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    Category Astronomy/Space

    The DESI legacy imaging survey releases the largest 2D map of the universe

    September 10, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument has released the largest 2D map of the Universe. Credit: NSF NOIRLab

    In 2012, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) was commissioned to measure the effect of dark energy, the mysterious force driving the expansion of the cosmos. Since then, the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys have obtained optical images of tens of millions of galaxies and quasars, including through NOIRLab’s Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO). In recent news, the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys team made its 11th data release (DR 11), constituting the largest-ever 2D map of the universe.

    The 5.6-trillion-pixel map contains nearly 4 billion celestial objects, including stars, galaxies, black holes and asteroids...

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    A Black Hole as light as 40 tons can exist inside a star if dark matter helps

    September 7, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    A black hole as light as 40 tons can exist inside a star if dark matter helps
    Schematic illustration of the competing processes governing the evolution of an endoparasitic black hole (EBH) inside a compact star. The EBH simultaneously accretes baryonic matter from the stellar medium (black arrows) and captured dark-matter particles (blue arrows), while losing mass through Hawking radiation (red arrows). The three panels illustrate the possible regimes: (a) accretion dominates and the EBH grows, (b) accretion and Hawking evaporation balance and the EBH remains at approximately constant mass, and (c) Hawking evaporation dominates and the EBH shrinks and ultimately evaporates. The relative number of arrows schematically represents the balance between the corresponding mass-flow rates. In case (b), EBH can have a mass as small as 40 metric tons. Credit: H. A. Adarsha
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    More than 120 molecular species found in giant cloud near Milky Way’s center

    September 4, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Astronomers have discovered a second interstellar cloud near the center of the Milky Way that is extraordinarily rich in complex molecules, including several molecules associated with prebiotic chemistry. The newly studied cloud, G+0.633-0.0604, or G+0.633, contains more than 120 identified molecular species and is the first confirmed chemical twin of another famous molecule-rich cloud. Their paper, posted to the arXiv preprint server on Aug. 14, outlines the chemistry of the newfound cloud.

    Under the right conditions
    Finding molecules in space isn’t new. So far, astronomers have found almost 350 different molecules in interstellar space...

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    Precision optics to make plant health visible from space

    September 3, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space, Biology/Biotechnology

    Precision Optics from Jena to Make Plant Health Visible from Space
    The fragile slits must be installed with high parallelism relative to one another. Credit: Fraunhofer IOF

    When the ESA Earth observation mission FLEX launches into space on September 15, 2026, as scheduled, it will carry high-precision optical components from Jena, Germany. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have developed and manufactured a silicon-based doubleslit assembly as well as two high-precision mirrors for the spectrometer on board the satellite. The spectrometer is designed to detect the fluorescence of plants excited by sunlight from Earth’s orbit. The data is expected to provide new insights into the photosynthetic activity, health, and stress levels of vegetation.

    The FLEX mission will address the question: How much...

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