at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, have been carrying out phased engine tests to evaluate the X-59’s performance and systems integration. These tests mark a

A study has shown that the well-preserved fossil of a nodosaur, a plant-eating dinosaur, could withstand the force of a high-speed car crash. The fossil, discovered in Alberta, Canada, belongs to Borealopelta markmitchelli , a species that lived around 110 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period. This fossil is one of the best-preserved

Russia successfully launched a record-setting 53 satellites into space on November 4, 2024, achieving a major milestone in satellite deployment. This launch, managed by the Russian space agency Roscosmos, included a combination of domestic and international satellites. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket with a Fregat upper stage was used for the mission, lifting off from the Vostochny

Martian impact basins, previously assumed to be demagnetised due to an inactive planetary dynamo, may instead reflect the impact of a reversing magnetic field, a new study suggests. Led by Dr Silpaja Chandrasekar, PhD, indicates that Mars’s fluctuating dynamo may have been active longer than anticipated, with implications for understanding planetary evolution. Impact Basins and

Primordial black holes (PBHs), possibly formed shortly after the Big Bang, may be experiencing explosive events across the universe. A recent study led by theoretical physicists Dr Marco Calzà and Dr João G. Rosa from the University of Coimbra proposes that these eruptions, driven by Hawking radiation, could be detectable with the advanced sensitivity of

In 2013, a team led by Ning Zeng, a climate scientist from the University of Maryland, unearthed a remarkable find while conducting an experiment in Quebec, Canada. The researchers were digging a trench to test if burying wood under clay soil could prevent its decomposition and keep carbon locked away from the atmosphere. During this

Astronomers are watching two unusual black holes, each presenting phenomena that challenge current understanding of these cosmic giants. One, a “serial killer” black hole, is about to devour its second star within five years, while the other, part of the newly discovered triple system V404 Cygni, has disrupted long-held theories of black hole formation. The

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will make a close approach to Venus on Wednesday, marking the spacecraft’s seventh and final flyby of the planet. This manoeuvre will set the probe on a course for its historic plunge toward the sun, bringing it within 3.8 million miles of our star’s surface — closer than any human-made object

NASA’s asteroid-hunting spacecraft, NEOWISE, has officially concluded its journey, meeting its end as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and burned up on 1 November. Over its 15-year lifespan, NEOWISE catalogued nearly 3,000 near-Earth objects, including numerous asteroids, providing critical data for researchers studying potential planetary threats. The space agency confirmed NEOWISE’s re-entry on social media the

India has delayed its inaugural astronaut mission under the Gaganyaan programme to 2026, pushing the timeline a year beyond the original schedule. The decision, announced by S. Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), reflects a commitment to safety in light of recent aerospace industry setbacks. According to Somanath, India’s first manned mission

Researchers at the China University of Geosciences in Beijing, led by Professor Shaofeng Liu, have shed light on the mysterious transformation of the North China Craton (NCC). This research, published in Nature Geoscience, presents a breakthrough model that explains the processes behind the craton’s gradual erosion, which began in the Mesozoic era. Using detailed mantle-flow

The Hang Son Doong cave in Vietnam, located in Quang Binh Province within Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park currently holds the title as the largest known cave in the world. With dimensions exceeding three miles (5 km) in length and 660 feet (200 m) in height, this natural wonder could house 15 Great Pyramids of

A study led by atmospheric scientists at Colorado State University reveals that western boundary currents, powerful ocean currents along coastlines, have a greater impact on local climate variability than previously recognised. Researchers James Larson, David Thompson and James Hurrell shared their findings in Nature. They showed how these currents influence temperature and atmospheric patterns in

NASA’s Perseverance rover which is positioned in the Jezero Crater on Mars, recently observed a remarkable celestial event as the moon Phobos drifted across the Sun. Captured on September 30, this moment offered a rare glimpse into Mars’ sky, where the unique “googly eye” effect of the eclipse unfolded for the rover’s Mastcam-Z camera. The

South Korea’s space agency announced plans on Friday to launch a solar coronagraph to the International Space Station (ISS) in a collaborative mission with NASA. Developed as part of the Coronal Diagnostic Experiment (CODEX), this instrument is set to observe and gather data on the Sun’s corona and the solar wind as well as the

An unprecedented nine-day tsunami following a significant rockslide in Greenland’s Dickson Fjord was recently recorded by the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, a collaborative mission by NASA and France’s Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES). The event, which took place in September 2023, saw a unique pattern of seismic waves resonate around the

ESA’s Proba-3 mission, designed to create solar eclipses in space to study the Sun’s corona, has officially left European soil and is en route to its launch site in India. This dual-spacecraft mission departed from Redwire Space’s facility in Kruibeke, Belgium, to travel to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre near Chennai, where the final launch

Earth recently captured a small asteroid known as 2024 PT5, temporarily transforming it into a second moon. This rare event was confirmed by astronomers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Complutense University of Madrid, offering a glimpse into these elusive “mini-moons” that Earth occasionally holds within its orbit. However, Earth’s newly acquired companion is

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center—Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC—James) recently conducted a survey revealing a worrying knowledge gap about pancreatic cancer in adults under 50. Although pancreatic cancer is increasingly diagnosed in younger people, the survey found that over half of respondents did not recognise its

In an unprecedented find for Hong Kong, scientists have uncovered the city’s first-ever dinosaur fossils on Port Island. Preliminary analysis suggests that the bones likely belonged to a large Cretaceous-era dinosaur, an era dating back 145 to 66 million years. Officials have stated that further studies are necessary to determine the specific species, marking an