A new study of bilingual speakers suggests that a single “grammatical engine” in the brain can power multiple languages at once.

Scientists await a big splash in the Pacific Ocean as one of the most research-packed Dragon spacecraft to date returns, completing the 34th SpaceX commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. Biological and materials samples, along with tested hardware, are heading back to research teams on Earth for further analysis, advancing NASA’s work to prepare humans for exploration beyond low Earth orbit and to deliver benefits back home.

Tiny cells, huge health insights

Some samples returning are for NASA’s Hematopoietic Stem Cell Expansion in Space: Pathfinder Investigation (InSPA-StemCellEX-H2), which seeks to use the microgravity environment to scale up the production of stems cells. On Earth, lab-produced blood stem cells lose their ability to form different cell types, like red and white blood cells that are critical to treating patients with certain blood diseases and cancers. In microgravity, researchers believe this ability will be better preserved while also growing these stem cells in greater numbers. The returning samples will undergo further analysis to determine if space-based efforts produce larger quantities of enhanced stem cells suitable for clinical use.

The team behind NASA’s Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) Infection of Cardiac Tissue (MVP Cell-09) experiment is awaiting the return of stem cell-derived heart tissues that were intentionally infected with a pneumonia-causing bacterium as part of ongoing microgravity research. Pneumonia increases the risk of heart disease, which is not fully understood. Because bacteria tend to become more active and virulent in microgravity, this experiment could amplify their effects, making it possible to detect cellular responses that cannot be observed on Earth.

NASA’s Megakaryocyte Flying-One (MeF1) samples are returning to Earth to help understand how large cells found in bone marrow, known as megakaryocytes, and the platelets they produce adapt to spaceflight. Megakaryocytes and platelets play important roles in the formation of blood clots and immune responses. The returning samples, including those taken from astronauts, could show us how the human immune system reacts aboard the space station and help prepare for future exploration missions.

Driving design enhancements

Many spacecraft use cryogenic fuels for propulsion, but temperature swings in space can cause these extremely cold fuels to slowly evaporate and escape their tank, reducing fuel efficiency and complicating mission planning. NASA’s Zero Boil-Off Tank Noncondensables (ZBOT-NC) investigation aboard station studies how gases that do not condense into liquids at cold temperatures affect pressure control and fluid behaviors in propellant tanks. Hardware returning aboard Dragon, including drives containing fluid-physics data, could help validate models and contribute to the design of more efficient cryogenic fuel storage systems for long-duration missions.

Semiconductor research samples as part of NASA’s In-Space Production of Semimetal-Semiconductor Composite Bulk Crystals in Microgravity (SUBSA-InSPA-SSCug) investigation are returning to Earth for further analysis. This study manufactured semimetal-semiconductor composite alloy crystals in space, which have applications in many electronics, including sensors and lasers. Researchers believe microgravity could enable the production of significantly greater and higher-quality crystals, supporting the development of next-generation semiconductor technologies.

Innovative medical research mix

NASA’s DNA Nano Therapeutics-3 research team will receive tiny, space-assembled DNA-inspired materials that are combined with medicines to create active cancer treatments. Producing these treatments in microgravity can improve how well they perform in the body. This research could improve patient outcomes by helping therapies reach tumors more effectively, stay in the body longer, and improve medicine release.

Tissue models of the brain, heart, liver, and kidney that were tested with novel RNA-based medicines as part of NASA’s InSPA-Sachi Nanoligomer investigation are also returning. Microgravity can accelerate aging and disease processes, giving researchers a unique environment to better observe how well these new drugs work on different organs ahead of clinical trials.

Samples from ESA’s (European Space Agency) Green Bone investigation are returning to Earth to help understand how bone cells grow and develop on a new scaffold made from wood. Designed to mimic real bone, this scaffold was tested in microgravity to understand its ability to heal defects and fractures. Because living in microgravity simulates conditions like osteoporosis, a skeletal disorder which affects millions of people worldwide, the results could help treat patients with these fragile bone conditions. 

NASA’s 3D Bone Marrow Analog research team will analyze the returning 3D-printed tissues that mimic parts of the bone marrow. Spaceflight can cause aging-like changes, including bone and muscle loss. To investigate potential countermeasures, these tissue models were exposed to small vibrations aboard the space station to simulate exercise. After the samples return to Earth, researchers will measure bone-like mineral formations and observe cellular and genetic changes. Findings from this investigation could help develop new strategies to maintain astronaut bone and muscle health during future long-duration missions.

In the United States, more than 900,000 knee cartilage injuries occur annually, with many requiring surgery. NASA’s InSPA-Auxilium Bioprinter-Cell Printing is investigating how to treat these injuries and is returning 3D-printed cartilage tissue samples from space station. This investigation uses the orbiting laboratory’s unique microgravity environment to bioprint cartilage tissues with more evenly distributed cells compared to those printed on Earth. The results could help produce higher-quality cartilage prints to treat joint injuries.

The post NASA’s SpaceX CRS-34 Dragon Returns Packed with Space Station Science appeared first on NASA Science.

Scientists await a big splash in the Pacific Ocean as one of the most research-packed Dragon spacecraft to date returns, completing the 34th SpaceX commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. Biological and materials samples, along with tested hardware, are heading back to research teams on Earth for further analysis, advancing NASA’s work to prepare humans for exploration beyond low Earth orbit and to deliver benefits back home.

Tiny cells, huge health insights

Some samples returning are for NASA’s Hematopoietic Stem Cell Expansion in Space: Pathfinder Investigation (InSPA-StemCellEX-H2), which seeks to use the microgravity environment to scale up the production of stems cells. On Earth, lab-produced blood stem cells lose their ability to form different cell types, like red and white blood cells that are critical to treating patients with certain blood diseases and cancers. In microgravity, researchers believe this ability will be better preserved while also growing these stem cells in greater numbers. The returning samples will undergo further analysis to determine if space-based efforts produce larger quantities of enhanced stem cells suitable for clinical use.

The team behind NASA’s Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) Infection of Cardiac Tissue (MVP Cell-09) experiment is awaiting the return of stem cell-derived heart tissues that were intentionally infected with a pneumonia-causing bacterium as part of ongoing microgravity research. Pneumonia increases the risk of heart disease, which is not fully understood. Because bacteria tend to become more active and virulent in microgravity, this experiment could amplify their effects, making it possible to detect cellular responses that cannot be observed on Earth.

NASA’s Megakaryocyte Flying-One (MeF1) samples are returning to Earth to help understand how large cells found in bone marrow, known as megakaryocytes, and the platelets they produce adapt to spaceflight. Megakaryocytes and platelets play important roles in the formation of blood clots and immune responses. The returning samples, including those taken from astronauts, could show us how the human immune system reacts aboard the space station and help prepare for future exploration missions.

Driving design enhancements

Many spacecraft use cryogenic fuels for propulsion, but temperature swings in space can cause these extremely cold fuels to slowly evaporate and escape their tank, reducing fuel efficiency and complicating mission planning. NASA’s Zero Boil-Off Tank Noncondensables (ZBOT-NC) investigation aboard station studies how gases that do not condense into liquids at cold temperatures affect pressure control and fluid behaviors in propellant tanks. Hardware returning aboard Dragon, including drives containing fluid-physics data, could help validate models and contribute to the design of more efficient cryogenic fuel storage systems for long-duration missions.

Semiconductor research samples as part of NASA’s In-Space Production of Semimetal-Semiconductor Composite Bulk Crystals in Microgravity (SUBSA-InSPA-SSCug) investigation are returning to Earth for further analysis. This study manufactured semimetal-semiconductor composite alloy crystals in space, which have applications in many electronics, including sensors and lasers. Researchers believe microgravity could enable the production of significantly greater and higher-quality crystals, supporting the development of next-generation semiconductor technologies.

Innovative medical research mix

NASA’s DNA Nano Therapeutics-3 research team will receive tiny, space-assembled DNA-inspired materials that are combined with medicines to create active cancer treatments. Producing these treatments in microgravity can improve how well they perform in the body. This research could improve patient outcomes by helping therapies reach tumors more effectively, stay in the body longer, and improve medicine release.

Tissue models of the brain, heart, liver, and kidney that were tested with novel RNA-based medicines as part of NASA’s InSPA-Sachi Nanoligomer investigation are also returning. Microgravity can accelerate aging and disease processes, giving researchers a unique environment to better observe how well these new drugs work on different organs ahead of clinical trials.

Samples from ESA’s (European Space Agency) Green Bone investigation are returning to Earth to help understand how bone cells grow and develop on a new scaffold made from wood. Designed to mimic real bone, this scaffold was tested in microgravity to understand its ability to heal defects and fractures. Because living in microgravity simulates conditions like osteoporosis, a skeletal disorder which affects millions of people worldwide, the results could help treat patients with these fragile bone conditions. 

NASA’s 3D Bone Marrow Analog research team will analyze the returning 3D-printed tissues that mimic parts of the bone marrow. Spaceflight can cause aging-like changes, including bone and muscle loss. To investigate potential countermeasures, these tissue models were exposed to small vibrations aboard the space station to simulate exercise. After the samples return to Earth, researchers will measure bone-like mineral formations and observe cellular and genetic changes. Findings from this investigation could help develop new strategies to maintain astronaut bone and muscle health during future long-duration missions.

In the United States, more than 900,000 knee cartilage injuries occur annually, with many requiring surgery. NASA’s InSPA-Auxilium Bioprinter-Cell Printing is investigating how to treat these injuries and is returning 3D-printed cartilage tissue samples from space station. This investigation uses the orbiting laboratory’s unique microgravity environment to bioprint cartilage tissues with more evenly distributed cells compared to those printed on Earth. The results could help produce higher-quality cartilage prints to treat joint injuries.

The Expedition 74 crew members packed a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft on Monday with sensitive science experiments and lab hardware for return to Earth. The orbital residents also configured spacewalking tools and conducted cardiac research to kick off the week aboard the International Space Station.

A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the Harmony module’s forward port at 12:05 p.m. EDT on Tuesday ending its stay at the orbital laboratory that began on April 17. NASA+ will begin its broadcast of Dragon’s undocking and departure at 11:45 a.m. Dragon’s parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California the following day will not be televised.

The astronauts are partnering together transferring portable science freezers loaded with critical research samples and packing lab equipment into Dragon following a month of intense research into a variety of space-designed therapies to protect human health. The freezers house the results of investigations into stem cell manufacturing, cartilage tissue printing, and more to treat a range of conditions from blood diseases, cancers, and cartilage injuries. Doctors on the ground will analyze the preserved samples to gain advanced health insights unobtainable in Earth’s gravity environment.

NASA flight engineers Chris Williams and Jack Hathaway started the cargo work early Monday packing and securing station hardware inside Dragon for the ride back to Earth. Next, flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) installed the sample-packed freezers in Dragon where they will stay powered on preserving the biomedical specimens for retrieval on the ground. Finally, NASA flight engineer Jessica Meir capped off Monday’s shift with more scientific transfers then cleaned and inspected hatch seals on Harmony’s port where Dragon is docked.

Meanwhile, preparations continue for a spacewalk planned for June 30 to replace a wrist joint on the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Adenot began her shift in the Quest airlock charging lithium-ion batteries that power spacesuit gloves, helmet cameras, and pistol grip tools. Williams and Meir joined each other during a break in their Dragon packing and inspected tethers that secure astronauts to the orbiting lab during spacewalks.

Station commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and flight engineer Sergei Mikaev, both from Roscosmos, took turns wearing a series of arm, wrist, and finger cuffs measuring how living in space affects their blood pressure. Next, Kud-Sverchkov attached electrocardiogram sensors to his chest that will monitor his cardiac activity for 24 hours. Mikaev turned his attention to Earth observations, pointed a camera out a station window, and photographed landmarks across the Pacific Ocean including islands and volcanos.

Flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev began his shift transferring fluids and disinfecting tanks throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment. Fedyaev wrapped up his shift working on ventilation system maintenance and checking station lighting conditions and illumination levels.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_stationon X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.

The post Crew Packs Dragon for Tuesday Departure and Preps for Spacewalk appeared first on NASA Science.

John Sorochan, a turf scientist at the University of Tennessee, has led the yearslong, multimillion-dollar effort to develop perfect playing fields for the 2026 World Cup.

Depression and anxiety are among the most common mental health conditions in the world. They can affect how people think, feel, sleep, work, and interact with others. For many people, antidepressant medications can make a major difference, helping them regain energy, improve their mood, and return to daily activities. However, one of the biggest challenges […]

The post The Depression Drugs People Are Most Likely to Stay On, According to Research appeared first on Knowridge Science Report.

Space agriculture, stem cells, and cargo operations wrapped up the week aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 74 crew also conducted blood tests and installed a new food processor as a U.S. cargo spacecraft nears the end of its mission.

Launching a spacecraft on Earth packed with enough food for a yearslong crew mission or sending resupply ships to replenish a crew beyond low Earth orbit is prohibitive. Therefore, growing plants aboard a spacecraft is key to sustaining crews on long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. As a result, NASA and its international partners have been exploring growing crops in space to enable crews to feed themselves without support from Earth. NASA flight engineer Chris Williams contributed to the ongoing space agriculture research at the end of the week and configured a microscope to observe plant cell division in microgravity. Insights may lead to improved methods of growing food in space as well as on lunar and planetary surfaces.

Low Earth orbit may also be the next frontier for biomedical manufacturing as doctors seek to overcome the limitations of gravity on the ground. NASA flight engineer Jessica Meir harvested blood stem cells inside the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox (LSG) that have been growing aboard the orbital outpost since the arrival of a SpaceX Dragon cargo craft on May 17. Next, she looked at the density and viability of the live cells using the KERMIT fluorescent microscope. Researchers are exploring space-designed cell therapies to treat serious medical conditions such as blood cancers and immune diseases.

Dragon is due to depart the International Space Station at 12:05 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, June 16, to return the stem cell samples, including several tons of completed science experiments and lab hardware, for analysis on Earth. Live coverage of Dragon’s undocking and departure begins at 11:45 a.m. on NASA+.

Williams and Meir also partnered with flight engineers Jack Hathaway of NASA and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) packing Dragon with return cargo together throughout Friday. The quartet will intensify their cargo transfers early next week when they begin loading Dragon with sensitive research samples packed inside portable science freezers for preservation, retrieval, and analysis on Earth.

Williams and Meir began their Friday shift collecting blood samples for spinning in a centrifuge then stowing in a science freezer for future analysis. Hathaway removed a research freezer from inside Kibo’s Life Science Glovebox used the day before to preserve bacteria samples for genetic and chemical analysis. Adenot also spent some time assisting Meir during the stem cell operations then tested a new food processor in the Columbus laboratory module by cooking a Mediterranean dish.

The station’s three cosmonauts, station commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and flight engineers Sergei Mikaev and Andrey Fedyaev enjoyed an off-duty day on Friday.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_stationon X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.

The post Botany and Biology Research Wrap Up Week as Dragon Preps for Earth Return appeared first on NASA Science.

Trials are beginning on several drugs that have shown promise in preliminary studies against the virus that is causing the current outbreak.

An eminent fossil hunter takes the reins at the National Academy of Sciences in a turbulent moment for American researchers.

Cambridge scientists have grown miniature circuits in the lab that mimic how the brain and spinal cord connect

Microbiology dominated the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Thursday helping doctors protect health on Earth and in space. The Expedition 74 crew also tested a new spacesuit, packed a U.S. cargo spacecraft, and kept up lab maintenance throughout the orbital outpost.

Scientists are comparing bacteria samples grown onboard the orbiting lab to similar samples living in simulated microgravity chambers on Earth to learn how microbes respond to space-like conditions. ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot kicked off the Odyssey biotechnology investigation processing microbe samples inside the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox (LSG) to document their genetic function. Next, NASA flight engineer Chris Williams collected the microbes for preservation and cleaned the research hardware inside the LSG for continuing operations. Finally, NASA flight engineer Jessica Meir took over and completed the day’s genetic study treating the sensitive samples to observe their chemical response. She immediately stowed the microbes for preservation afterward inside the LSG’s science freezer that she had installed the day before. Insights gained from the new study may lead to new ways of protecting humans and equipment exposed to harsh conditions on and off the Earth.

After completing her microbe work, Adenot moved to the Columbus laboratory module and tried on a prototype spacesuit designed by ESA to be worn inside a spacecraft. She tested the EuroSuit for its ease of donning on and off, as well as its comfort and mobility, then documented her experience for engineers to review. Results will inform the final design of the suit to meet the ergonomic requirements of living and working in space.

Williams also continued packing cargo inside a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft with assistance from NASA flight engineer Jack Hathaway. Dragon is being loaded with several thousand pounds of station gear and science experiments that will be returned to Earth for analysis by engineers and scientists. Hathaway spent the majority of his shift inside the Tranquility module swapping orbital plumbing components and transferring water between tanks for life support maintenance.

Meir began her shift servicing fluid-containing sample processing hardware that is supporting the observation of pharmaceutical crystal growth to promote the production of advanced cancer therapies in weightlessness. Next, she activated tubes filled with microbial and botanical samples for a variety of student-designed experiments inside the Harmony module.

Roscosmos cosmonaut and station commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov inspected and cleaned ventilation equipment then repaired a thermal sensor inside the Zvezda service module. Flight engineer Sergei Mikaev disinfected surfaces inside the Zarya module and checked the functionality of video hardware. Flight engineer Andrey Mikaev spent his shift on orbital plumbing and oxygen generator maintenance in the space station’s Roscosmos segment.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_stationon X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.

The post Microbiology DNA and Chemistry for Health Insights Tops Research Schedule appeared first on NASA Science.

A soccer ball floats in microgravity in this March 2, 2026, picture from the International Space Station. The space station crew tested soccer balls to study how internal mass affects motion and stability in microgravity. The findings have improved understanding of how embedded technologies, including match-ball sensors, can influence performance during play.

Through research aboard the International Space Station and technology developed for exploration, NASA continues to demonstrate how discoveries made for space can benefit people on Earth—including athletes and fans participating in the world’s most popular sport.

Image credit: NASA

The post Soccer Meets Space Science appeared first on NASA Science.

A soccer ball floats in microgravity in this March 2, 2026, picture from the International Space Station. The space station crew tested soccer balls to study how internal mass affects motion and stability in microgravity. The findings have improved understanding of how embedded technologies, including match-ball sensors, can influence performance during play.

Through research aboard the International Space Station and technology developed for exploration, NASA continues to demonstrate how discoveries made for space can benefit people on Earth—including athletes and fans participating in the world’s most popular sport.

Image credit: NASA

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Fertility specialists, biotech companies and ethicists are divided over whether progress in early gene editing would wipe out diseases or trigger a rush toward enhancement.

Researchers are at a loss for why people across cultures and ages, regardless of their dominant hand, have a natural bias toward wandering in a counterclockwise direction.

DEDURU OYA, Sri Lanka – On April 16, eight members of Priyantha Kumara’s family including his wife, son, brother, father-in-law, and four other relatives were swept away by strong currents in the Deduru Oya, a river in Sri Lanka’s North Western province. Sri Lanka Police reported more than 30 drowning deaths between April 12 and 21 this year, underscoring the risks posed by flooding rivers. Sri Lanka Police media spokesperson Udaya Kumara Wootler told Mongabay that 376 individuals have died due to drowning in rivers last year while 595 fatalities were reported in 2024. Buddhika Sampath, spokesperson for the Sri Lanka Navy told Mongabay that the Navy Diving Unit recovered 148 bodies of people between May 2022 and May 2023. While the police are yet to disclose official statistics of deaths due to drowning from January to May 2026, the number of reported incidents show over 50 fatalities. Kumara is a resident of Gopallawa in the northwestern district of Kurunegala. His son had requested that they all go for a bath in the river. The group had been bathing at a popular spot named Kuriyagas Mankada when they met the tragedy. “My son was only 13 years old, and he was a bright student,” Kumara told Mongabay. “My brother was about to hold a housewarming ceremony at his newly built house. But all these dreams were shattered within seconds. My father used to take us to this same spot to bathe when we were young. But the river has changed…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Scientific hardware installations and biomedical monitoring topped the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 74 crew members also adjusted a spacesuit to prepare for a spacewalk and explored space physics to round out their day.

A series of shoebox-sized CubeSats will soon be deployed outside the Kibo laboratory module into Earth orbit for public and private research. One of the satellites, Hokushin-1 CubeSat, will test space technologies such as radio frequency, propulsion, and solar arrays. NASA flight engineer Jack Hathaway finished installing a small satellite orbital deployer, packed with the CubeSats, into Kibo’s airlock where it will soon be placed in the vacuum of space and grappled by the Japanese robotic arm. The deployer will be maneuvered with the robotic arm and positioned away from the orbital outpost to safely release the tiny satellites into Earth orbit.

Onboard the orbital outpost are a variety of research freezers—large, small, portable, and permanent—that house and preserve station research samples for analysis both on Earth and in space. One of them, a smaller glovebox freezer, is being installed inside Kibo’s Life Science Glovebox (LSG) by NASA flight engineer Jessica Meir for upcoming experiment operations. The freezer’s location inside the LSG allows the samples to be stowed and frozen immediately after processing to prevent degradation and preserve integrity during sensitive biology research.

Meir also assisted flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) as she set up wearable devices for a pair of biomedical tests on Wednesday. Adenot first measured her blood pressure to calibrate the PhysioTool technology demonstration gear. Next, she wore head and body sensors that measured her brain oxygen and blood flow levels as she performed cognitive and mental tasks on a computer. Researchers are testing the portable device onboard the station to potentially monitor crew health on missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Meir also had time to help NASA flight engineer Chris Williams pack cargo inside a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft that will undock from the Harmony module’s forward port and soon return to Earth. Williams then maneuvered into the Quest airlock and adjusted a spacesuit’s legs, arms, and helmet, then ensured the suit’s switches and valves were correctly configured ahead of an upcoming spacewalk.

On May 27, during routine operations of the International Space Station’s Canadarm2, the system demonstrated an elevated motor current in a wrist joint and arm motion did not occur as expected. NASA worked alongside CSA (Canadian Space Agency) to understand the issue and determined a spacewalk will be required to replace the joint using a spare already aboard the orbital complex. The Canadarm2, which is designed to be repaired in orbit, is in a safe configuration and standard operations using the arm have been paused. In the coming weeks, NASA will host a news conference to discuss the repair and preview the planned Tuesday, June 30 spacewalk. NASA will share more on the spacewalkers closer to the activity.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev joined each other and explored space physics in the Zvezda service module. The duo observed how two different sized spheres drift freely in microgravity with no pushing movement from the crew. Results may lead to the design of newer space tools, improved robotics, and a deeper understanding of crew motion. Roscosmos flight engineer Andreu Fedyaev focused primarily on maintenance testing computer operations, cleaning ventilation systems, and transferring water between station tanks.

Finally, the space station is orbiting higher today after the Progress 95 cargo spacecraft fired its thrusters for over eight minutes early Wednesday raising its altitude by 1.9 miles. This adjusts the orbital outpost’s altitude ahead of the launch and docking of the Soyuz MS-29 crew spacecraft planned for mid-July.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_stationon X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.

The post Expedition 74 Works Scientific Installs, Suit Prep Ahead of Canadarm2 Repair Spacewalk appeared first on NASA Science.

The complex puzzle known as little red dots has become more complete since their initial discovery by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in 2022. Now a particular little red dot’s spectrum is helping connect many of the pieces.

A team of astronomers led by Vasily Kokorev at the University of Texas at Austin identified the lucky dot in question: GLIMPSE-17775. By carefully analyzing the dot’s spectrum captured by Webb — the deepest spectrum to date of a little red dot — the research team has identified multiple lines of evidence, all of which support the interpretation that GLIMPSE-17775 is a supermassive black hole enveloped in a dense cocoon of partially ionized gas, a model referred to as the BH* (black hole star) scenario. A paper describing the results was published today in The Astrophysical Journal.

“I think part of the scientific community is converging on a singular picture — that little red dots can be explained by black hole star models. But none of the previous little red dots have all of the pieces of evidence in the same place,” said Kokorev, lead author of the study. “With GLIMPSE-17775 we can test these models because of how deep and amazing this source’s spectrum is.”

Image: Abell S1063 with Pullout of GLIMPSE-17775 (NIRCam Image)

Connecting puzzle pieces

Soon after Webb first began science operations, it discovered a new, mysterious type of object in the very early universe – abundant red objects that emerged about 600 million years after the big bang. Scientists have explored multiple explanations for these little red dots, including the black hole star scenario.

A set of fortunate circumstances brought about this new, elaborate spectrum of a little red dot. The little red dot that would come to be known as GLIMPSE-17775 was fortunately included in Webb’s imaging and spectroscopy efforts for a project that sought to look for Population III stars and faint galaxies in galaxy cluster Abell S1063. This little red dot is more distant than the galaxy cluster and magnified by gravitational lensing. (GLIMPSE-17775 has a cosmological redshift of 3.5, meaning it existed about 1.8 billion years after the big bang.)

While Webb provided a 30-hour spectrum of the little red dot, the effect of gravitational lensing made it equivalent to 80 hours of telescope time. This combination of Webb’s infrared sensitivity and nature’s own “magnifying glass” amplified the amount of detail that could be gleaned from GLIMPSE-17775. The result was more than 40 spectral lines from this small, red source, which is the most detailed little red dot spectrum to date.

“When we saw the spectrum for the first time, it was like having all the pieces of a puzzle scattered on the floor,” said Kokorev. “We picked up each piece of the puzzle, measured the lines, and started combining the different pieces into a mosaic. Maybe a few pieces looked like nothing at first, but then a couple of them came together, and we realized that there was something there.”

The spectroscopic data collected by Webb contains multiple lines of evidence that support the interpretation that little red dot GLIMPSE-17775 is a black hole star: a rapidly accreting, or growing, black hole enveloped in a dense gas cocoon, which is reprocessing the light emitted from near the black hole and producing the features seen in the spectrum.

Image: Evidence of a ‘Black Hole Star’

Lines of evidence

Among the 40-plus lines that the team detected in GLIMPSE-17775’s spectrum were various independent indicators that all align with the BH* scenario. For example, the team found that many of the spectral lines, such as hydrogen, oxygen, and helium, do not fit a simple model of a rotating gas cloud. Instead, the best fit model includes a broadening effect known as electron scattering, a telltale sign that a dense, layered gas cocoon is enshrouding this source. 

The strength and ratios of certain lines to each other, most notably the 16 iron lines that compose what the team has dubbed an “iron forest” and certain oxygen lines, require a high-energy source to produce them, like a rapidly accreting black hole. Additionally, astronomers noted the fluorescence and absorption of helium in the spectrum, both of which individually suggest that there is a dense medium enveloping a powerful source.

The BH* scenario not only fits GLIMPSE-17775; it also accounts for why most little red dots are faint in X-rays, since any such emission is likely absorbed by the dense gas cocoon.

One missing element of the GLIMPSE-17775 puzzle piece is the part of the spectrum that would reveal what’s known as a Balmer break, or a strong dip in the emitted light that’s a signature characteristic of little red dots. To build a more comprehensive understanding of this little red dot, the team incorporated ancillary data from two observing programs that used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope: the Frontier Fields and BUFFALO (Beyond Ultra-deep Frontier Fields And Legacy Observations) programs.

The Webb and Hubble data together help explain why the Balmer break is weaker than what typically is found in other little red dots: A giant host galaxy is surrounding GLIMPSE-17775. Although a little red dot’s host galaxy is not something that has been usually seen at such scale before, it isn’t inconsistent with the dense gas cocoon model. The black hole star model of little red dots attributes excess blue light to stars in the host galaxy.

When Webb first discovered little red dots, some researchers thought these objects had “broken cosmology,” unsure how galaxies could have grown so big so quickly in the early universe to account for all this light coming from their stars. However, the team believes the GLIMPSE-17775 puzzle piece fits nicely in the existing framework of the universe’s evolutionary history, because black hole masses don’t need to be as high in order to explain the broad emission lines.

“Everything fits, nothing is broken, and I think that makes the puzzle that is our universe even better,” said Kokorev. “Looking ahead, I’m eager to dive deeper and learn about what is powering the central engines of little red dots. While we think it’s a black hole, there are some other interesting theories being proposed, which is exciting. Maybe in a year or two, we’ll have the final answer to what powers these sources.” 

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

To learn more about Webb, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/webb

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