JCMT0402-0424, a dusty starburst galaxy around 11 billion light-years away, is the strongest candidate yet for the source of the high-energy neutrino event IC 210922A, according to a team of astronomer led by Yuji Urata of MITOS Science Co.

The post Astronomers Trace Elusive High-Energy Neutrino to Star-Forming Galaxy in Early Universe appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Using NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar and NSF’s Green Bank Telescope, astronomers from the University of California, Los Angeles, confirmed that the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa scatters radio energy in an unusually strong and complex way not seen on rocky worlds.

The post Radar Observations Reveal New Clues about Europa’s Hidden Interior appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

A new study of two supernova remnants, the debris left behind after stars explode, suggests the explosions came from stellar siblings that once orbited each other. The first star’s detonation sent its binary companion hurtling through space, and then, after traveling for thousands of years, the surviving star blew up too.

“Using 16 years of data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, our analysis uncovered gamma rays associated with a supernova remnant that was hidden in the glare of its neighbor, the Jellyfish Nebula, one of the brightest gamma-ray-emitting supernova remnants known,” said Miltiadis Michailidis, a postdoctoral fellow in the physics department at Stanford University in California. “There are so many striking connections between the two remnants that we conclude they’re likely related, giving us the first known example of a binary system where both stars have undergone supernova explosions.”

Michailidis presented the findings Wednesday at the 248th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Pasadena, California. A paper describing the results will appear in a future edition of Nature Communications.

The study focused on a faint supernova remnant called G189.6+3.3, which is mainly visible in X-rays. It is upstaged by its brighter and better-known neighbor, the Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443). The two star wrecks, both located in the constellation Gemini, appear to partially overlap as seen in X-rays. Recent X-ray evidence suggests that hot plasma likely associated with G189.6+3.3 may extend across the entire region, a hint that the overlap may be nearly total.

A massive star explodes when its energy-producing core runs out of fuel and collapses under its own weight, triggering an explosion that blows the star apart. The explosion’s shock wave encloses a hot cloud of debris that rapidly expands into space. So far, astronomers have cataloged about 300 supernova remnants in our galaxy.  

The Fermi mission is part of NASA’s fleet of observatories monitoring the changing cosmos to help humanity better understand how the universe works. More than a decade ago, observations from Fermi’s LAT (Large Area Telescope) showed that the shock waves of supernova remnants accelerated particles to within a fraction of the speed of light, a process first proposed by physicist Enrico Fermi — the mission’s namesake — in 1949.

These high-speed particles, called cosmic rays, interact with interstellar gas to produce gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light. Protons make up 99% of cosmic ray particles. To prove that accelerated protons are responsible for the glow, astronomers search for a specific gamma-ray feature. When cosmic-ray protons smash into interstellar gas, they produce a short-lived particle called a neutral pion, which almost immediately decays into a pair of gamma rays. This emission occurs within a specific band of energies associated with the neutral pion’s mass and lies within the range detected by Fermi’s LAT instrument.

In 2013, Fermi observations proved that the Jellyfish Nebula, which is interacting with part of a glowing cloud of hydrogen gas known as Sharpless 249, produced gamma rays through this mechanism. Its neighbor, G189.6+3.3, was discovered in 1994 as part of an X-ray survey by the German-led ROSAT (Roentgen Satellite) mission.

A bright filament of gas lies between the overlapping remnants. New observations of this feature reveal that the shock wave from G189.6+3.3 slammed into dense interstellar gas there and dramatically slowed, key evidence that both remnants are interacting with the same cloud system.

Astronomers think the Jellyfish Nebula is also a candidate PeVatron, a cosmic particle accelerator capable of boosting protons to energies so high they could nearly escape our galaxy. Such particles can produce gamma rays with trillions of times more energy than visible light. Finding a second particle accelerator near the Jellyfish Nebula could offer scientists new clues for how supernova remnants develop into PeVatrons.

“The overlapping remnants, a connecting gas filament, and the availability of data from Fermi and other facilities motivated us to delve into this complex but little-studied region,” said co-author Marianne Lemoine-Goumard, an astrophysicist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) based at the University of Bordeaux. “With Fermi’s LAT instrument, we found gamma-ray emission associated with accelerated protons in the northern part of the fainter remnant. If both remnants are interacting with the same structure, then they must share a common distance from us.”

The team concludes the remnants lie about 6,000 light-years away, their explosion centers are separated by roughly 40 light-years projected onto the plane of the sky, and the original stars may have been 20 or more times the Sun’s mass.

Estimates of the remnants’ ages vary widely, but the team concludes that the age of the Jellyfish Nebula is 8,000 to 9,000 years, while G189.6+3.3 is between 20,000 to 110,000 years old. This means the delay between the explosions could have extended for up to 100,000 years.

In addition, the team conducted computer simulations of a million massive binary systems. They show that systems where the stars orbit close enough to exchange matter and interact during their lives can readily produce dual supernova explosions with similar separations and time delays as those found for the remnants. The team also estimated that the chance of randomly encountering this combination of observed spatial alignment and compatible distances to be less than 1%, strongly supporting a physical association.

“The evidence we’ve compiled — including observations across the spectrum, the chemical and physical properties of the remnants, simulations, and more — paints a compelling picture of a dual supernova event,” said Michailidis.

This study identifies a unique possible example of a binary system where both stars exploded as supernovae and left behind separate, detectable supernova remnants. Astronomers think that most massive stars form in binary or multiple-star systems. The Jellyfish Nebula/G189.6+3.3 complex offers astronomers a rare opportunity to study how massive binary stars evolve, exchange matter, explode, and experience velocity changes — called kicks — induced by the supernova blast. It also provides a powerful new laboratory for understanding how coupled supernova remnants behave, including how they accelerate particles, generate gamma rays, and shape their surrounding environments.

“Fermi’s gamma-ray observations of supernova remnants continue to reveal the dynamic lives of stars,” said Elizabeth Hays, the Fermi project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “We can now connect the glowing remains of two massive stars to a powerful pair that evolved together over thousands of years.”

By Francis Reddy
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
301-286-1940
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

The post NASA’s Fermi Mission Uncovers Possible Sibling Supernova Remnants appeared first on NASA Science.

European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen (pictured) called for closer US-European Union (EU) cooperation on AI at the G7 Summit currently being held in France, arguing both sides have a shared interest in accelerating adoption and ensuring powerful models are introduced safely.

In a post on X following a roundtable with partner countries and AI business executives, von der Leyen stated AI is “developing exponentially” and described it as “the most important technology of our time”. She said the technology “comes with immense potential, but also risks for free, democratic societies”, adding Europe and the US should work together because they “represent 70% of the world market”.

According to Reuters, von der Leyen framed AI safety as a shared interest, stating: “We use each other’s trusted technology, and our financial systems are interconnected. “It is in our mutual interest that our citizens and companies can safely use the best AI models,” she added.

New models
The remarks follow a US government order issued earlier this week directing Anthropic to suspend access to its most advanced AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, for foreign nationals over national security concerns.

Although the Trump administration’s letter targeted foreign nationals, Anthropic said compliance would have required verifying the nationality of every user. It therefore shut both models down entirely for all customers.

In an AI sovereignty push earlier this week, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu argued: “We cannot rely on the goodwill of certain partners who, as we have seen in recent days, are capable of cutting off access to the Anthropic model.”

On the issue, von der Leyen said at the summit “the key question of today is how to introduce new models safely,” calling for G7 countries to exchange information and cooperate through independent entities evaluating models before market release.

She also highlighted adoption as a competitive priority, stating Europe and the US are “at par in terms of AI adoption” but that the bloc wants “our own AI future, not in isolation – that is very important – but together with our trusted partners”.

The post US-EU AI cooperation in focus at G7 Summit appeared first on Mobile World Live.

A burial site uncovered by archaeologists in southern Siberia has revealed a series of unusual discoveries, which include ritually broken artifacts surrounding human and horse remains.

The burial site was uncovered in the Sayan Mountains and was discovered during a survey in advance of railway construction planned for the area. Archaeologists believe that the grave dates to the tenth century.

Originally uncovered in 2014, excavations at the site of the unusual grave and several others found nearby have been ongoing, revealing discoveries that researchers say are unusual for the period and location.

“It is quite clear that this is far from an ordinary burial,” according to Andrey Poliakov, a researcher with the Russian Academy of Sciences and one of the co-authors of a new study detailing the findings, which appeared in Bulletin of Novosibirsk State University, Series: History, Philology.

Curious Discoveries in a Siberian Grave

Among the unusual discoveries in the Siberian grave were human remains—those belonging to a woman, as well as a newborn child—and animal remains belonging to a horse, including the creature’s skull, skin, and limbs, and a spine that belonged to a sheep.

The woman’s remains were also accompanied by several artifacts, which included bronze earrings, a spindle whorl crafted from stone, and an iron knife. Also associated with the woman’s remains was a mirror, which archaeologists believe may have been intentionally broken for ritual purposes—a practice maintained by many ancient cultures throughout the world.

Eastern Connections

Also of interest was the design of the mirror, which features carvings of a vine that winds along the artifact and clusters of grapes. The research team believes this could indicate that this artifact, and possibly some of the others found in the grave, may have originated from China.

Additionally, the researchers report that items associated with the remains of the horse contained within the burial site are associated with older periods, which would have made them antiques at the time they were included within the grave. Another example of artifacts with possible eastern origins includes a stirrup, which features decorations that bear resemblance to ancient art found in China and India.

Such stirrups were often employed by nomads who once dwelt on the Eurasian Steppe, and featured on the left side of their saddles—a position which archaeologists also believe may have held ritual significance.

An Elite Burial from the 10th Century

According to the researchers in their study, “The entire set of items constitutes a complete set of riding horse equipment,” which they say has “an archaic appearance and could be preserved for a long time as ‘family heirlooms’.”

The researchers add that such items were particularly popular in ancient nomadic society along the Eurasian Steppe and were viewed “as an indicator of social prestige” during the 8th and 9th centuries.

The unusual collection of artifacts within the grave was considered a rare find for this region, although further interpretation about the remains of the woman and the infant, which may had been her child, may be required.

The paper, “Riding Horse Equipment from a Medieval Burial on the Idzhim River in the Usinskaya Basin,” by Andrey Poliakov and colleagues, appeared in Bulletin of Novosibirsk State University, Series: History, Philology.

Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.

Tesla has installed a free car vacuum right next to the charging stalls at a Supercharger station in Germany — believed to be a first for the network.

The setup lets owners clean out their cars while they charge, turning otherwise idle minutes into something useful.

Space surveillance venture Look Up plans to use Skynopy’s ground station network to help automate its proposed low Earth orbit collision avoidance service, the French startups announced June 17.

The post Look Up and Skynopy partner on automated satellite collision avoidance service appeared first on SpaceNews.

Orange stepped up ambitions to drive commercial growth for French start-ups, using the annual VivaTech event in Paris to outline a three-pronged strategy focused on procurement, distribution and enterprise integration.

Orange stated it will buy directly from French start-ups where their technology fits its operational and business needs, use its commercial network to connect companies with public and private-sector buyers and integrate select technology into Orange Business’ enterprise catalogue.

The operator said it aims to boost digital sovereignty by tackling long-standing barriers faced by young French companies, including lengthy contracting processes, limited access to large corporate customers, a lack of commercial references and the complexity of scaling technology at pace.

Separately, Orange Ventures, the group’s investment arm, added it would boost funding for start-ups working in AI, cloud, cybersecurity, health and defence as part of a wider digital trust push.

Orange pointed to several companies it has already worked with under the plan, citing successful partnerships with cybersecurity specialist Anozr Way, circular economy player Circular Place, agentic AI developer H Company and process optimisation firm Kerys.

The initiative forms part of the operator’s partnership with French Tech Mission 2030, a government-backed programme that aims to support the country’s start-ups seeking to move beyond pilots and into commercial deployment.

Orange CEO Christel Heydemann (pictured) said France needs start-ups “capable of reaching industrial scale, sustaining their solutions and rapidly winning their markets,” adding Orange aims to use its “purchasing volume”, “commercial strength” and “integration expertise” to help them grow.

Julie Huguet, director of the French Tech Mission, added “access to customers, trusted relays and smoother sales cycles” were “essential” for start-up growth. She said the partnership with Orange could “generate tangible commercial opportunities for our scale-ups and help bring out the future European technology leaders”.

The post Orange accelerates French start-up growth appeared first on Mobile World Live.

An international team of paleontologists from Romania, Hungary and Italy has identified a new genus and species of herbivorous, duck-billed dinosaur from an incomplete skeleton unearthed in the Hațeg Basin, a bowl-shaped depression in the Carpathians of present-day Romania.

The post New Duck-Billed Dinosaur Unearthed in Romania appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

In a significant milestone for the advancement of intelligent transport systems, representatives from fifteen partner institutions converged in the Swiss city of Winterthur for the General Assembly of the MOVEO project. Spanning two days in early June and hosted collaboratively by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) alongside the City of Winterthur, this high-level meeting marked a pivotal moment to assess the multifaceted progress achieved in this ambitious European Union-backed initiative. The assembly provided a platform for experts specializing in transport infrastructure, digitalization, and inclusivity to engage in comprehensive dialogues surrounding the integration of cutting-edge technologies across diverse transport environments.

MOVEO stands at the intersection of innovation and real-world application, targeting critical challenges faced by modern transport systems. Over the course of the assembly, attendees delved deeply into advancements across the project’s core technical domains. One focal area involved the enhancement of inspection and monitoring systems designed to surveil transport infrastructure dynamically and track traffic flows in real time. By deploying sophisticated sensors and analytic devices, the project aims to generate actionable data streams that can preemptively identify structural stresses or anomalies, ultimately elevating maintenance efficiency and passenger safety.

Another crucial theme that permeated discussions was the development of intelligent door-to-door mobility solutions catering to both passenger transit and goods logistics. These smart mobility frameworks integrate multimodal transport options, leveraging data-driven route optimization and seamless transfer protocols to facilitate efficient, sustainable travel. The capacity of such systems to adapt dynamically to user needs and traffic conditions represents a paradigm shift from traditional static schedules to responsive, user-centric mobility networks.

In tandem with technological innovation, a significant portion of the dialogue addressed the pursuit of inclusivity and accessibility within transport services and infrastructure. Realizing transport environments that accommodate the full spectrum of user abilities demands rigorous design principles and thoughtful integration of assistive technologies. MOVEO’s commitment to these objectives manifests in both hardware adaptations and software interfaces, ensuring equitable access and enhancing user experience for disabled individuals, elderly passengers, and other traditionally underserved demographics.

Central to MOVEO’s methodology is the concept of a ‘digital twin’—a sophisticated virtual replica of physical assets and operational scenarios. This digital twin platform supports the project’s demonstration sites by enabling detailed simulation, predictive modeling, and real-time monitoring in a highly scalable and flexible manner. The ability to virtually recreate and experiment within these models accelerates technology validation cycles and informs better decision-making, reducing costs and mitigating risks associated with physical trial-and-error processes.

Highlighting the project’s real-world applicability, the partners provided updates on progress across five geographically and climatically diverse demonstration sites. Two are situated in eastern Switzerland, reflecting alpine and temperate conditions, while the others span the historic landscape of Ravenna, Italy; the complex hydrological system of France’s Seine basin; and the strategic maritime hub of Klaipėda port in Lithuania. Each site serves as a living laboratory where varying infrastructure types and life cycle stages are addressed, allowing the consortium to benchmark technologies against multifaceted operational contexts.

During the assembly, a notable field visit to the Leonie-Moser bridge in Winterthur offered tangible insight into the ongoing integration of MOVEO innovations. This upcoming bridge, slated for completion in September 2026, will link the districts of Oberwinterthur and Grüze, facilitating pedestrian and bus transit. Importantly, it forms a key node for sensor installations dedicated to monitoring passenger flows, particularly as commuters transfer between train and bus services. The instrumentation strategy exemplifies how real-time data acquisition enables nuanced understanding of multimodal transport interactions on critical infrastructure.

José Solís Hernández, project coordinator and an expert engineer from Spain’s CEMOSA, underscored the rapid progress being made in technological implementations. Reflecting on the trajectory thus far, Hernández emphasized the consortium’s focus on concluding key installation phases by the upcoming October deadline. This timeline aligns with preparatory activities for the next formal project review, during which minimum viable products (MVPs) must be finalized, demonstrating functional readiness and alignment with strategic objectives.

MOVEO’s expansive consortium harnesses expertise from nine European nations, uniting a comprehensive value chain that spans the entirety of transport and digitalization disciplines. The collective includes specialists in critical areas such as structural inspection, advanced monitoring techniques, logistics optimization, user mobility dynamics, and social inclusiveness. Engaging end-users alongside transport infrastructure managers ensures that developed solutions remain relevant, practical, and attuned to operational realities.

The innovative research underpinning MOVEO crystallizes around five core pillars. Firstly, infrastructure assessment and redesign leverages analytical tools to evaluate existing assets, proposing modifications that enhance resilience and adaptability. Secondly, inspection and monitoring integrate sensor networks and diagnostic technologies to maintain operational integrity. The third pillar, digitalized mobility, focuses on user-centered, data-driven solutions that redefine transit experiences. Smart logistics form the fourth pillar, addressing the efficient movement of goods with a sustainability lens. Finally, inclusiveness and accessibility aim to democratize mobility services, ensuring no user is left behind regardless of physical or cognitive barriers.

Backed by nearly five million euros in funding through the European Union’s Horizon Europe framework, MOVEO is positioned for a 42-month research phase culminating in October 2028. This substantial financial support reflects the high strategic importance assigned to the project, especially amidst rising pressures to modernize transport infrastructure in alignment with environmental, economic, and social objectives. The collaborative approach fosters cross-border innovation, ensuring outcomes deliver broad-reaching impacts for European mobility systems and beyond.

Ultimately, MOVEO exemplifies how integrative, interdisciplinary research can be effectively mobilized to tackle the complexities of future transport demand. By bridging digital technology with physical infrastructure and emphasizing user inclusivity, the project charts a course toward a smarter, safer, and more sustainable mobility ecosystem. As installations near completion and the demonstrator sites become fully operational, MOVEO’s innovations promise to inform policy, guide industry practices, and elevate standards across the entire European transportation landscape.

Subject of Research: Transport infrastructure monitoring, digitalized mobility, and inclusive transport solutions in Europe.

Article Title: (Not provided)

News Publication Date: (Not provided)

Web References: https://mediasvc.eurekalert.org/Api/v1/Multimedia/27a1c0f0-d8a7-487e-97b3-ebce96f60ef7/Rendition/low-res/Content/Public

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Image Credits: European Science Communication Institute gGmbH

Keywords: MOVEO project, transport infrastructure, digital twin, sensor monitoring, multimodal mobility, smart logistics, transport inclusiveness, European Union Horizon Europe, infrastructure assessment, pedestrian flow monitoring

MILAN — Switzerland’s decision not to participate in the European Union’s Copernicus Earth observation program during the 2028–2034 funding cycle has revived a broader debate over the value of contributing […]

The post Swiss decision to not contribute to Copernicus tests program’s value model appeared first on SpaceNews.

Researchers using two of humanity’s most powerful observatories — NASA’s James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes — have definitively shown that Terzan 5 is not a globular star cluster as it was once classified, offering new insight into how galaxies like our own form and evolve over time. A globular star cluster typically has only one ancient star population. New data not only confirms the existence of two distinct populations of stars in Terzan 5, but also provides evidence for two more recent rounds of star formation. Although located within the crowded bulge of our Milky Way, our galaxy’s central, spherical region of older stars, Terzan 5 was massive enough to maintain its separate identity while lighter weight systems spread out and mixed to form the bulge billions of years ago. It’s like a lump in an otherwise well-mixed cake batter.

“Webb’s new near-infrared observations, cross-referenced with Hubble’s archival observations, have given us a much clearer picture of the history of Terzan 5,” said Giorgia Zullo, who led the research and is a PhD student at the University of Bologna in Italy.

These results were presented at a press conference Tuesday at the 248th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Pasadena, and were published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Image: Bulge Fossil Fragment Terzan 5 (Webb and Hubble Image)

Four generations of stars

Discovered in 1968 by astronomer Azop Terzan, Terzan 5 resembles a globular cluster in many ways. However, in 2009 this system was discovered to harbor two distinct populations of stars. In 2016 Hubble provided the first estimate of their ages, showing that one formed roughly 12 billion years ago — as the Milky Way itself was assembling — and the other about 5 billion years ago, just before Earth started forming. This pointed to a more complex history than a typical globular cluster.

Studying Terzan 5 is complicated by its location in a region of our galaxy crowded with stars and heavily obscured by dust. This is where Webb stepped in. Its infrared view allowed the research team to peer through the dust and catalog many more stars, and fainter stars, than previous work. By measuring star colors and brightnesses, astronomers can classify them into populations of different ages and chemistries.

Webb was able to measure these key properties for every star within the field of view in the sky — both stars within Terzan 5 and unrelated foreground stars. To isolate the stars of Terzan 5, the team relied on the power and longevity of Hubble. The 12-year separation allowed the team to measure very small movements of individual stars, known as proper motions, to determine which stars belong to Terzan 5 and which are part of the Milky Way bulge.

By combining data from both Webb and Hubble, the researchers found strong evidence for two more stellar populations, one that formed 3.8 billion years ago and another only 2.5 billion years ago. They also were able to determine the ages of the previously known stellar populations with unprecedented precision, finding that they formed 12.5 billion and 4.7 billion years ago.

With the previously known two generations of stars, astronomers could not rule out the possibility that Terzan 5 interacted with another object, like a globular cluster or a giant molecular cloud, becoming enriched with new gas and dust that set off a second round of star formation. With four stellar generations, those explanations are ruled out.

Measurements of the stellar composition of Terzan 5 populations made at the W. M. Keck Observatory and European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope also point toward very distinct populations. “Along with the ages of these populations, the cluster preserves a fossil record of progressive enrichment of heavy elements by supernovae,” said co-author R. Michael Rich, a research astronomer at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Terzan 5 formed multiple generations of stars because it was able to retain the necessary raw materials. There is evidence of powerful supernova explosions in Terzan 5 that forged heavier elements that were swept up by subsequent generations of stars. In lighter weight systems, the force of the explosions themselves could have ejected the resulting elements as well as sweeping out leftover gas and dust. The progenitor of Terzan 5 had enough mass to retain those stars’ ejections, allowing new generations of stars to form over billions of years.

‘Bulge fossil fragment’

The results show that Terzan 5 is most likely the remnant of a much more massive stellar system that initially formed 12.5 billion years ago. Terzan 5 is extraordinary because it survived — and never merged or fully “mixed in” with the Milky Way’s bulge. “For some reason, this peculiar clump of stars formed separately from the bulge and was not destroyed as the bulge itself formed,” said Francesco R. Ferraro, a professor at the University of Bologna and principal investigator of the Webb observations. “Terzan 5 is what we now call a bulge fossil fragment because it resembles the primordial clumps that contributed to the formation of the bulge.”

To date, there’s one other known cosmic object like Terzan 5. Liller 1 was the second to be reclassified from a globular star cluster to a bulge fossil fragment. It also contains multiple generations of stars. There may be more objects like it. Between 40 to 50 additional globular clusters that orbit within the bulge will be examined by Ferraro’s team to determine if their stellar populations are all the same, like globular clusters, or have several generations, like bulge fossil fragments. 

Video: Zoom to See Terzan 5 Near Our Milky Way Galaxy’s Bulge

Potential parallels for galaxy formation near, far

Ultimately, this research may improve what we know about how the central bulges of galaxies form over hundreds of millions of years. “Based on observations and in-depth simulations, we think that galaxies in the early universe had huge disks of gas that fragmented into clumps and formed stars. These clumps migrated to the center of the galaxies, and many merged to form their bulges,” said Barbara Lanzoni, a co-author and associate professor at the University of Bologna. For example, Webb has turned up several examples of “clumpy” galaxies that were actively forming when the universe was only a few hundred million years old, like the clumps in the Firefly Sparkle galaxy. “Terzan 5 may provide direct evidence that can help explain how bulges formed in galaxies throughout the universe,” Lanzoni said.

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).

The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.

To learn more about Webb, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/webb

To learn more about Hubble, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/hubble

Downloads & Related Information

The following sections contain links to download this article’s images and videos in all available resolutions followed by related information links, media contacts, and if available, research paper and Spanish translation links.

Related Links

Read more: Hubble’s star clusters

Explore more: ViewSpace | Forms of light: the Cluster Omega Centauri

Watch: Globular Clusters, Stellar Pockets

Watch: Sorting the Stars in Omega Centauri

Webb: News | Images | Science | Home Page

Hubble: News | Images | Science | Home Page

Researchers using two of humanity’s most powerful observatories — NASA’s James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes — have definitively shown that Terzan 5 is not a globular star cluster as it was once classified, offering new insight into how galaxies like our own form and evolve over time. A globular star cluster typically has only one ancient star population. New data not only confirms the existence of two distinct populations of stars in Terzan 5, but also provides evidence for two more recent rounds of star formation. Although located within the crowded bulge of our Milky Way, our galaxy’s central, spherical region of older stars, Terzan 5 was massive enough to maintain its separate identity while lighter weight systems spread out and mixed to form the bulge billions of years ago. It’s like a lump in an otherwise well-mixed cake batter.

“Webb’s new near-infrared observations, cross-referenced with Hubble’s archival observations, have given us a much clearer picture of the history of Terzan 5,” said Giorgia Zullo, who led the research and is a PhD student at the University of Bologna in Italy.

These results were presented at a press conference Tuesday at the 248th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Pasadena, and were published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Image: Bulge Fossil Fragment Terzan 5 (Webb and Hubble Image)

Four generations of stars

Discovered in 1968 by astronomer Azop Terzan, Terzan 5 resembles a globular cluster in many ways. However, in 2009 this system was discovered to harbor two distinct populations of stars. In 2016 Hubble provided the first estimate of their ages, showing that one formed roughly 12 billion years ago — as the Milky Way itself was assembling — and the other about 5 billion years ago, just before Earth started forming. This pointed to a more complex history than a typical globular cluster.

Studying Terzan 5 is complicated by its location in a region of our galaxy crowded with stars and heavily obscured by dust. This is where Webb stepped in. Its infrared view allowed the research team to peer through the dust and catalog many more stars, and fainter stars, than previous work. By measuring star colors and brightnesses, astronomers can classify them into populations of different ages and chemistries.

Webb was able to measure these key properties for every star within the field of view in the sky — both stars within Terzan 5 and unrelated foreground stars. To isolate the stars of Terzan 5, the team relied on the power and longevity of Hubble. The 12-year separation allowed the team to measure very small movements of individual stars, known as proper motions, to determine which stars belong to Terzan 5 and which are part of the Milky Way bulge.

By combining data from both Webb and Hubble, the researchers found strong evidence for two more stellar populations, one that formed 3.8 billion years ago and another only 2.5 billion years ago. They also were able to determine the ages of the previously known stellar populations with unprecedented precision, finding that they formed 12.5 billion and 4.7 billion years ago.

With the previously known two generations of stars, astronomers could not rule out the possibility that Terzan 5 interacted with another object, like a globular cluster or a giant molecular cloud, becoming enriched with new gas and dust that set off a second round of star formation. With four stellar generations, those explanations are ruled out.

Measurements of the stellar composition of Terzan 5 populations made at the W. M. Keck Observatory and European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope also point toward very distinct populations. “Along with the ages of these populations, the cluster preserves a fossil record of progressive enrichment of heavy elements by supernovae,” said co-author R. Michael Rich, a research astronomer at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Terzan 5 formed multiple generations of stars because it was able to retain the necessary raw materials. There is evidence of powerful supernova explosions in Terzan 5 that forged heavier elements that were swept up by subsequent generations of stars. In lighter weight systems, the force of the explosions themselves could have ejected the resulting elements as well as sweeping out leftover gas and dust. The progenitor of Terzan 5 had enough mass to retain those stars’ ejections, allowing new generations of stars to form over billions of years.

‘Bulge fossil fragment’

The results show that Terzan 5 is most likely the remnant of a much more massive stellar system that initially formed 12.5 billion years ago. Terzan 5 is extraordinary because it survived — and never merged or fully “mixed in” with the Milky Way’s bulge. “For some reason, this peculiar clump of stars formed separately from the bulge and was not destroyed as the bulge itself formed,” said Francesco R. Ferraro, a professor at the University of Bologna and principal investigator of the Webb observations. “Terzan 5 is what we now call a bulge fossil fragment because it resembles the primordial clumps that contributed to the formation of the bulge.”

To date, there’s one other known cosmic object like Terzan 5. Liller 1 was the second to be reclassified from a globular star cluster to a bulge fossil fragment. It also contains multiple generations of stars. There may be more objects like it. Between 40 to 50 additional globular clusters that orbit within the bulge will be examined by Ferraro’s team to determine if their stellar populations are all the same, like globular clusters, or have several generations, like bulge fossil fragments. 

Video: Zoom to See Terzan 5 Near Our Milky Way Galaxy’s Bulge

Potential parallels for galaxy formation near, far

Ultimately, this research may improve what we know about how the central bulges of galaxies form over hundreds of millions of years. “Based on observations and in-depth simulations, we think that galaxies in the early universe had huge disks of gas that fragmented into clumps and formed stars. These clumps migrated to the center of the galaxies, and many merged to form their bulges,” said Barbara Lanzoni, a co-author and associate professor at the University of Bologna. For example, Webb has turned up several examples of “clumpy” galaxies that were actively forming when the universe was only a few hundred million years old, like the clumps in the Firefly Sparkle galaxy. “Terzan 5 may provide direct evidence that can help explain how bulges formed in galaxies throughout the universe,” Lanzoni said.

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).

The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.

To learn more about Webb, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/webb

To learn more about Hubble, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/hubble

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Read more: Hubble’s star clusters

Explore more: ViewSpace | Forms of light: the Cluster Omega Centauri

Watch: Globular Clusters, Stellar Pockets

Watch: Sorting the Stars in Omega Centauri

Webb: News | Images | Science | Home Page

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The post NASA Webb, Hubble Reveal History of Relic of Milky Way’s Formation appeared first on NASA Science.

Baidu’s Apollo Go has received a Level 4 autonomous driving permit in Switzerland for AmiGo, a robotaxi service it is running with Swiss Post’s PostBus, putting the Chinese tech giant ahead of Waymo and Tesla in deploying driverless vehicles into European public transport.

The Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) special permit covers an 80 km² service area across three eastern cantons, and Baidu says the project is on track to become the largest planned automated public transport operation of its kind in Europe.

For the first time, astronomers have distinguished between the morning and evening atmospheres of a single planet, revealing two remarkably different environments at its edges. WASP-121 b is a gas giant that orbits extremely close to its star, resulting in one hemisphere exposed to temperatures approaching 2,500 degrees Celsius while the opposite side remains in constant darkness.

A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy used the James Webb Space Telescope to provide observational evidence for a phenomenon that models had previously predicted. The boundary regions between day and night on tidally locked planets can exhibit distinct temperatures and chemical compositions.

The recent findings appeared in a study published in Nature Astronomy.

A World Stuck in Time

WASP-121 b is part of a group of gas giants known as hot Jupiters. These massive planets orbit their stars in just a few days and eventually become locked in place by gravity. Tidal forces keep one side facing the star at all times, while the other side never sees daylight.

“WASP-121 b is particularly extreme,” said co-author Tom Evans-Soma of the University of Newcastle, Australia. “Average temperatures on the dayside hemisphere are around 2,770 Kelvin, while those on the nightside are closer to about 1,000 Kelvin.”

The difference in temperature between the two hemispheres, which is about 1,775 degrees Celsius, makes WASP-121 b one of the most thermally extreme exoplanets known. The regions at the boundary between day and night, called terminators, are where the planet experiences constant morning or evening conditions. Scientists expected these areas to have different atmospheric properties, but only with the precision of JWST could these differences be directly observed.

Mapping the Atmosphere

The researchers used a method based on the planet’s transit across its star to study these differences. As WASP-121 b passes in front of its star, it rotates by about 30 degrees, which means that different parts of its atmosphere can be observed during each transit. By tracking how infrared starlight filters through the atmosphere over time, the team reconstructed how temperature and chemical composition change across different longitudes.

“By measuring how starlight absorption changes as WASP-121 b rotates, we probe its atmosphere longitude by longitude,” said lead author Cyril Gapp of MPIA. The observations not only confirmed what models had predicted, but also showed that the differences between the two terminators are even greater than expected.

Two Different Skies

The evening side of the planet’s terminator absorbs more starlight than the morning side. Powerful eastward winds sweep heat from the scorching dayside toward the nightside, with the evening region getting the first blast of this warmth. This extra heat causes the atmosphere there to puff up, allowing it to absorb even more starlight, as the observations showed.

Chemical measurements backed up these findings. Carbon monoxide absorption increased as the hotter regions of the evening came into view near the end of the transit. Water showed a different pattern. Rather than simply decreasing with higher temperatures, the researchers interpret the result as evidence that water molecules in the upper atmosphere are breaking apart, likely due to the intense heat at the evening terminator. This points to a real chemical change, not just a shift in molecular location.

The Cloud Problem

The morning side shows a different environment. Although models predicted a difference between the two terminators, they did not fully explain why the morning side appears cooler and more opaque. The most likely explanation involves clouds that are unlike those on Earth.

At the morning terminator, air comes in from the cold nightside. Temperatures may be low enough for silicate and mineral compounds to turn into tiny particles, forming clouds that block infrared radiation from below. This makes the atmosphere appear cooler than it really is underneath.

When the team adjusted their models to account for these clouds, the results more closely aligned with their observations. Still, confirming exactly how these clouds form and behave will require more advanced modeling, as cloud formation and evaporation in such extreme environments remain a major puzzle in exoplanet science.

A Method Ready to Scale

WASP-121 b has been the subject of previous studies, but JWST now enables astronomers to examine its atmosphere in detail, section by section. This approach is now also available for use with other exoplanets.

The team has already found other ultra-hot gas giants with the right temperatures and orbits for similar analysis. Using this method on other planets will help astronomers compare atmospheric conditions and deepen our understanding of extreme planetary environments.

Austin Burgess is a writer and researcher with a background in sales, marketing, and data analytics. He holds an MBA, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and a data analytics certification. His work focuses on breaking scientific developments, with an emphasis on emerging biology, cognitive neuroscience, and archaeological discoveries.

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The French government outlined a major sovereign AI push, declaring its intelligence agency would stop working with US company Palantir in favour of a local alternative alongside a pledge to invest €655 million in the technology through to 2030.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced the plans in a video on X as the country advances its sovereign technology ambitions and a desire to reduce dependence on US offerings.

The debate around sovereignty continues to heat up: the US recently hit the brakes on a couple of Anthropic models due to national security concerns.

Prime Minister Lecornu pointed to the issue in announcing the decision to cut ties with Palantir, stating “France must have its own tools”.

“We cannot rely on the goodwill of certain partners who, as we have seen in recent days, are capable of cutting off access to the Anthropic model.”

Intelligence agency DGSI is to replace Palantir’s data tools with an alternative made by privately-controlled French company ChapsVision.

Palantir had worked with the agency for around a decade and announced a three-year renewal in December 2025.

Concerns have been raised about Palantir due to ambitions in Europe to reduce the amount of sensitive data processed by US-based companies.  

The company was co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, who has strong links to the US government.

Revolution
The prime minister said the €655 million investment would go towards infrastructure, computing capacity, research, business and industrial sectors.

As part of the plans, the government aims to provide all civil servants with a conversational assistant from domestic company Mistral AI, in addition to a public health assistant by the end of the year.

“We can undergo this revolution. Or we can lead it. France has chosen. It will rise to the challenge of this revolution and intends to claim its full place in it,” Prime Minister Lecornu said.

The post France ends Palantir AI deal in sovereign push appeared first on Mobile World Live.

James Webb has revealed that the sunrise and sunset sides of WASP-121 b have surprisingly different atmospheres. Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have discovered striking differences between the morning and evening sides of the atmosphere of WASP-121 b, an ultra-hot gas giant located far beyond our solar system. The findings provide the [...]

Thinktank says decoupling electricity from gas prices has also helped shield Spain from hikes caused by Iran war

Spanish households save €10 a month on electricity bills because of wind turbines and solar panels installed in the last five years, a report has found.

Typical energy bills would be 19% more expensive if electricity costs were still as tightly coupled to gas prices as in 2021, according to Ember, a climate thinktank. It found Spain’s “strategic” expansion of renewables since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 has shielded Spanish households from the latest rises in fossil fuel prices caused by the Iran war.

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Deep inside a limestone cave in southern China, paleontologists have uncovered an assemblage of thirteen fossilized teeth belonging to Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest primate species ever known to have lived.

The post Fossils from Chinese Cave Fill Crucial Gap in History of Gigantopithecus blacki appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.