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La sonda Danuri ha fotografato la macchia scura lasciata dallo schianto di…

9 August 2026 at 11:05
La sonda Danuri ha fotografato la macchia scura lasciata dallo schianto di uno stadio superiore di un razzo Falcon 9 di SpaceX sulla superficie lunare. Il componente, lungo 14 metri, è stato spinto fuori rotta dall'interazione tra gravità e vento solare, finendo per impattare vicino al cratere Einstein a oltre 8.000 km/h. L'evento, confermato anche dai rilevamenti dello spettro gassoso dal Very Large Telescope in Cile, ha scavato un nuovo cratere di 18 metri di diametro, riaccendendo l'attenzione dei ricercatori sulla gestione dei detriti spaziali nelle orbite cislunari.

JNR Meteorite 100K VS Maskking Camo 100K: Comparison Review

9 August 2026 at 10:35

The high-puff vaping landscape is evolving rapidly, moving beyond basic single-use hardware into advanced, high-capacity systems designed for longevity and customization. Leading this shift are two powerhouses: the JNR Meteorite 100K and the Maskking Camo 100K. Both devices redefine what users can expect from heavy-duty setups by offering incredible longevity, refillable flexibility, and high-performance dual-mesh coils. While they share the same impressive target milestone of up to 100,000 puffs, they approach style, power delivery, and user experience from entirely different design angles.

Design

When it comes to visual identity, these two devices appeal to completely distinct aesthetics. The JNR Meteorite adopts a sleek, modern look focused on futuristic tech. Its standout feature is an animated curved display screen that brings your vaping data to life with fluid visual feedback, making it feel premium and highly responsive. It also includes a portable lanyard, emphasizing daily on-the-go utility.

On the other hand, the Maskking Camo embraces a charmingly unique, retro camera-inspired silhouette. It swaps a standard screen for an eye-catching “dynamic ring display” and features a modular magnetic build that makes interacting with the device feel tactile and mechanical.

Features

Digging into performance and layout, both models are engineered to give you complete control over your inhale, though their fluid delivery systems differ. The JNR Meteorite functions as a highly compliant, user-focused kit that pairs a visible e-liquid level indicator with adjustable airflow. It delivers its massive puff count through a smart multi-bottle configuration, bundling four separate 10ml bottles at a smooth 2% nicotine strength. The Maskking Camo relies on a massive 17mL reservoir supporting up to four complete refills. Both devices feature custom performance scaling; the Meteorite utilizes a 0.6Ω dual mesh setup with a specialized Boost Mode to ramp up cloud production, while the Camo uses a 0.5ohm dual mesh element managed by a physical firing button to alternate seamlessly between Normal and Boost modes.

Battery

Power management is another area where these two kits showcase unique engineering paths. The JNR Meteorite utilizes a robust dual-battery architecture, combining a large 1200mAh primary cell with a 200mAh secondary backup to ensure massive operational endurance between charges. The Maskking Camo opts for a streamlined approach, keeping the chassis pocket-friendly with a single 650mAh internal battery capacity. While the Meteorite offers a larger total power reserve upfront, both hardware designs are equipped with rapid USB Type-C charging ports, meaning downtime is kept to an absolute minimum for both setups.

Verdict

Choosing between these two top-tier systems comes down to your personal workflow and style preferences. If you appreciate smooth ergonomics, a high-tech animated screen, extended battery life, and a highly compliant multi-bottle setup perfect for daily travel, the JNR Meteorite 100K stands out as an incredibly dependable companion. Conversely, if you love vintage-inspired aesthetics, tactile button operations, magnetic modularity, and a compact camera style that turns heads, the Maskking Camo 100K delivers a uniquely satisfying, flavor-packed experience. Both represent excellent leaps forward in hardware longevity.

Read Also: JNR Meteorite 100K Refillable Vape Kit Review: A Revolutionary Powerbank-Style Vaping System

The post JNR Meteorite 100K VS Maskking Camo 100K: Comparison Review appeared first on IGeeKphone China Phone, Tablet PC, VR, RC Drone News, Reviews.

Webb Found a Hidden Planet in Beta Pictoris By Reading Its Atmosphere

9 August 2026 at 04:00

Astronomers have found a third giant planet around Beta Pictoris, one of the best-known young planetary systems near Earth. The discovery is striking because the planet was not first picked out as a bright dot in a telescope image. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope found it in the spectrum of light coming from the system: […]

The post Webb Found a Hidden Planet in Beta Pictoris By Reading Its Atmosphere appeared first on Curiosmos.

NASA Is Targeting an August Launch for Roman. Here’s What the Telescope Will See

9 August 2026 at 02:00

NASA is currently targeting August 30 for the launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from Florida. The date can move, as launch dates do, but the mission is close enough to the pad that its central idea deserves a clear look: Roman will survey huge stretches of the universe in one exposure, gathering […]

The post NASA Is Targeting an August Launch for Roman. Here’s What the Telescope Will See appeared first on Curiosmos.

La FDA aprueba mFLUSIVA, la primera vacuna de ARN mensajero contra la gripe

8 August 2026 at 06:07
La FDA aprueba mFLUSIVA, la primera vacuna de gripe basada en ARN mensajero, pensada para adultos de 50 años o más y lista para la temporada 2026-2027 en Estados Unidos.

Inside the mystery of the James Webb Space Telescope's little red dots — and how they might be evolving

7 August 2026 at 19:00

New evidence has come to light showing that the mysterious 'little red dots' discovered in the early universe by the James Webb Space Telescope could evolve into the active centers of fully formed galaxies.

"Everything created in the early universe must evolve into something around us," said George Rieke of the University of Arizona in a statement. "We have had little idea of what little red dots become, but these results finally show us how to find their progeny."

Discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) almost as soon as it became operational in 2022, little red dots have been a perplexing cosmological mystery. As their name suggests, they appear small, red and surprisingly bright. They are mostly found at redshift values suggesting they existed between 13.2 and 12.2 billion years ago. To shine so brightly at such great distances would usually imply these objects are quasars — which are luminous nuclei of galaxies powered by active supermassive black holes — but the light coming from little red dots is more like that of bloated stars. It looks to be mostly in infrared with some ultraviolet, and none of the X-rays that one would expect from an active black hole chomping down on material.

As such, researchers have come up with the hypothesis that little red dots are "black hole stars," or vast clouds of gas heated from within by a concealed but growing supermassive black hole.

However, the population of little red dots drops off a cliff at redshifts equating to less than 12 billion years ago. Where did they all go? There are two options. Either they all died off, or they developed into objects more familiar to us.

One recent hypothesis is that little red dots turned into large globular clusters. And now, an alternative possibility has come along.

A team led by Pierluigi Rinaldi, who was at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory when conducting this research but is now at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, think it has identified a descendent of a little red dot. It appears to be in the form of a distant galaxy, catalogued as WISEA J123635.56+621424.2, which is found at a redshift of 2, meaning that we see it as it was 10.5 billion years ago.

The galaxy displays neat spiral arms around a red core. Rinaldi's team have nicknamed it the Saguaro, after a species of cactus native to the Sonoran desert in the United States' south-west, thanks to the galaxy's arms and how its core resembles the red fruit produced by the cactus.

A large field of glowing dots against a dark background. One of the dots is enlarged in a boxout.

A field of galaxies in Ursa Major, with the Saguaro galaxy inset. (Image credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Pierluigi Rinaldi (Steward Observatory); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI))

Saguaro's core has all the hallmarks of a little red dot. It shines bright in infrared as seen by JWST, and also emits in ultraviolet as detected by the Hubble Space Telescope. Yet, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has also detected faint X-rays originating from Saguaro.

"What the X-ray observations show is that this galaxy has an active galactic nucleus, and a very obscured one at that," Carys Gilbert of the University of Cape Town in South Africa, who participated in the study alongside Rinaldi, said in the statement. "It's not only obscured but also X-ray weak. That kind of combination could explain the lack of X-ray emission that we see from all other little red dots. It fits the puzzle of little red dots nicely."

This is not the first time X-rays have been seen coming from a little red dot. Earlier this year it was reported that scattered X-rays were seen breaking through from a little red dot called 3DHST-AEGIS-12014, given credence to the hypothesis that little red dots are black hole stars, where the black hole gradually consumes the "star" from the inside out, eventually carving holes through which X-rays can escape. We see 3DHST-AEGIS-12014 as it was 11.8 billion years ago, meaning that Saguaro, which existed 1.3 billion years later, is a little bit further on in its development.

Three boxes with blurred dots within. Two in the far ground show a simulated red dot and a real red dot from 13 billion years ago. In the foreground is Saguaro, which is more orange in color, at 10.4 billion years ago.

A comparison to how the Saguaro galaxy appears to us now, and how it would appear as a little red dot if it existed at a higher redshift. (Image credit: Alyssa Pagan (STScI); Illustration: Leah Hustak (STScI))

"Because the Saguaro is at lower redshift, we can see the very beautiful and bright host galaxy in high resolution and detail with Webb and Hubble," said Harvard's Zihao Wu, who was also part of Rinaldi's team.

Intrigued, Rinaldi's team simulated how Saguaro would appear to us if it existed a billion years after the big bang. Much of its galactic structure would either be less developed or simply just too faint to be seen at such distance. All that would be visible would be the nucleus, looking very much like all the other little red dots.

This implies that little red dots are not a unique population of their own, but are simply a phase in the development of galaxies with supermassive black holes. Our own Milky Way could have been a little red dot once upon a time.

Saguaro is a crucial link in the story of little red dots and how they connect with modern galaxies. While there is still much to learn, such as the beginning of their story and how they form, the middle and end of their story is now beginning to take shape.

The findings were reported on 29 July in The Astrophysical Journal.

Inouye Solar Telescope Discovers Hidden Plasma Vortices on Sun

7 August 2026 at 17:13
The highest-resolution image of the Sun’s surface (photosphere) ever captured, taken at 416 nm by the Inouye Solar Telescope; it reveals deformed boundaries of magnetic elements and ultra-fine scale stripes, both associated with Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. Image credit: NSF / NSO / AURA / MPS.

Astronomers using the 4-m Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii have detected tiny plasma vortices on the Sun’s surface (photosphere) for the first time, revealing a long-suspected process that could transport energy into the million-degree corona.

The post Inouye Solar Telescope Discovers Hidden Plasma Vortices on Sun appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Cosmic treasure chest explodes with baby stars | Space photo of the day for Aug. 7, 2026

7 August 2026 at 15:00

A JWST nebula image shows a large central yellow gas and dust nebula surrounded by twinkling stars and gas and dust in red, orange, blue and green.

The Carina Nebula's "Treasure Chest" stuns in this new image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. (Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Reiter)

In a nebula far, far away, colossal clouds of dust and gas tower amongst the stars.

What is it?

This spectacular new image from the James Webb Space Telescope showcases the brilliant majesty of the Carina Nebula, a giant cloud of dust and gas found 7,500 light-years away in the constellation Carina.

You may have seen the Carina Nebula before — in the first-ever image released from JWST, which has been dubbed "Cosmic Cliffs."

In this new image, captured by JWST's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), you can see the nebula in a whole new light. This snapshot captures a specific feature that is being dubbed the "Treasure Chest," as it vaguely resembles a glowing coffer overflowing with stellar jewels.

This "Treasure Chest" contains a cluster of young stars, approximately 70 stars in total. While these might be young, growing stars, the most massive of the bunch is a whopping 19 times more massive than our sun.

Why is it incredible?

While JWST has looked at the Carina Nebula before, new observations can reveal completely new details and help scientists uncover new information about the nebula and the strange ways in which the universe works.

Right now, scientists think that the star cluster in the "Treasure Chest" is about 1.3 million years old. However, previous estimates thought the grouping could be just 100,000 years old. So, new observations by powerful telescopes like JWST can significantly change our understanding of the cosmos.

With each new observation or data point, the history and context of the universe around us could completely transform. And, as this star cluster grows over time, its stars will become more brilliant. They may therefore illuminate more of this star cluster, potentially revealing details and secrets of this "treasure" that scientists might never have predicted.

The world's biggest solar telescope caught vortexes on the Sun's surface

7 August 2026 at 14:20

Wherever two fluids slide past each other at different speeds, the boundary between them buckles, then curls, then rolls up into vortexes. It’s called the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, and the physics behind it was worked out in the late 1860s. We know this instability explains why wind causes ripples on the surface of water and clouds shear into a row of curves.

For decades scientists argued the same thing must be happening with plasma on the surface of the Sun, and yet nobody had been able to confirm it. Now, a team led by David Kuridze and Friedrich Wöger of the National Solar Observatory reports that Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities are not just visible on the Sun, but they’re ubiquitous. Their new study proposes that this may change the way we think about how heat, mass, and magnetic energy move through the Sun's atmosphere.

Telescope’s test drive

The reason plasma whirlpools on the Sun stayed hidden for so long is rather trivial: They are very small. Their scale sits below what telescopes with mirrors smaller than 2 meters can resolve. For most of the history of solar physics, that has ruled out every telescope on Earth. This changed when the US National Science Foundation opened the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, a 4-meter instrument in Hawaii and the largest solar telescope in the world. The telescope entered its operational phase back in November 2021.

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© NASA/Goddard/SDO

The world's biggest solar telescope caught vortexes on the Sun's surface

7 August 2026 at 14:20

Wherever two fluids slide past each other at different speeds, the boundary between them buckles, then curls, then rolls up into vortexes. It’s called the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, and the physics behind it was worked out in the late 1860s. We know this instability explains why wind causes ripples on the surface of water and clouds shear into a row of curves.

For decades scientists argued the same thing must be happening with plasma on the surface of the Sun, and yet nobody had been able to confirm it. Now, a team led by David Kuridze and Friedrich Wöger of the National Solar Observatory reports that Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities are not just visible on the Sun, but they’re ubiquitous. Their new study proposes that this may change the way we think about how heat, mass, and magnetic energy move through the Sun's atmosphere.

Telescope’s test drive

The reason plasma whirlpools on the Sun stayed hidden for so long is rather trivial: They are very small. Their scale sits below what telescopes with mirrors smaller than 2 meters can resolve. For most of the history of solar physics, that has ruled out every telescope on Earth. This changed when the US National Science Foundation opened the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, a 4-meter instrument in Hawaii and the largest solar telescope in the world. The telescope entered its operational phase back in November 2021.

Read full article

Comments

© NASA/Goddard/SDO

EU operator chiefs press for urgent CSAM blocks

7 August 2026 at 12:15

The chief executives of some of the biggest operator groups in Europe warned massive amounts of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) are still exchanged online each year and pressed authorities to give them the power to block it.

Margherita Della Valle from Vodafone Group, Christel Heydemann at Orange, Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer with Telenor Group and Allison Kirkby at BT Group want authorities to provide their companies with the legal clarity to prevent the sharing of more than 100 million CSAM files each year.

They have written an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and European Council President Antonio Costa warning the trading of CSAM material online is “at industrial scale”.

The CEOs argue differences in legal frameworks makes it difficult for telecom and internet service providers to fully pull their weight in tackling the problem, making the removal of barriers to “blocking access to domains and URLs” linked with CSAM a matter of urgency.

The CEOs believe an organisation with the oversight to identify and tackle CSAM throughout the European Union is necessary. They also want interim measures to the same end while such a group is being set-up.

Equally, the executives believe any such authority must be strictly overseen and its focus kept squarely on CSAM.

They called for governments in the region not within the EU to join the efforts with their own legal frameworks.

“Children need protection now, not in several years’ time.”

“The scale of abuse demands decisive action, so Europe must show global leadership.”

Unacceptable
Della Valle, Heydemann, Fasmer and Kirkby pointed to Internet Watch Foundation statistics indicating 62% of “confirmed CSAM web pages” were hosted in the EU in 2024.

A cyber tipline operated by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children “receives tens of millions of reports” involving children mostly aged between seven-and ten-years old.

“Girls are disproportionately targeted”, the executives noted.

They branded it “simply unacceptable” for CSAM to remain accessible due to delays in removing it at the source.

The post EU operator chiefs press for urgent CSAM blocks appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Hispasat lands lead role in EC IRIS2 project

7 August 2026 at 11:28

The European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA) named Spain-based Hispasat as the lead contractor for its IRIS2 European satellite network, handing it a budget of more than €1.6 billion.

Owned by Spanish defence company Indra Group, Hispasat has been charged with providing antenna infrastructure, control systems and ground network connectivity for IRIS2.

It will also lead the development of the system’s very low Earth orbit layer, operating at altitudes below 750km. This layer is designed to provide direct connectivity services to mobile devices and for IoT, providing access for European startups and SMEs.

The agreement further guarantees Hispasat access to non-geostationary orbits in regions of high strategic interest, complementing its range of capabilities and geographic coverage.

To that end, Hispasat has committed an investment of up to €600 million in exchange for obtaining “exploitation rights” in regions of high strategic interest and commercial value for the business it already operates through its geostationary fleet.

The award comes following talks between the EC, ESA and SpaceRISE, a satellite consortium formed between Eutelsat, SES and Hispasat.

Luis Mayo, CEO of Hispasat, noted the agreement helps it strengthen its position among the leaders of the European space industry and in its main business areas.

The IRIS2 programme will deploy a network of 330 new LEO satellites and 12 medium earth orbit (MEO) birds, with initial services due to begin in 2030. In total, €15.6 billion will be invested in the project, with €11.6 billion coming from public funds and €4 billion from the SpaceRISE consortium.

The post Hispasat lands lead role in EC IRIS2 project appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Telefonica shines light on work to aid eclipse viewers

5 August 2026 at 11:28

Telefonica detailed an operation to increase connectivity provision across more than 2,700 sites in Spain for an expected boost in network demand from viewers turning out to see a solar eclipse on 12 August.

The operator has undertaken network optimisation and capacity expansion work in locations across 31 areas of Spain covering the thousands of kilometres where the event is likely to be visible.

Tasks included actions to “parameterise the mobile network”, intelligently reconfiguring base stations and adapting them to traffic demand.

Telefonica noted preparations started five months ago and form part of wider planning to bolster coverage for events expected to be popular during the local holiday season.

In planning for the eclipse, it analysed coverage in more than 400 potential observation points identified by the country’s Autonomous Regions. It expects “extraordinary demand for connectivity from national and international observers” at the sites.

The astronomical event is expected to be visible in areas including Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Catalonia, Community of Madrid, Valencian Community, Galicia, La Rioja, Navarra and the Basque Country.

The post Telefonica shines light on work to aid eclipse viewers appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Think tank warns Europe’s orbital compute gap is widening

5 August 2026 at 09:00

Europe risks becoming dependent on foreign orbital computing infrastructure as U.S. companies and China’s government-led push accelerate the development of space-based data centers, according to the European Space Policy Institute.

The post Think tank warns Europe’s orbital compute gap is widening appeared first on SpaceNews.

Neuraspace raises $18 million to expand sovereign space awareness

5 August 2026 at 07:00

Neuraspace, the Portuguese space traffic management startup, announced around $18 million in fresh funding Aug. 5 to expand European space domain awareness and defense capabilities.

The post Neuraspace raises $18 million to expand sovereign space awareness appeared first on SpaceNews.

Astronomers Discover First-Ever Three-Lobed Asteroid

4 August 2026 at 22:17
This image of the Nysa system was captured on February 15, 2026. Image credit: Minker et al., arXiv: 2607.25786.

High-resolution images from ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the Large Binocular Telescope reveal that the E-type asteroid (44) Nysa may be unlike any other world in the Solar System, with three connected lobes and a newly discovered satellite that could help explain how the bizarre object formed.

The post Astronomers Discover First-Ever Three-Lobed Asteroid appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Max Planck eROSITA Team Releases the Most Comprehensive Census of the High-Energy Universe Ever Assembled

4 August 2026 at 13:08

The German eROSITA Consortium (eROSITA-DE), led by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), has completed the most comprehensive census of the high-energy universe ever assembled.

Released as eROSITA Data Release 2 (DR2), the new high-energy universe catalog includes nearly two million X-ray sources, essentially doubling the number cataloged in DR1. The team behind the achievement said the new catalog, which has been made available to the wider scientific community, marks a “major step forward” in mapping the entire high-energy universe.

“DR2 is the best inventory of the X-ray sky we have to date and opens the door to robust statistical studies of cosmic populations,” explained Miriam E. Ramos-Ceja, Ground Segment Manager of the eROSITA instrument and lead author of the DR2 publication.

High-Energy Universe Catalog Nearly Doubles Previous Sources

DR2 was built from the first three scans captured by the eROSITA telescope during the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) mission. According to a statement emailed to The Debrief, the new high-energy map combined data from multiple passes over the sky, significantly increasing the instrument’s survey depth.

After beginning its mission in December 2019, the observatory surveyed the entire sky every six months. This mission length increased the scans’ depth and sensitivity. The new DR2 includes data captured during the mission’s first 556 days. MPE scientists said the final catalog comprises three “full sky surveys.”

“By stacking these observations, the survey reaches significantly fainter fluxes than the first release, enabling the large increase in detected sources,” they explained. 

high-energy universe
The color image shows X-ray sources in the western galactic hemisphere of the X-ray sky. The Galactic plane lies horizontally through the center of the image. Sources in the eROSITA catalog are plotted with their red, green, and blue brightness showing their count rate in soft (0.5-1.0 keV), medium (0.5-1.0 keV), and hard (1.0-2.0 keV), respectively. The sky is plotted using an azimuthal equal-area projection (Image Credit: Jeremy Sanders / MPE).

The approach also revealed a large population of previously uncatalogued systems.

For example, the DR2 catalog includes nearly two million X-ray sources detected in the 0.2–2.3 keV band. The survey also revealed over 1.9 million “point-like sources.” The team said these detections are “primarily stars and actively accreting supermassive black holes.” The survey also added around 64,000 extended sources, including newly cataloged galaxy clusters, nearby galaxies, and supernova remnants.

The Full Diversity of the X-ray Sky

Along with the primary catalog, the new release includes a complementary “hard-band” catalog that includes 15,000 sources detected at higher energies (2.3–5.0 keV). The team said these detections revealed “heavily obscured and intrinsically energetic systems” that scans performed at ‘softer’ X-ray energies typically overlook.

“Together, these catalogues capture the full diversity of the X-ray sky, from nearby stellar coronae to distant supermassive black holes and massive galaxy clusters,” the team explained, adding that many of the cataloged objects are newly identified in X-rays, while others “can now be studied with substantially improved precision.”

Although more analysis is needed to accurately characterize every high-energy source discovered by the new survey, the team said the DR2 includes “multi-wavelength information” that associates the newly cataloged X-ray detections with their most likely optical and infrared counterparts.

“X-ray detection is only the first step,” explains Mara Salvato, eROSITA spokesperson and chair of the follow-up working group. “By linking X-ray sources to their counterparts at other wavelengths, we can work out what these objects are, where they sit on the cosmic distance ladder, and build clean, well-defined samples on an unprecedented scale.”

This data suggests that approximately 88% of the newly discovered sources come from outside the Milky Way Galaxy. The team said the new sources are “dominated by accreting supermassive black holes.” 

Data Suggests Unexpected Abundance of Rapidly Growing Black Holes

When discussing the significance of the new DR2 high-energy catalog, the team highlighted its coincidental release with the latest Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS).

“By combining SDSS spectroscopy with eROSITA’s X-ray data, researchers can build three-dimensional maps of active black holes across the sky, revealing how these rapidly growing objects are distributed and evolve across cosmic time,” they explained.

For example, combining eROSITA’s X-ray catalog with the SDSS spectroscopic and photometric redshift data has already resulted in what the team described as “one of the largest and most detailed studies of accreting supermassive black holes to date.” The researchers said these “elusive objects” formed surprisingly early in the history of the Universe, so capturing new data of their growth at high redshift is invaluable.

“The most luminous black holes at high redshift are like needles in a haystack,” explained the corresponding study’s lead author, William Roster. “Thanks to DR2 we found more needles than expected, suggesting that rapidly growing black holes were more abundant in the early Universe than previously thought” 

New World Record of X-ray Sources Won’t Be the Last

Due to a pre-existing agreement between the German and Russian eROSITA consortia, the new DR2 covers the western Galactic hemisphere. However, the researchers note, within this region of the sky, the new catalog “represents the largest and most homogeneous public X-ray dataset currently available.”

eROSITA Principal Investigator Andrea Merloni said the new dataset of unprecedented scale and completeness has been made available to the global astronomical community. MPE Director Kirpal Nandra agreed, adding that the MPE team hopes the most complete catalog of high-energy sources ever assembled will provide “a unique foundation for discoveries ranging from rare objects to large-scale population studies.”

“eROSITA just set another world record in terms of X-ray source numbers – and it won’t be the last,” Merloni concluded.

The eROSITA-DE DR2 catalogs, upper-flux-limit server, and full documentation are publicly accessible via the eROSITA-DE Science Data Archive.

Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and has spent the last six years as Associate News Editor and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him at christopher@thedebrief.org

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