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Credit: Andromeda Galaxy; Gettyimages

An amateur astronomer examining archival data processed by the Community Science & Data Center tipped off astronomers about a smudge of interest in an image he examined as part of an effort by the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory to search for dwarf galaxies. Astronomers following up on the tip conducted observations using the Gemini North Telescope at the International Gemini Observatory, part of the U.S. National Science Foundation NOIRLab program. The astronomers confirmed that the dwarf galaxy at the far edges of the Andromeda galaxy, known as Pegasus V, is likely a fossil of the earliest galaxies.

Credit: Gettyimages

Astronomers using the U.S. National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, or VLA, as well as other powerful telescopes have found the second known highly active, repeating fast radio burst, or FRB, raising more questions about the nature of these little-understood objects and the role they play in intergalactic space.

The object, in the outskirts of a dwarf galaxy nearly 3 billion light-years from Earth called FRB 190520, emits frequent, repeating bursts of radio waves. VLA observations found that the object also constantly emits weaker radio waves between its frequent bursts.

"These characteristics make this look a lot like the very first FRB whose position was determined -- also by the VLA -- back in 2016," said Casey Law, one of the authors of the paper. "Now we have two, and that brings up some important questions."

Credit: View over solar hills, Gettyimages

Engineers at Princeton University, supported by a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, have developed a new class of renewable solar energy technology. The team successfully manufactured a perovskite solar cell that can operate above industry standards for close to 30 years, a significant increase over the prior threshold of 20 years. The new technology is efficient and performs at the same level as silicon-based cells.

Perovskites, semiconductors that have a crystal structure compatible with solar cell technology, are less expensive and more sustainable to manufacture than silicon-based solar cells. While flexible and transparent, perovskites are fragile with a short lifespan. The new technology has increased longevity.

Credit: Gettyimages

July 17th, 1975 was a historic date for space missions. On this date, the U.S. spacecraft Apollo 18 and the Soviet Soyuz 19 met and docked in space. It was part of a mission trying to develop space rescue capabilities. The two spaceships opened a hatch and the commanders Thomas P. Stafford and Aleksei Leonov shook hands. The two crews exchanged gifts, thus honoring the first meeting of such kind. Although it was during the Cold War and the two superpowers were adversaries, they celebrated the achievement and were later congratulated by the United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim. The mission was praised as a token of cooperation and peace.

Credit: Cone of Mt Erabus, 3795 m, showing volcanic plume from Marble Point area, about 65 km away; Gettyimages

Antarctica has long been a land of mystery and heroic feats made famous by the explorations of James Ross and Roald Amundsen, Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton.

A key piece of the puzzle for understanding global continental evolution, Antarctica is home to examples that define the spectrum of Earth's volcanic processes. Now, a new study shows that carbon dioxide (CO2) deep underground helps magma avoid being trapped deep in the Earth and allows it to reach and pool at the surface.