Astronomers Detect a Mysterious Giant and “Hidden Substructures” Lurking in the Haze Around a Young Star
Shrouded by a swirl of gas and dust, a gas giant, roughly three to ten times the size of Jupiter, was found in a new exoplanet discovery.
Ryan Whalen
Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.
New Simulations Reveal Dozens of Hidden Galaxies Orbiting the Milky Way
There may be many more satellite galaxies in the Milky Way than have been observed, according to new Durham University simulations.
A Forgotten Martian Landscape May Hold the Key to Ancient Water on the Red Planet
New evidence for past water on Mars was revealed in research identifying over 15,000 kilometers of dry riverbeds on the Martian surface.
Have Astronomers Found Signs of Life in Venus’s Atmosphere? UK-led VERVE Mission Aims to Investigate
The VERVE mission seeks to investigate the presence of bacterial life floating in the heavy cloud cover on Venus up close.
Scientists Are Engineering “Moon Rice” for Space Missions That Could Also Feed Earth’s Harshest Habitats
Moon habitation and missions to Mars face resupply challenges, which the Italian Moon-Rice project aims to solve with a bioengineered crop.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Just Solved a Key Mystery Behind the Sun’s Superheated Corona
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has collected data that evidences the theoretical “helicity barrier,” where turbulent dissipation behaves strangely.
“Can They Really Do That?” Discovery of New Light-Sensitive “Cryorhodopsin” Proteins Could Revolutionize Neuroscience
A protein called cryorhodopsin, a molecule found in the coldest environments on Earth, may hold the key to manipulating human brain activity.
‘CosmoCube’ Spacecraft Plans to Listen for Whispers from the Cosmic Dark Ages on the Far Side of the Moon
A proposed satellite mission aims to orbit the far side of the Moon to detect faint radio signals from the universe’s cosmic Dark Ages.
“Something Unknown Is at Work” Behind NASA’s DART Planetary Defense Mission—and Astronomers Are Worried
Planetary defense scientists say NASA’s DART asteroid redirection mission sent space rocks hurtling on unexpected trajectories.
“E-MERLIN is Showing What’s Possible”: UK Telescope Array Captures a Rare Look at Protoplanetary “Pebbles”
New observations from England’s e-MERLIN interferometer telescope array display cosmic pebbles that will one day grow into entire exoplanets.
Theoretical “Dark Dwarfs” Lurking Near the Galactic Center Could Help Reveal Dark Matter’s Secrets
Dark dwarfs, stars composed of dark matter, may be the optimal objects in which to finally discover physical dark matter in the real world.
NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Begins Its Groundbreaking Mission to Share All-Sky Mapping Data with the Public
NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope has settled into low-Earth orbit, providing a wellspring of publicly available space data.
Discovery of Wooden Pleistocene Tools Demonstrates Earliest Recorded Complex Technology in East Asia
Pleistocene tools uncovered from the Gantangqing site in China are the oldest complex wooden technology ever discovered in East Asia.
Groundbreaking New AI Trained on Psychology Studies Can Predict Human Behavior with Stunning Accuracy
The new Centaur artificial intelligence (AI) demonstrates an ability to predict human behavior, with an accuracy exceeding any other model.
“There is a Warning Here”: Permian-Triassic Extinction Reveals the Devastation of a Climate Tipping Point
An ancient climate tipping point is revealed in new fossils dating back to Earth’s most severe extinction event, called the “Great Dying.”
Researchers Have Cracked the 4,500-Year-Old Genome of a Mummy From Egypt’s First Pyramid Age
An Egyptian genome has finally been unraveled, thanks to a sample from an at least 4,500 year-old mummy dating back to the pyramids.
“I Literally Screamed with Joy”: In a Rare Stellar Discovery, Kilonova Project Citizen Scientists Have Made a Breakthrough
Citizen scientists working with the Kilonova Project made their first confirmed discovery of a rare exploding star, enabling rapid follow-up observations by astronomers.
Is Cosmic Expansion Losing Steam? Scientists Say Dark Energy’s Grip May Be Weakening
Scientists say the dark energy in our universe may be losing its power over time, leading to a slowdown in universal expansion.
A Mysterious Eruption Caused an Extreme Climate Event in 1831. Now Scientists Have Traced It to a Former Secret Soviet Island Base
In 1831, a mystery eruption occurred, causing a 1°C drop in global temperatures only recently identified in a paper by scientists.
Controversial ‘Synthetic Human Genome Project’ Spurs Debate Over Ethics of Building Human DNA from Scratch
The Synthetic Human Genome Project is working to build synthetic human DNA but who is asking how this science will impact society?
NASA’s Mars Orbiter Debuts Rolling Maneuvers, Proving You Can Teach an Old Spacecraft New Tricks
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is still doing fresh things, even after close to two decades of service, shown by a new roll maneuver.
Honda Enters the Space Race as New Challenger to SpaceX With Its Successful Reusable Rocket Test
Japan’s Honda is giving American SpaceX new competition in the reusable rocket field with its recent successful test on June 17 in Hokkaido.
Rethinking the Search for Extraterrestrial Life: Scientists Urge Broader Search as Exoplanet Discoveries Multiply
New research says that the search for extraterrestrial life may be too narrow, as life could thrive in conditions far different from Earth's.
4.16-Billion-Year-Old Rocks Offer Scientists a Rare Glimpse of Earth’s Earliest Years
Rocks dating back to the Earth’s Hadean Eon have finally had their antiquity confirmed as stretching back at least 4.16 billion years.
Archaeologists Throw Cold Water on Media Claims of Neolithic Irish God-Kings
Reports of Neolithic Irish god-kings are lacking in evidence, say researchers questioning earlier assertions.
Is Earth Forming a New Ocean? Scientists Report Odd Pulses Coming From Deep Below the African Continent
Tectonic pulses beneath Africa are splitting the continent apart to produce a new ocean, according to University of Southampton scientists.
“You Need H2O and Not Just for Drinking”: Research Suggests an Icy Location for First Crewed Mars Landing
With crewed missions to the Red Planet becoming a realistic possibility for the 2030s, researchers have begun the search for an ideal Mars landing site.
Construction on Mars: NASA Suggests a Synthetic Lichen to Autonomously Convert Regolith into Building Material
On a future crewed Mars mission, explorers may grow their own building materials directly on the Red Planet.
In the Search for Alien Signals, the SETI Institute is Partnering with SpaceX to Mitigate Satellite Interference
Starlink satellites can interfere with the signals the SETI monitors, but a new collaboration aims to halt the potential contamination.
NASA Study Links Earth’s Magnetic Field to Atmospheric Oxygen Over 540 Million Years
New NASA research demonstrates that 540 million years of Earth’s magnetic field changes have corresponded to surface habitability.
ESA Launches Plans for Triple-Spacecraft Mission Using Laser Antenna to “Surf Gravitational Waves”
The European Space Agency’s Laser Interferometer Antenna will be the first space-based observatory designed to study gravitational waves.
Astronomers Say This Ancient Radio Signal Could Reveal New Clues About Mysterious “Cosmic Dawn”
An ancient radio signal generated a soon after the Big Bang, may be the key to understanding the Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionization.
X-Ray Telescopes Reveal 23-Million-Light-Year Filament That May Help Solve “Missing Matter” Mystery
A potential solution to the decades-long “missing matter” problem has been uncovered in astronomers' recent analysis of X-ray data.
The Sculptor Galaxy is Detailed in Unprecedented Imagery Combining Over 100 Telescope Observations
The entire Sculptor Galaxy is displayed in thousands of colors observed by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope.
“Crazy Experiment” Yields Mice With Human Cells in Multiple Organs
Human-mouse chimeras have been created in recent American research, producing mouse intestines, livers, and even brains with human cells.
Caltech’s DSA-110 Radio Telescope Helps Team Solve Longstanding Mystery of Universe’s Missing Matter
Fast Radio Bursts finally help determine where the “missing” half of the universe’s expected matter resides in new research.
“We Have Finally Found the Last Piece of the Puzzle”: Scientists Solve a Long-Standing Seismic Mystery
Almost 3,000 kilometers underground, a seismic mystery has been solved as earthquake waves anomalous behavior is finally explained.
Scientists Discover a New Type of Magnetism That Could Improve Computer Memory by “Orders of Magnitude”
The discovery of a new form of magnetism is a significant step toward “spintronic” memory chips, which could improve computing efficiency.
NASA’s Powerful New EMIT Instrument Can Detect Wastewater Leaks from Space
NASA’s EMIT instrument successfully performed analysis detecting wastewater leaks on Earth from aboard the International Space Station.
James Webb Space Telescope Captures Odd Silicate Clouds and a Rare Moon-Forming Disk
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured high-resolution information on two young exoplanets, providing astrophysicists with fresh details about exoplanet atmospheres and formation.
Paleontologists Discover “Prince of Dragons,” the Closest Known Ancestor of Tyrannosaurus
Paleontologists have identified Khankhuuluu as the closest known ancestor of T. rex, shedding new light on Tyrannosaur evolution and migration.
U.S. Naval Research Lab Tracked a Solar Eruption That Sent a Shockwave Toward Earth, Threatening Power and Satellites
The potential effects of space weather were highlighted when a coronal mass ejection resulted in a weather alert covering our entire planet.
Astronomers Have Spotted a Giant Exoplanet Forming in Distant Star System
A newly formed planet may have been discovered by astronomers after identifying what seems to be a gas giant in a planet-forming disk's gap.
Look What NASA’s Mars Odyssey Orbiter Just Spotted Peeking Through an Odd Martian Cloud Formation
A Martian volcano, Arsia Mons, rises above the clouds in a newly released panoramic image captured by the Mars Odyssey orbiter.
Magnetic Explosion Driving Space Weather Captured by NASA’s Parker Space Probe
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe detected a powerful magnetic explosion providing new data on magnetic reconnection, important to space weather.
A Puzzling Seismic Pulse Has Been Traced to Secret Tsunamis in the Arctic Fjord
In September 2023, a seismic mystery began when an unusual seismic signal repeated every 90 seconds, creating a perplexing riddle until now.
Researchers Reveal the Surprising Reason Ancient Humans May Have Engaged in Early Fire Use
New findings suggest ancient humans in the Near East used fire to smoke meat, rather than cook it, preserving and protecting it from animals.
A Rare ‘Super-Earth’ Has Been Identified by Astronomers Using This Breakthrough Exoplanet Detection Method
Chinese and German scientists have utilized the Transit Timing Variation technique to locate an exoplanet super-Earth for the first time.
Astronomers Pinpoint Starburst Origins of Early Galaxies, Settling a Stellar Formation Debate
Astrophysicists have just discovered when a particular class of galaxies, Lyman Alpha Emitters, experienced their first major star formation.
“It Was a Crazy Idea”: James Webb Space Telescope Confirms Dramatic Phenomenon On Pluto
James Webb Space Telescope observations suggest Pluto’s atmosphere is unlike any other in the solar system, confirming a 2017 hypothesis.