Superheating

Letters to the editors for the March 2024 issue of Scientific American

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, also known as the devil comet, recently made its closest approach to Earth for more than 70 years. During this close encounter, astrophotographers spotted a seemingly impossible "anti-tail" coming off the comet thanks to an extremely rare optical illusion.

The inauguration of the world's most powerful fusion machine brings the dream of clean, safe and abundant power closer.

The experimental fusion reactor sustained temperatures of 212 million degrees Fahrenheit for a record-breaking 48 seconds.

The massive volcanic comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, which grows giant horns when it erupts, has exploded for a third time in five months as it continues to race toward the sun.

Scientists report seismic activity has increased regarding Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, which is known as one of the most active on the planet.

A Southwest Research Institute-led team has modeled the early impact history of Venus to explain how Earth's sister planet has maintained a youthful surface despite lacking plate tectonics. The team compared the early collision histories of the two bodies and determined that Venus likely experienced higher-speed, higher-energy impacts creating a superheated core that promoted extended volcanism and resurfaced the…

Magnetotactic bacteria, which can align with the Earth's magnetic field, have been discovered in a new location. Previously observed on land and in shallow water, analysis of a hydrothermal vent has proven that they can also survive deep under the ocean. The bacteria were able to exist in an environment that was not ideal for their typical needs. The research has been published in Frontiers in Microbiology.

Scientists have discovered a weird celestial object that's blurring the line between planet and star.

Found at the center of large, early galaxies, quasars are so luminous they can outshine the sun as much as 27 trillion times over.

On Thursday, superheated streams of gas, debris and rocks cascaded down its upper slope, indicating activity below the surface that could precede a hazardous eruption.

The Philippines is evacuating residents near Mayon Volcano as its increasing unrest indicated a violent eruption is possible in weeks or days. The area within 3.7 miles of Mayon's crater is supposed to be off-limits, but people have built houses and tended farms in Mayon's danger zone anyway. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said an evacuation of residents from the permanent danger zone was underway. The number of…

For a new study, a team of physicists recruited roughly 1,000 undergraduate students at the University of Colorado Boulder to help answer one of the most enduring questions about the sun: How does the star's outermost atmosphere, or "corona," get so hot?

Researchers at the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab have applied AI technology to the first image ever captured of a black hole to present a more clear image of how gas spirals into supermassive black holes.

As our solar activity increases, so could the likelihood of seeing flashes of purple and green colors in the night sky

This month's top five Pacific Northwest science stories from "All Science. No Fiction."

X flares on the sun are the most powerful explosions in the solar system. We're likely to see more of them as we approach solar maximum, due around 2025. The post What are X flares? Can they harm us? first appeared on EarthSky.

NASA's Fermi telescope detected the very first gamma-ray eclipses in a spider star system.

Using superheated steam in dishwashers could provide a more effective, environmentally friendly solution to cleaning dishes.

It could soon be possible to clear the oceans of microplastics thanks to a gel made from egg whites..