In a Stunning First, Scientists Have Watched a Star Survive a Black Hole Encounter
For the first time, astronomers have confirmed a star’s survival following a tidal disruption event with a supermassive black hole.
Micah Hanks
Micah Hanks is creator, co-founder, and Editor-in-Chief of The Debrief. He covers science, defense, and technology in his writing and podcasts, and you can find him at micahhanks.com and on X @MicahHanks.
Satellite Images Reveal Strange Circles, Smiley Faces, and Other Seasonal Curiosities on the Greenland Ice Sheet
With the arrival of summer, the Greenland Ice Sheet has adopted its ‘summer look,’ revealing a few odd shapes and other curiosities.
INVICTUS: ESA’s Bold Hypersonic Initiative Aims to Revolutionize High-Speed Flight with Next-Gen Propulsion Tech
The ESA's INVICTUS initiative has entered the race to develop potentially revolutionary reusable hypersonic flight technology.
Evolution Keeps Producing Anteaters, and New Research Finally Reveals the Strange Reason Why
New research has revealed the evolutionary reason anteaters have evolved at least a dozen times since the time of the dinosaurs.
Astronomers Spot Strange Activity Over Jupiter’s North Pole That Could Lead to a Paradigm Shift in Plasma Physics
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has detected an unusual new variety of plasma phenomenon occurring over Jupiter's north pole.
30,000-Acre ‘Gothic Fire’ Scorches Military Training Range Near Nevada’s Secretive Area 51
A massive wildfire raging near Area 51 continues to burn its way across the Nevada Test and Training Range, according to federal officials.
How Soon Will We See Nuclear Fusion? New Indicators Suggest It May Be Sooner Than We Think.
This week, momentum is building around nuclear fusion, as tech investment and breakthroughs suggest it may arrive sooner than many experts are anticipating.
A Lake Vanished Without a Trace in Remote Quebec—Can Satellite Data Solve the Mystery?
In early May 2025, an entire lake vanished without a trace in remote Quebec. Now satellite imagery may offer clues to what happened.
Scientists Link Cataclysmic Volcanic Eruptions to Mysterious Continent-Sized ‘BLOBS’ Deep Within the Earth
New research traces the origins of Earth’s most powerful volcanic eruptions to mysterious continent-sized structures deep within our planet.
“There is Something Very Different Going on Here”: Archaeologists Keep Finding Gigantic Shoes at This 2000-Year-Old Roman Site
Recent excavations at an ancient Roman site in England have unearthed gigantic shoes that may be among the largest ever found.
“What Else is Out There?” New Study Reveals Everything We Currently Know About Mysterious Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS
New research has revealed everything astronomers currently know about the mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS.
An Unknown ‘Fifth Force’ May Explain a Baffling Physics Mystery—These Researchers Have a Bold New Plan to Uncover It
Physicists at ETH Zurich in Switzerland have a novel plan to uncover an unknown fifth force of nature long theorized to exist.
“Save NASA”: Scientists Protest Deep Cuts to Agency’s Science Programs
In our analysis this week, we look at how NASA's proposed budget would slash the agency's science division by nearly 50%.
Scientists Map 37,000 Years of Human Infectious Disease in Landmark Effort to “Help Us Prepare For the Future”
New landmark research has successfully mapped 37,000 years of infectious disease across ancient human populations.
Forgotten for Nearly a Century, a ‘Lost’ Fusion Breakthrough Has Been Unearthed—and Physicists Just Recreated It
A forgotten fusion experiment from 1938 has been unearthed, revealing a lost discovery that seeded a key concept in modern nuclear physics.
Resurrecting the Moa: A New Deextinction Initiative Blends Māori Wisdom with Cutting-Edge Genomics to Revive a Lost Giant
A groundbreaking new collaboration is working to resurrect one of New Zealand’s most enigmatic lost species, the South Island Giant Moa.
Look: Stunning First Images from Vera C. Rubin Observatory Reveal the Cosmos Like Nothing You’ve Ever Seen
The widely anticipated first images collected by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have been released, offering nothing short of an awe-inspiring view of the cosmos.
Did a Mystery Object Just Hit Saturn? Astronomers Investigating Strange Flash Issue Urgent Call for Images
Astronomers are calling for images of Saturn captured over the weekend that may help document a rare impact event with a mystery object.
Scientists Are Tracking an Undersea Phenomenon Off Japan’s Tsunami-Prone Coast Linked to “Silent” Earthquakes
In a scientific first, researchers have tracked the elusive motion of a rare variety of earthquake during a seismic event along a major fault zone on the ocean floor.
NASA Reveals New Images of Oddly Shaped Asteroid ‘Donaldjohanson’ Captured by Lucy Spacecraft
NASA has released new detailed images revealing a full-frame view of the peculiarly shaped asteroid Donaldjohanson.
NASA Confirms Arrival of New Interstellar Object in Our Solar System: Here’s What We Know
This week, a new object from interstellar space has entered our solar system, as recently confirmed by NASA.
James Webb Space Telescope Discovers Peculiar Cosmic ‘Jellyfish’ in Rare Galactic Observation
The most distant known example of what astronomers call a “jellyfish galaxy” has been spotted by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.
Look: NASA Satellite Images Reveal Mysterious Blast Site of 1908 Tunguska Event that Scorched Remote Siberia
The mysterious blast site of the Tunguska Event of 1908 is revealed in satellite images obtained by NASA’s Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8.
James Webb Space Telescope Trains Its Sights on the ‘Bullet Cluster,’ Revealing a Stunning View of Galaxies in Collision
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured high-resolution images of the Bullet Cluster, revealing its complex dynamics.
A Mysterious Radio Signal from Space Was Traced to an Unexpected Source—and It’s Something Within Our Own Galaxy
An object astronomers initially thought to be a high-speed burst of radio waves from deep space last year has been revealed to be something else entirely.
U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Long Range Radar Achieves Milestone in Live ICBM Tracking Test
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Long Range Discrimination Radar aims to serve as the backbone of the current Golden Dome initiative for protecting America.
James Webb Space Telescope Captures First Direct Image of Mysterious Alien Exoplanet Lurking in Dusty Debris Disk
In a groundbreaking first, the James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first direct image of a distant exoplanet unrecognized from past astronomical surveys.
Tensions Escalate as Israel Strikes Iran; U.S. and Europe Seek to Contain Conflict
Israel and Iran enter their second week of hostilities as world leaders push for de-escalation, and the U.S. weighs its next moves.
Scientists Are Tracking Mysterious ‘Transient Luminous Events’ from Space Using This Innovative Tech
Scientists are using instruments on the International Space Station to shed light on the mysterious appearances of transient luminous events.
Engineering Artificial Eclipses, the ESA’s Proba-3 Mission Catches First High-Res Images of the Sun’s Mysterious Corona
The first images from the ESA's Proba-3 mission have captured the Sun's mysterious corona by creating artificial eclipses in space.
James Webb Space Telescope Has Spotted Something “Abnormal, Chaotic, and Strange” 60 Light-Years from Earth
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has spotted an “abnormal, chaotic, and strange" planetary system 60 light-years from Earth.
U.S. Army Secretary Refers to Astronaut “On the Moon Who’s a Soldier,” Igniting Secret Space Program Conspiracies
An odd statement by U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll this week ignited speculations about secretive U.S. military operations on the Moon.
Scientists Tracking Elusive Plasma ‘Blobs’ and ‘Voids’ Unravel a Longstanding Fusion Energy Mystery
New research involving plasma blobs and voids within tokamaks could soon solve a longstanding mystery in nuclear fusion research.
“We Are Past the Event Horizon”: Controversial AI Visionary Says the Singularity is Here, and It’s Not What We Expected
AI may have crossed a technological threshold popularly known as “Singularity,” according to one expert who says we have surpassed the point where machines exceed human capabilities.
Eyes in the Sky, Boots on the Ground: Surveillance and Military Force Meet U.S. Immigration Protests
This week, tensions continue to rise in American cities like Los Angeles following the deployment of National Guard troops in response to U.S. immigration protests.
SETI Researchers Report Potential Discovery of ‘Communication’ by Non-Human Intelligence in Earth’s Oceans
For the first time, scientists have documented a unique behavior in the animal kingdom that provides new insights into non-human intelligence and potential clues in the search for intelligent life from other worlds.
Tech Firm Palantir’s Government Work on Data Collection Sparks New Privacy Fears
Tech industry experts are sounding alarms about efforts to compile data on American citizens, as tech company Palantir’s involvement in government work expands.
7,000 Years Ago, a 1,200-Ton Boulder Was Dropped on a Pacific Island—Now Scientists Know How It Got There
Researchers have discovered a massive 1,200-ton out-of-place boulder that mysteriously made its way onto the island of Tonga long ago.
“It Seems Like Science Fiction”: Researchers Unleash Breakthrough Tracking Technology Using Environmental DNA
Scientists have revealed a novel means of tracking everything from wildlife to the presence of illicit substances using DNA that is readily detectable in the environment.
Hypersonic Flight and AI Dogfights: U.S. Defense Startups Set to Redefine Air Power
This week, new developments in autonomous and high-speed aviation are signaling a dramatic shift in the future of military airpower.
Scientists Have Made a Dark Discovery About Earth’s Oceans—Experts Call It a “Genuine Cause for Concern”
Scientists say Earth’s oceans are slowly getting darker, according to new findings that reveal a concerning trend affecting our planet.
James Webb Space Telescope Time Travels to Spot an Ancient “Mega-Monster,” Revealing a Cosmic Oddity
Stunning new deep-field imagery captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveals one of the universe's most distant galaxies.
Scientists Are Decoding a Mysterious Form of Writing From the Ancient Inca Empire—Here’s What It Reveals
Researchers studying an ancient form of string-writing used in pre-Columbian South America have unraveled new clues to a longstanding mystery.
Emergency Drill Reveals U.S. Government’s “Cosmic Blindspot” with Sobering Vulnerabilities to Solar Storms
A new report on the U.S.'s readiness in the face of threats from space has revealed concerns about our vulnerability to major solar storms.
Look: NASA’s Perseverance Rover Catches Rare Glimpse of a Mystery in the Martian Skies
NASA’s Perseverance rover has captured new images of a mystery gleaming in the Martian skies as dawn approached over the Red Planet earlier this year.
14,000 Years Ago, a Mysterious Solar Event “500 Times More Intense” Than Any Previously Known Bombarded Earth—Could it Happen Again?
New findings suggest that a mysterious solar event roughly 500 times more powerful than any recorded by scientists struck the Earth near the end of the last Ice Age.
The Hunt for “Planet X”: Is a Secret “Super-Earth” Lurking in Our Solar System?
This week, an old astronomical controversy is renewed as researchers present new evidence for a hidden "Planet X" in our solar system.
James Webb Space Telescope Confirms Major Discovery of Water Ice in Alien Planetary System for the First Time
The James Webb Space Telescope has confirmed the presence of water ice in a planetary system beyond our own for the first time.
“This Has Left Us Scratching Our Heads.” NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Spots Unexpected Light Activity on Jupiter
Stunning auroral activity has been observed on Jupiter, in an unexpected new discovery that has perplexed astronomers as to how it happens.
The Website of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Has Been Missing in Action for Days
The official website of the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) appears to have been taken down over the weekend.