Astronomers find water in the harsh environment near the Milky Way's black hole

 

Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, F. Peißker, J. Lu, F. Yusef-Zadeh, N. B. Sabha, C. Chin

Joel Kontinen

Astronomers detected dust and water surprisingly close to the Milky Way's central black hole, Sagittarius A*, offering a rare direct view of how evolved stars may behave in hostile settings. It is situated in the region around the star IRS 3 and  it is: 26,000 light-years from Earth.

This unprecedented view of the star IRS 3  shows that it is shedding an enormous amount of material, gas and dust to build a sprawling envelope around itself. Within that star's envelope, scientists detected traces of water.

Although astronomers have detected water near other stars before, this is the first time it's been found this close to the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, known as Sagittarius A*.

The observations, described Aug. 11 in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, show that even in the harsh conditions surrounding a galaxy's central region, aging stars like IRS 3 may still be quietly seeding their surroundings with dust. That challenges the assumption that galactic centers are too extreme for this process to happen at all.

"The detection of water is especially exciting because it shows that molecular material can survive in an environment dominated by intense radiation," study co-author Macarena Garcia Marin, a researcher at the European Space Agency, said..

Genesis, the book that explains the origin of the universe says that there is water everywhere in the galaxy, so it is not difficult to find water there.  

 Source:

Shreejaya Karantha 2026 Astronomers find water in the harsh environment near the Milky Way's black hole — Space photo of the week | Live Science 21 August 

Greenland meltwater is intensifying European heatwaves

 

Image courtesy of British Antarctic Survey/Alice Fremand/Cover Images

Joel Kontinen

The cooling of the North Atlantic is creating waviness in the jet stream and high-pressure ridging over Europe, a study finds.

Does the heat wave that is disturbing Europe have a say on Greenlands ice?  It may have caused extreme heat in western Europe and the Mediterranean, a study on climate models has revealed.

As Greenland ice loss accelerates, Europe may suffer more frequent and intense heatwaves than climate models currently predict.

This newly discovered “atmospheric bridge” played a major role in the unprecedented heatwaves this summer, according to Marilena Oltmanns at the UK’s National Oceanography Centre, who is one of the study’s authors.

Source:

Alec Luhn 2026 Greenland meltwater is intensifying European heatwaves | New Scientist 21 August

Astronomers discover a giant, rocky 'mega-Earth' 23 times more massive than our planet

 

Image courtesy of  NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC).

Joel Kontinen

Researchers have found a  giant mega-Earth that is 23 times more passive than Earth, It is build on rock.

Called GJ 523b, the exoplanet is about 2.5 times wider than Earth but packs roughly 23 times our planet's mass into that relatively compact size. Worlds this large and dense are sometimes referred to as "mega-Earths," an informal term for unusually massive, predominantly rocky planets. GJ 523b's high density suggests it contains relatively little atmosphere despite being large enough that astronomers would normally expect it to have accumulated a substantial gaseous envelope, according to a statement from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

"This isn't what we expected at all," Max Kroft, lead author of the study, said in the statement. "Dense planets like this aren't uncommon, but they're usually small rocky planets similar to Earth or Mercury. This planet is two and a half times bigger than the Earth."

The team calculated that GJ 523b has a mass about 23.5 times that of Earth, a radius 2.55 times larger and a density of about 126.82 grams per cubic inch. It circles its star every 17.75 days. Evolutionists claim that the planetary system is also relatively young, at an estimated nearly 170 million years old, according to the study.

That combination of size, mass and youth poses a puzzle for planet formation models. Planets begin by building cores of rock and metal, which can then pull in hydrogen and helium from the disk of gas and dust surrounding a young star. In our own solar system, giant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn are thought to have begun rapidly accumulating their massive gaseous envelopes once their growing cores reached roughly 20 times Earth's mass.

GJ 523b is already about 23 times Earth's mass, putting it beyond that threshold. Yet instead of developing into a gas-rich world, its unusually high density suggests it has relatively little gas and remains predominantly rocky — raising the question of why it followed such a different path.

According to evolutionists, one possibility is that GJ 523b initially formed with a thick atmosphere that was later stripped away. Another is that it formed through a collision between two planets, creating a larger rocky world while blasting much of their gaseous envelopes into space, according to the statement.

But that is speculating on Darwinist fables.

Source:

Samantha Mathewson 2026 Astronomers discover a giant, rocky 'mega-Earth' 23 times more massive than our planet | Space 19 August

 

Did humans evolve to be active throughout the day and night

 

Image courtesy of Lanet Earth/Shutterstock

Joel Kontinen

Evidence from hunter-gatherers suggests humans aren't diurnal but cathemeral throughout the day and night? with bouts of activity at nighttime – a sleep pattern similar to some lemurs.

Did early men also work  during the night? According to evolution, we have a shared ancestor, but humans are very different from lemurs.

Humans are generally considered diurnal, or mainly active during the day, but this may not be strictly accurate. Data from hunter-gatherers suggests they are fairly active at night, and don’t simply rest and sleep after the sun goes down.

This finding means that the human sleep pattern is closer to that of some lemur species, says David Samson at the University of T oronto in Canada, author of The Sleepless Ape. Instead of being primarily active in the day and restful at night, humans may be “cathemeral”, meaning they spread their activities throughout each 24-hour period. “The key point is that day and night activity are both regular parts of the behavioural repertoire,” says Samson.

 Source

 Michael Marsh 2026 Did humans evolve to be active throughout the day and night? | New Scientist 18 August 

Which building blocks of life have been found in space, and which haven't?

 

Image courtesy of Shutterstock/nobeastsofierce

Joel Kontinen

How many building blocks of life have we found in space so far?

First, it's important to define what we mean by the building blocks of life. Scientists are looking for molecules that look like those found in life on Earth, including proteins; RNA; and lipids, the fatty molecules that make up cell membranes.

The building block of life cannot form life as such, Much more is needed. They have to be put together with intelligent design. 

 The asteroid Bennu, brought back to Earth in 2023, contained all five nucleobases of DNA and RNA, along with 14 of the 20 amino acids used by living organisms. Its sibling asteroid Ryugu also yielded all five nucleobases, including uracil, which is found in RNA.

Astronomers categorize the molecules ca they find by complexity, starting with a broad group called "complex organic molecules" (COM). These are carbon-containing molecules with six or more atoms. Of the 350 molecules of any kind discovered in space so far, "about 180 of them qualify as COMs," Sergio Ioppolo, an astrochemist and an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Aarhus University in Denmark, said. "That cutoff is an operational convention rather than a fundamental definition of complexity."

Some of the richest hunting grounds for these molecules are in molecular clouds ‪— interstellar regions of gas and dust that are dense enough for molecules to form. Using radio astronomy, Izaskun Jiménez-Serra, an astrochemist and staff researcher at the Center for Astrobiology in Spain, and her team have detected more than a dozen prebiotic molecules in molecular clouds at the center of the Milky Way, including the four-carbon sugar erythrulose   

They have also found a true sugar in space.

Source:

Ashley Hamer Pritchard  Edited by Laura Geggel, Laura Mondragón 2026 Which building blocks of life have been found in space, and which haven't? | Live Science 16 August

 

 

Monsoon-driven wildfires may have shaped human evolution

 

Image courtesy of Famartin, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Joel Kontinen

A reconstruction of East Africa's environment 1.75 million years ago suggests wildfires spiked during wetter times, which may have influenced human evolution. 

Wet climatic spells didn’t quench wildfires in East Africa’s Turkana basin 1.75 million years ago. Instead, they fuelled them. That’s what chemical traces from ancient plants in the region seem to suggest, and this pattern could have shaped our hominin ancestors’ evolution, including the use of fire and tools.

Rich in hominin fossils and archaeological finds, the Turkana basin – sometimes dubbed the Cradle of Humankind – has long been considered important for understanding the lives of our early ancestors. These include Homo erectus, a species that appeared about 2 million years ago and that is regarded as one of our earliest recognisably human ancestor, 

According to Darwinists, climate has been an influenced in human evolution,  This is against that what Genesis says about how we got here. We were created in God’s image without any evolution.

Source:

James Urquhat 2026 Monsoon-driven wildfires may have shaped human evolution | New Scientist14 August

Three black holes discovered in a young galaxy for the first time

 

Image courtesy of Hannah Übler

Joel Kontinen

This study throws a shadow on the big bang as massive black holes could not rise so soon after the big bang,

“This system is in the very, very early universe,” says Dougal Dobie at the University of Sydney, who wasn’t involved in the discovery. “So, how have we ended up in a situation where these three supermassive black holes have formed and come close together in only a billion years or so since the big bang?”

An analysis revealed two separate regions of high-velocity hydrogen gas in the centre of the galaxy, indicating two so-called accreting black holes that were separated by about 620 light years – a hop, skip and a jump in cosmic terms.

An accreting black hole is a super dense area of space, so compressed that light can’t escape, but that continuously drags in surrounding gas, dust and even stars. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, has just one massive black hole at the core of its spiral arms.

Source:

James Woodford 2026 Three black holes discovered in a young galaxy for the first time | New Scientist12 August

Earth extremophile can grow in near-Mars-like conditions

 

A view of Mars’s surface captured by the Perseverance rover. Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSS​S

Joel Kontinen

A salt-loving microorganism found in places like the Dead Sea can not just survive but actively grow in conditions close to those that may be found just under the Martian surface

Was there life on Mars? Some Darwinist suppose that there  was live in the past and some think that there might still be live there.  

 A study here on Earth has made that idea more plausible by showing that salt-loving, or halophilic, microbes can grow in conditions close to those that might be found in little pockets of highly salty water just below the surface of Mars.

“We show that these halophilic microorganisms can actively grow under a combination of anoxic [oxygen-free], low-pressure atmosphere conditions and a high-salt liquid media that contains harmful Martian chemicals that are similar to bleach, which are the perchlorates,” says Adam Robinson at the University of Florida. “And image courtesy that’s something that nobody had been able to show before.”

We have found tantalising hints that not only was there once life on Mars, but that it might still exist on the Red Planet. Now, a study here on Earth has made that idea more plausible by showing that salt-loving, or halophilic, microbes can grow in conditions close to those that might be found in little

The type of life we have seen about the Red Sea gives the researchers live on Mars.

Source:

 Michael Le Page  2026 Earth extremophile can grow in near-Mars-like conditions | New Scientist 10 August

Postbiotic supplement boosts body’s own GLP-1 and weight loss

 

Image courtesy of S Kunkel Microscopy/Science Photo Library

Joel Kontinen

A small trial suggests a supplement containing dead bacteria could offer a cheaper alternative to weight-loss drugs such as semaglutide, but further evidence is needed.

A postbiotic supplement is the answer to weight loss, as lactobacillus plantarum bacteria is found in fermented foods.  

According to a new study, boosting the levels of GLP-1 hormone in the body, according to a small trial. The findings suggest it could provide a cheaper, more convenient alternative to drugs like semaglutide – or help to maintain weight loss after stopping these medications.

GLP-1 drugs, which mimic an appetite-suppressing hormone made by the intestine, are widely used for weight loss. But about half of people who take them for this purpose in the US stop within a year due to high costs, drug shortages and side effects such as nausea, vomiting and stomach pain.

 Source:

 Carissa Wong 2026 Postbiotic supplement boosts body's own GLP-1 and weight loss | New Scientist 7 August

Ancient Egyptians may have built a massive dam near the Red Pyramid

 

The Red Pyramid in Dahshur, Egypt. Image courtesy of Reinhard Dirscherl / Alam y.

Joel Kontinen

The Egyptians build the pyramids, we might also say that they build a major dam. It is situated neart the Red Pyramid. According to evolutionists ancient people could not achieve so great feats.

Two large structures near the Red Pyramid in Egypt may be the remnants of an ancient dam, which would be one of the oldest major dams ever built. The work suggests a level of technical sophistication and that wasn’t previously expected of the engineers of the earliest pyramids. 

To further investigate the structures, Xavier Landreau at Paleotechnic, a private research institute in France, and his colleagues used satellite imagery, historical maps, topographical modelling and watershed analysis. Their results clearly outlined the features and how they fit the surrounding landscape, showing they each measured around 600 to 700 metres long, 15 to 30 m wide and 6 or 7 m tall, and are separated by about 200 m. Their arrangement within the downward sloping valley seems to suggest they are remnants of a large and ancient dam. 

“They would probably not have looked like modern concrete dams,” says Landreau. “They were more likely very broad embankments made of earth, marl, rubble and stone, possibly with stone protection on surfaces exposed to flowing water.”

Source:

Taylor Mitchell Brown 2026 Ancient Egyptians may have built a massive dam near the Red Pyramid | New Scientist 5 August 

  

Where to watch the next total solar eclipse anywhere in the world

 

Image courtesy of Red Bluff, CC BY-SA 3.0

Joel Kontinen

Have you ever seen an eclipse of the sun? Now, in many parts of the world, you can see an eclipse, for instance in Europe.

The total solar eclipse on 12 August will only be visible to a lucky few, but eclipses happen all over the world – here are the next ones to look out for, wherever you may be.

On 12 August, a total solar eclipse will sweep a narrow path across parts of Europe and the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Such an eclipse happens somewhere on Earth about once every 18 months as the moon and the sun line up just right so that the moon blocks out the entirety of the sun’s disc, darkening the sky and revealing the outermost layers of the sun that are usually hidden by the glare of its brighter surface. 

For the most part, this August’s total eclipse will only be visible from the ocean and relatively remote areas of land: northern Russia, Greenland, the ocean, and then more inhabited regions as it passes through Iceland and Spain. A broader swathe will see a partial eclipse, but views of the total eclipse’s grandeur will be limited. If you aren’t able to spot this one, though, there will be other chances.

Source:

Leah Crane 2026 Where to watch the next total solar eclipse anywhere in the world | New Scientist 31 July

Strange three-lobed asteroid seems to have its own tiny moon

 

The asteroid 44 Nysa, centre, and its tiny moon, marked with an arrow, Image courtesy of Kate Minker.

Joel Kontinen

Space is wonderful. Ever hard of an asteroid that has its tiny moon? the asteroid is called Nysa  It is  75 kilometres across with a tiny moon just a kilometre across.

Astronomers have spotted one of the strangest-looking asteroids we have ever seen. The space rock, called 44 Nysa, was discovered in 1857, but it wasn’t until now that we had the observational capability to figure out its shape – and its shape is weird.

An E-type asteroid, which is a relatively rare type rich in a mineral called enstatite, 44 Nysa circles the sun in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It is the brightest E-type asteroid we know of and one of the largest, with an average diameter of about 75 kilometres, which makes it a tempting observational target.

Source:  

 Leah Crane 2026 Strange three-lobed asteroid seems to have its own tiny moon | New Scientist 29 July