Watch: Orcas ram into fish so hard they explode - BBC

SN 2018zd matched six predicted signatures of an electron-capture supernova in a 2021 study, making it a leading candidate. Electron capture can remove pressure supporting a stellar core, triggering collapse in a narrow range of stellar masses. Competing interpretations and later Webb observations leave both SN 2018zd’s mechanism and the Crab Nebula’s origin unresolved. An unusual supernova reveals a possible third way stars explodeA fading star in a nearby galaxy offered astronomers an unusually complete set of clues about a long-predicted stellar death. Its surroundings, changing brightness and chemical signatures pointed toward an electron-capture supernova, an explosion triggered when a stellar core loses part of its internal support. The finding also raised hopes of explaining the explosion that created the Crab Nebula in 1054. However, subsequent research has complicated that connection. Both objects remain valuable tests of stellar physics, rather than settled examples of one explosion mechanism. The host galaxy and post- and pre-explosion images of SN 2018zd.

Mud from a fjord shows an Atlantic air pattern brought wetter, colder spells to southern Greenland, a clue to how its ice may fare. Greenland’s ice is shrinking as the planet warms. But in the island’s southwest, rainfall and snowfall have been influenced by the same North Atlantic air-pressure pattern for at least 5,000 years. When that pattern tipped one way, the region turned wetter and colder. The record comes from mud on the floor of a Greenland fjord, and it suggests snowfall, not only temperature, shaped how the area’s ice grew and shrank. It doesn’t yet show how glaciers there will respond to the warming ahead. Johan Faust, a researcher at MARUM, the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen in Germany, led the work with colleagues in Germany, Norway, Denmark and Canada. A seesaw in the airThe pattern is called the North Atlantic Oscillation. It’s the difference in air pressure between a low that sits near Iceland and a high near the Azores, and it’s strongest in winter. When that difference is large, the pattern is in its positive phase. Northwestern Europe and southwestern Greenland both get more rain and snow.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher Isaiah Santistevan led the development of three-dimensional simulations exploring how a nuclear device could deflect or disrupt an asteroid threatening Earth. Credit: Blaise Douros/LLNL Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers are developing three-dimensional simulations to examine how a nuclear device could be used to deflect or potentially disrupt an asteroid threatening Earth.

The Futura Team represents the pulse of Futura’s editorial department, bringing together a collective expertise dedicated to the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Rather than the work of a single author, every article published under this signature is the result of a rigorous collaborative process involving journalists, editors, and fact-checkers. Specializing in news analysis via desk research and international wire services, the team focuses on transforming raw information into accessible, verified content. This curation and synthesis process ensures constant monitoring of technological innovations and major scientific breakthroughs. By cross-referencing sources and conducting multiple rounds of peer review, the Futura Team guarantees scientific accuracy and pedagogical clarity. This collective signature serves as a hallmark of trust, providing reactive, cross-disciplinary information at the forefront of current events Normally, when an asteroid swings by Earth, the burning question is simple: “Are we at risk?” Should we prepare for a massive space rock to pancake our planet? Not this time.