NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) found another crowded galaxy 25 million light-years distant. Researchers estimate GS-9209, the oldest known galaxy, developed 600 to 800 million years after the Big Bang. "The James Webb Space Telescope has already demonstrated that galaxies were growing larger and earlier than we ever suspected during the first billion years of cosmic history," stated lead researcher Dr. Adam Carnall of Edinburgh's School of Physics and Astronomy. The world's most costly telescope revealed GS-9209's characteristics for the first time. GS-9209, which formed as many stars as our Milky Way 800 million years after the Big Bang, is the first early galaxy to be studied in detail. The discovery of a huge black hole in this galaxy was a surprise and sup...

As locals and travelers enter Mississippi from Louisiana, they observe a massive Saturn V rocket, which was used to send the first man to the moon in 1969. As space-age thrill-seekers enter the INFINITY Science Center that houses the rocket, they will find an exhibit showcasing some of the most breathtaking high-resolution images of stars, galaxies, and planets captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. This exhibit represents the center's educational mission to bring science to the masses. "I would describe us as a one-stop shop for all things STEM," said the center's chief executive officer, Michelle Coleman Anderson. The Hubble Traveling Exhibit is a 2,200-square-foot traveling NASA exhibit featuring a scale model of the Hubble and artifacts from the satellite's history, as well ...

High-altitude balloons are under fire. In February, the US military shot down a Chinese spy balloon and a "unidentified aerial phenomenon" that was presumably a hobbyist balloon. In early May, another enormous balloon was spotted in the southern hemisphere, raising concerns it was a surveillance device. Instead, balloon-borne telescopes that view deep into space from the stratosphere are the future of astronomy. “We’re looking up, not down,” explains Princeton University physics professor William Jones, director of NASA’s Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) team. The roughly 10-foot-tall telescope, launched from Wānaka, New Zealand, on April 15, has circled the southern hemisphere four times on a football stadium-sized polyethylene balloon. Its three cameras capt...

According to a database of author connections, China contributed the most research articles to prominent science publications last year, surpassing the US. According to preliminary statistics given by Nature in a news story, China also overtook the US in Earth and environmental sciences in 2022, although it still behind in life sciences.The Nature Index measures contributions to 82 journals in chemistry, Earth and environmental sciences, biological sciences, and physical sciences. Cell, Nature, Science, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences are among its top peer-reviewed periodicals. Next month will get the whole 2022 dataset. Nature Index data shows that in 2022, nation overtook US. Since 2014, China has contributed more to the index, according to Nature. I...

Last week, astronomers anticipated a "da Vinci glow" around the May 19 new moon. Science for All examines what it is and why it is called after Renaissance artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci this week. Sunset brings the da Vinci light. When a crescent moon is on the horizon, the silhouette of the full moon can be seen shortly after the sun sets in a partially black sky. Earthshine is the glow from light reflected from the earth, not the sun. Earthshine makes moonlight 50 times brighter than full-moon light on Earth, according to NASA. NASA says the da Vinci light is visible on crescent moon days with clear sky. Earthshine is sunlight reflected by the earth and then by the moon before reaching our sight. Since it is reflected twice, it glows faintly. DaVinci shine. L...