By combining ground-based direct imaging and radial velocity measurements with precise astrometric acceleration data from the Gaia space telescope, astronomers have discovered a brown dwarf companion orbiting a nearby red dwarf star about 55 light-years from Earth. The team accurately determined its mass (≈60 Jupiter masses) and orbital distance (≈4.3 AU) using Subaru’s Infrared Doppler instrument (IRD) under the IRD Strategic Program, Keck high-contrast imaging, and Gaia data. The object, classified as a late-T-type brown dwarf, shows roughly 30% variability in near-infrared brightness, offering a valuable benchmark for studying atmospheric clouds and circulation. This marks the first successful application of Gaia-only astrometric acceleration to precisely characterize a companion beyond Hipparcos’ detection limits.

Dust that grows inside glowing plasma may sound like science fiction, but Auburn physicists have shown it’s real—and controllable. Their new research reveals that weak magnetic fields can act like steering wheels for electrons, dramatically changing how tiny carbon nanoparticles form and grow. The findings open the door to new plasma-based methods for building advanced nanomaterials, while also offering clues to how cosmic dust evolves in space.

Farmers handle a wide range of responsibilities to keep operations running — and a routine but often overlooked duty is safely disposing of dead livestock. Left unattended, carcasses can spread disease and jeopardize entire herds or flocks.

Remarkable changes are taking place in Greenland these years, according to new research. The vast ice masses are warming and melting at an accelerating rate. At the same time, movements in the bedrock caused by the last ice age are reshaping the island. As a result, Greenland is increasingly subjected to twisting, pressure, and tension.

Scientists in China have developed a vertical integrated photonic chip that achieves high-throughput optical computing at 25 million frames per second. Leveraging mutually incoherent vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array and diffractive neural networks, the chip performs single-shot images processing with high energy efficiency and robustness. This breakthrough opens a pathway to next-generation free-space optical processors for real-time vision, AI acceleration, and low-power computing.

University of Texas at Dallas researchers are developing a material to protect spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO) from harsh environments that can damage vehicles in space, such as satellites, shortening their lifespans.

The research project is supported by a two-year, $1 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

A team led by a University of Maryland astronomer detected large complex organic molecules in ices outside of the Milky Way for the first time, offering a glimpse into the chemistry of the early universe.