New research from the University of St. Andrews has proposed that particles in solar flares are 6.5 times hotter than previously thought and provided an unexpected solution to a 50-year-old mystery about our nearest star. The research, published today in Astrophysical Journal Letters, looked at evidence of how flares heat solar plasma to greater than 10 million degrees. This solar plasma is made up of ions and electrons. The new research argues that solar flare ions, positively charged particles that make up half of the plasma, can reach over 60 million degrees. 

The Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute at Wits University has been awarded core funding of US$1 million by Google.org. Led by Professor Benjamin Rosman (TIME100 AI 2025 influencer), the Wits Mind Institute is home to some of Africa’s leading fundamental AI researchers, and this landmark investment will supercharge its research and drive next-generation breakthroughs in natural and artificial intelligence.

Along the coast, waves break with a familiar sound. The gentle swash of the surf on the seashore can lull us to sleep, while the pounding of storm surge warns us to seek shelter.

Yet these are but a sample of the sounds that come from the coast. Most of the acoustic energy from the surf is far too low in frequency for us to hear, traveling through the air as infrasound and through the ground as seismic waves. 

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have recently characterized these low-frequency signals to track breaking ocean waves. In a study published in Geophysical Journal International, they were able to identify the acoustic and seismic signatures of breaking waves and locate where along the coast the signals came from. The team hopes to develop this into a method for monitoring the sea conditions using acoustic and seismic data.

The rise in global mean sea level (GMSL) is a critical indicator of climate change. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) researchers have utilised advanced space geodetic technologies to deliver the first precise 30-year (1993-2022) record of global ocean mass change (also known as barystatic sea level), revealing its dominant role in driving GMSL rise. Their research further indicates that GMSL has been increasing at an average rate of approximately 3.3 mm per year with a notable acceleration observed, highlighting the growing severity of climate change. The research findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A new $1.39 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will upgrade Georgia State University’s CHARA Array, giving it the ability to observe stars across the full visible and near-infrared spectrum.

An international team led by Dr. Hila Glanz of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology has uncovered a new origin for hypervelocity white dwarfs — stellar remnants racing through space at more than 2000 km/s.

Using advanced 3D hydrodynamic simulations, the researchers showed that when two rare hybrid white dwarfs merge, the heavier star can undergo a double-detonation explosion. This blast ejects the surviving remnant of its companion at hypervelocity, fast enough to escape the Milky Way.

The findings, published in Nature Astronomy, explain both the extreme speeds and unusual properties of known hypervelocity white dwarfs, while also pointing to a new pathway for faint and peculiar Type Ia supernovae.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Technion, Universität Potsdam, and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, and has implications for future transient surveys and Gaia discoveries.