Tech

When LIGO and Virgo detected GW231123 in late 2023, it appeared to show two black holes merging in the so-called mass gap, where theory predicted none should exist. But new simulations indicate that rapidly spinning, strongly magnetized massive stars can collapse into black holes without exploding entirely. This process sheds enough mass to leave behind black holes of...

A new isotopic study reveals that Theia—the Mars-sized body that struck Earth 4.5 billion years ago to form the Moon—likely originated in the inner Solar System, close to Earth’s birthplace. By comparing heavy-element isotope ratios in lunar rocks, Earth samples, and meteorites, researchers found identical signatures, showing both worlds formed from the same inn...

Webb’s mid-infrared images of Apep reveal a rare triple-star system producing vast carbon-rich dust spirals from colliding stellar winds. The two Wolf–Rayet stars and a distant supergiant create layered shells that record centuries of activity and enrich the galaxy with elements vital for future stars and planets.

NASA is preparing an unprecedented mission to save the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a key gamma-ray burst monitor launched in 2004 but now rapidly losing altitude. Partnering with Katalyst Space Technologies, NASA will send a robotic servicer on a Pegasus XL rocket to rendezvous with Swift, inspect it, and raise it to a stable orbit. The effort preserves vital GRB ...