Astronomy - COMET NEOWISE RISING OVER THE ADRIATIC SEA

2026 September 13

Comet NEOWISE Rising over the Adriatic Sea
Video Credit & Copyright: Paolo Girotti

Explanation: This sight was worth getting out of bed early. Just over four years ago, Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) rose before dawn to the delight of northern sky enthusiasts awake that early. Up before sunrise on July 8th, the featured photographer was able to capture in dramatic fashion one of the few comets visible to the unaided eye this century, an inner-Solar System intruder that has become known as the Great Comet of 2020. The resulting video detailed Comet NEOWISE from Italy rising over the Adriatic Sea. The featured time-lapse video combines over 240 images taken over 30 minutes. The comet was seen rising through a foreground of bright and undulating noctilucent clouds, and before a background of distant stars. Comet NEOWISE remained unexpectedly bright for over a month, with its ion and dust tails found to emanate from a nucleus spanning about five kilometers across.

Santé/Médecine - AVC ET GROUPE SANGUIN

Une étude récente révèle un lien surprenant entre le groupe sanguin A et le risque d'accident vasculaire cérébral (AVC) précoce. Cette découverte soulève des questions sur l'impact de notre patrimoine génétique sur notre santé cardiovasculaire. Quelles sont les implications de cette recherche pour les personnes concernées ?

Les scientifiques ont récemment mis en lumière une corrélation intrigante entre notre groupe sanguin et notre prédisposition aux accidents vasculaires cérébraux (AVC). Cette étude, publiée dans Neurology en 2022, étudie les subtilités de notre code génétique et ses répercussions sur notre santé vasculaire. Bien que ces résultats puissent sembler alarmants à première vue, il est essentiel de les interpréter avec prudence et de les replacer dans leur contexte.

Le groupe sanguin A sous la loupe des chercheurs

L'étude, menée par une équipe internationale de chercheurs, a analysé les données génétiques de près de 620 000 participants, dont environ 17 000 avaient subi un AVC. Les scientifiques ont focalisé leur attention sur les individus âgés de 18 à 59 ans, une tranche d'âge particulièrement pertinente pour l'étude des accidents vasculaires cérébraux précoces.

Les résultats ont révélé que les personnes possédant le gène du sous-groupe sanguin A1 présentaient un risque accru de 16 % de subir un AVC avant l'âge de 60 ans, comparativement à la population générale. En revanche, les individus dotés du gène pour le groupe O1 bénéficiaient d'une réduction du risque de 12 %.

Mécanismes potentiels et implications cliniques

L'étude a également mis en évidence des différences intéressantes entre les AVC précoces et tardifs. Le risque accru associé au groupe sanguin A s'estompe chez les personnes de plus de 60 ans, suggérant des mécanismes distincts pour les AVC survenant à différents âges.

Les chercheurs ont émis l'hypothèse que les AVC chez les jeunes adultes seraient davantage liés à des facteurs de coagulation qu'à l'athérosclérose, processus plus courant chez les personnes âgées. Cette distinction pourrait avoir des implications significatives pour la prévention et le traitement des AVC selon l'âge du patient.

FuturaSciences

Astronomy - M83 : THE SOUTHERN PINWBEEL

 2026 September 11

M83: The Southern Pinwheel
Image Credit & Copyright:: Aldo Zanetti

Explanation: Beautiful and bright spiral galaxy M83 lies some twelve million light-years away, near the southeastern tip of the very long constellation Hydra. Prominent spiral arms traced by dark dust lanes and blue star clusters lend this galaxy its popular name, the Southern Pinwheel. Still, reddish star forming regions that dot this cosmic pinwheel's spiral arms have suggested another nickname, the Thousand-Ruby Galaxy. A mere 40,000 light-years across, smaller than the Milky Way, M83 is a member of a group of galaxies that includes active galaxy Centaurus A. In fact, the core of M83 itself is bright at x-ray energies, showing a high concentration of neutron stars and black holes left from an intense burst of star formation. This sharp, groundbased telescopic view also features foreground Milky Way stars and distant background galaxies.

Astronomy - LDN 1295: THE GIRAFFE NEBULA

2026 September 10

LDN 1295: The Giraffe Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Alessandro Merga
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: What does this image look like to you? Many see a giraffe facing right, with neck stretched high and long legs mid-stride (but some may see a squirrel instead). The featured image shows LDN 1295, also called the Giraffe Nebula, in the constellation of the mythical queen of Aethiopia (Cassiopeia). It is an object in the Lynds Catalogue of Dark Nebulas, compiled in 1962 by American astronomer Beverly Lynds, a pioneer for women in astronomy and astrophysics. Dark nebulas are interstellar clouds of dust and gas that block the visible light of the stars behind them. These nebulas are often faint and challenging targets for astrophotographers. Why do we see animal shapes and faces in nebulas, clouds, and pretty much everywhere? It is due to pareidolia, our tendency to look for familiar patterns. Pareidolia may provide animals with an evolutionary advantage, for example in identifying (and avoiding) predators. 

Astronomy - WITNESS XZ ANDROMEDAE WINK

Witness XZ Andromedae Wink
Video Credit: Ogetay Kayali (MTU, Starfront Observatories)
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: Is this star winking at us? The central object in today’s animation is not one but two stars. XZ Andromedae, indicated by the bold lines, is an Algol-type eclipsing binary with a nearly edge-on orbit from Earth’s perspective. The bottom light curve shows the amount of light from the system dim and brighten as the cooler star eclipses its hotter, brighter companion. Analysis of several XZ Andromedae light curves indicates there may be two other stars orbiting the system. This particular light curve was created with Citizen Astronomy, an open-source software for differential photometry. The software takes the difference in brightness between a target and comparison star and traces its behavior over time. This technique reduces most variations from the instrument and Earth’s atmosphere. In addition to eclipsing binaries, this analysis is useful for studying transiting exoplanets, accreting black holes, supernovae, and many more time-varying astronomical phenomena. Astrophotographers: try it out on your own data!

Monde sous-marin - PYCNOGONIDE MÂLE PORTANT DES OEUFS

Distinct des araignées terrestres, ce pycnogonide possède toutefois quatre paires de pattes. Cet individu mâle portant des œufs a été découvert au niveau de la péninsule antarctique pendant l'expédition de Polarstern ANTXXIII-8.

© Pablo J. Lopez-Gonzalez, Universidad de Sevilla

Astronomy - TURTLE ROCK ON MARS

 2026 July 21

Turtle Rock on Mars
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS; Processing & License: Thomas Thomopoulos

Explanation: Is this a fossilized turtle on Mars? No. Although resembling a large Earth tortoise, this is a layered rock outcrop on Mars that is estimated to span about 15 meters, making it much larger than turtles on Earth. NASA’s robotic Curiosity rover came across this unusual mound, dubbed Miraflores, last month during its 4922nd Martian day exploring Mars. The small butte may survive because it was somehow more resistant to erosion than surrounding rock. More recent wind has now covered its top with orange Martian sand. Below the top shell, many layers of stratified rock are visible, possibly indicating a long history of intermittent wind-blown sand being deposited and then hardened by ground water. Similar wind-eroded layered landforms, such as yardangs in the Qaidam Desert of China, exist here on Earth. Curiosity and its companion rover Perseverance continue to investigate the ancient history of Mars as well as searching for signs of primeval life.

Aéronautique : LA CHINE ET L'AILE VOLANTE A 800 PASSAGERS

Voler vite, loin et à moindre coût, tout en transportant le plus de passagers possible, c’est l’équilibre économique que recherchent les compagnies aériennes.

Des scientifiques chinois étudient un modèle d’avion pouvant emporter jusqu’à 800 passagers. Mais ce n’est pas son aspect le plus intéressant. Le Centre chinois de recherche et de développement en aérodynamique (CARDC) mise sur une architecture sous la forme d’une aile volante, plutôt que la traditionnelle conception « fuselage allongé, aile et empennage ».

Se baser sur une aile volante, c’est loin d’être une nouveauté et les atouts de cette architecture sont en effet plutôt séduisants. Le fort allongement de l’aile et sa voilure mixée avec l’habitacle permettent à la fois d’élever le rapport portance/traînée et la capacité d’emport. De plus, la traînée est réduite considérablement, ce qui permet à d’augmenter l’autonomie, ainsi que la consommation de carburant.

L’aile volante : l’architecture la plus performante

Mais pourquoi personne n’exploite cette architecture si c’est aussi parfait ? Déjà parce qu’idéalement, il faudrait supprimer les hublots qui nécessitent de renforcer la structure et de l’alourdir. Avec 800 passagers sur une aile volante, difficile de faire en sorte que tout le monde puisse voir à l’extérieur. Rien que ce point est rédhibitoire pour les compagnies, qui n’imaginent pas encore embarquer des passagers dans des avions sans hublots.

Ensuite, l’envergure de l’aéronef serait considérable. Elle ferait 85 mètres de large pour le concept chinois et 43 mètres de long. Cela engendre un autre gros souci. L’infrastructure aéroportuaire doit être considérablement modifiée pour pouvoir faire entrer les passagers dans l’appareil.

Une révolution pour les infrastructures

Et surtout, la logistique liée à la gestion de 800 passagers à embarquer dans l’avion reste un très gros défi. Si ce projet d'aile qui est en phase d'essais en soufflerie est très séduisant, autant dire que la fin des avions tels que nous les connaissons, avec leur forme de cigare affublé de deux ailes, n’est pas pour demain.

SylvainBiget

Astronomy - PLUTO IN ENHANCED COLOR

 2026 September 6

Pluto in Enhanced Color
Image Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ./APL, Southwest Research Inst.

Explanation: Pluto is more colorful than we can see. Color data and high-resolution images of our Solar System's most famous dwarf planet, taken by the robotic New Horizons spacecraft during its flyby in 2015 July, have been digitally combined to give an enhanced-color view of this ancient world sporting an unexpectedly young surface. The featured enhanced color image is not only esthetically pretty but scientifically useful, making surface regions of differing chemical composition visually distinct. For example, the light-colored heart-shaped Tombaugh Regio on the lower right is clearly shown here to be divisible into two regions that are geologically different, with the leftmost lobe, Sputnik Planitia, also appearing unusually smooth. After Pluto, New Horizons continued on, shooting past asteroid Arrokoth in 2019 with enough speed to escape our Solar System completely.

Monde sous-marin - UN ANGE DES MERS : PLATYBRACHIUM ANTARCTICUM

Cet animal de 3 centimètres de long a des allures de fantôme ou d'ange des mers (ghost-like sea-angel). Scientifiquement dénommé Platybrachium antarcticum, cet escargot semi-transparent semble voler dans les profondeurs de l'Antarctique, chassant les ptéropodes (d'autres escargots) pour se nourrir.

© Russ Hopcroft, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Astronomy - THE ECLIPSE AND THE STORK

 2026 September 3

The Eclipse and the Stork
Image Credit & Copyright: Włodzimierz Bubak
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: How do animals react to a total solar eclipse? The featured image shows a stork roosting on her nest in Poland at a partial phase of the recent total solar eclipse. If you are lucky enough to experience a total eclipse somewhere quiet and close to nature, you may be able to notice unusual daytime animal behaviors. During totality, you may hear nighttime sounds like crickets and frogs and see fireflies. In the dark, most birds are quiet. Thinking that it is time to go to bed, ducks and other waterfowl prepare to sleep on one leg, with their heads turned around and their beaks tucked into their back feathers (they don't really sleep with their heads tucked under one wing). When sunlight returns at the end of totality, songbirds greet the new "morning" with their dawn songs. The crickets and frogs go quiet again. Animals and people resume their lifes, only briefly disturbed by the chance alignment of our Sun and Moon.

Astronomy - SOLAR ECLIPSES AND CULTURE

 2026 September 2

Solar Eclipses and Culture
Image Credit & Copyright: Javier Castro
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: Pretend you have never heard of a solar eclipse. The Sun’s behavior has been predictable your whole life. One day, you witness the sky transform as it does in today’s spliced image spanning two hours of the August 12, 2026 solar eclipse. The Sun disappears, leaving behind a bright, empty ring. What would you think had happened? Humans have interpreted eclipses in countless ways throughout history, embedding beliefs about connection, rebirth, or danger into culture. “Eclipse” comes from the Greek word “ékleipsis” meaning “abandonment”. In ancient Greece, the solar eclipse marked the anger of the gods and the Sun abandoning humanity. To the Diné people, this celestial alignment is a time of renewal. Out of respect and to avoid the danger of sunlight, the Diné stay inside until the Sun and Moon separate. The Batammariba people of Benin and Togo believe that the Sun and Moon fight during an eclipse, so the community encourages peace among themselves. Eclipses are an example of the longstanding connection between astronomy and society.

Astronomy - A PLANE LUNAR ECLIPSE

2026 September 1

A Plane Lunar Eclipse
Image Credit: Paulo Ferreira

Explanation: Did you need to be on the right side of this airplane to see this eclipse? No. Lunar eclipses are routinely seen from the half of the Earth facing the Moon when the eclipse occurs, making them some of the most commonly witnessed astronomical events. You don't even need any special equipment to see one -- just your unaided eyes. Lunar eclipses are also some of the most photographed astronomical events because, unlike with a solar eclipse, your eyes and camera do not have to look toward the bright Sun. However, considering the featured image taken last week from Portugal, if you were on the left side of that airplane during takeoff, you might have trouble seeing it -- at first. But even then, after takeoff, since lunar eclipses typically last for hours, you might soon be able to safely cross the aisle(s) to see it. 

Astronomy - COLORFUL AURORA OVER ICELANDIC WATERFALL

 2026 August 27

Colorful Aurora over Icelandic Waterfall
Image Credit & Copyright: Victor Lima
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: What a sight to behold, when a night sky became filled with colors that appeared to rain over the Skógafoss waterfall in Iceland. This image was taken in a single 5 second exposure by the photographer in April 2025. Seeing an aurora is on many people's bucket lists. But it is not easy. It requires high solar activity, dark and clear skies, and usually a viewing location at high latitude. That makes the northern lights more easily seen than the corresponding southern lights, simply because there is less landmass in the Southern Hemisphere, especially around the Antarctic Circle. Auroras are caused by charged particles from the solar wind that are captured by the Earth's magnetosphere and guided by the magnetic field to a region close to one of the poles, where they collide with gas particles in the atmosphere. Different colors indicate interactions with different gases at different altitudes, like oxygen (red and green) and nitrogen (blue and pink).

Astronomy - COMET 220P IN OUTBURST

 2026 August 24

Comet 220P in Outburst
Image Credit & Copyright: Spilios Asimakopoulos

Explanation: Comet 220P is unexpectedly bright. Normally, periodic Comet 220P/McNaught is so dim that to see it requires a telescope. Two surprising outbursts this year, however, have made it about 20,000 times brighter than usual, so that it is now visible with binoculars and long-duration camera exposures. As expected, Comet 220P continues to orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter with a period of over 5 years. The featured long duration exposure, taken 10 days ago from South Africa, shows the comet's bright green head and short dust tail. Reasons for Comet 220P's impressive outbursts are unknown but could be caused by the release of built-up subsurface gas or comet quakes. Comet 220P will pass about one Earth-Sun distance from the Earth in October, after which it is expected to fade quickly as it begins its return to the far part of its orbit.

Monde sous-marin - UN ETRANGE VER ENCORNET : LE TEUTHIDODRILUS

Découvert en 2007 dans la mer de Célèbes, en Asie du Sud-Est, ce ver très étrange (Teuthidodrilus) a été nommé squidworm en anglais (« ver encornet ») par les scientifiques américains.

© Laurence Madin, WHOI

Astronomy - CASSINI APPROACHES SATURN

 

Cassini Approaches Saturn

Video Credit & Copyright: Cassini Imaging Team, ISS, JPL, NASA, ESA, S. Van Vuuren et al.;
Music: Adagio for Strings (NY Philharmonic)

Explanation: What would it look like to approach the grand planet Saturn? One doesn't have to just imagine -- the Cassini spacecraft did just this in 2004, recording thousands of images along the way, and hundreds of thousands more since entering orbit. Some of Cassini's early images have been digitally tweaked, cropped, and compiled into the featured inspiring video which is part of a larger IMAX movie project named In Saturn's Rings. In the concluding sequence, Saturn looms increasingly large on approach as cloudy Titan swoops below. With Saturn whirling around in the background, Cassini is next depicted flying over Mimas, with large Herschel Crater clearly visible. Saturn's majestic rings then take over the show as Cassini crosses Saturn's thin ring plane. Dark shadows of the ring appear on Saturn itself. Finally, the enigmatic ice-geyser moon Enceladus appears in the distance and then is approached just as the video clip ends. After more than a decade of exploration and discovery, the Cassini spacecraft ran low on fuel in 2017 was directed to enter Saturn's atmosphere, where it surely melted.

Astronomy - MOSTLY PERSEIDS

 2026 August 22

Mostly Perseids
Image Credit & Copyright: Jakub Koukal (Valašské Meziříčí Observatory)

Explanation: Recorded the night of August 12-13, images from four dedicated meteor-monitoring cameras at an astronomical observatory in Czechia were aligned and combined to create this all-night, all-sky view. On that night, the total count came to 1,706 meteors. And since that coincided with the peak activity of the 2026 Perseid Meteor Shower, most are perseids. Their overwhelming numbers make them easy to spot. Quite convincingly, perseid trails all trace back to a single radiant on the sky at the upper right, a region in the annual shower's eponymous constellation Perseus. But meteors belonging to other much less active showers can also revealed by finding their radiants too. For example, seen crossing the perseid trails are meteors from a shower whose radiant lies in Cygnus, known as Kappa Cygnids. The antihelion complex, a general region near Aquarius and opposite the Sun in the sky, is also identifiable as a weak source for meteors.

Astronomy - SIMULATION TNG50 : A GALAXY CLUSTER FORMS

Simulation TNG50: A Galaxy Cluster Forms

Video Credit: IllustrisTNG Project; Visualization: Dylan Nelson (Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics) et al.
Music: Symphony No. 5 (Ludwig van Beethoven), via YouTube Audio Library

Explanation: How do clusters of galaxies form? Since our universe moves too slowly to watch, faster-moving computer simulations are created to help find out. One famous effort is TNG50 from IllustrisTNG, an upgrade of the famous Illustris Simulation. The first part of the featured video tracks cosmic gas (mostly hydrogen) as it evolves into galaxies and galaxy clusters from the early universe to today, with brighter colors marking faster moving gas. As the universe matures, gas falls into gravitational wells, galaxies forms, galaxies spin, galaxies collide and merge, all while black holes form in galaxy centers and expel surrounding gas at high speeds. The second half of the video switches to tracking stars, showing a galaxy cluster coming together, complete with stellar streams. The outflow from black holes in TNG50 is surprisingly complex and details are being compared with our real universe. Studying how gas coalesced in the early universe helps humanity better understand how our Earth, Sun, and Solar System originally formed.

Villes bioniques du futur - L'ARCHE BIONIQUE DE TAIWAN : UNE TOUR AUTOSUFFISANTE

Outre des panneaux solaires, trois éoliennes à axes verticaux fournissent l'énergie électrique. Les vitres, par effet de serre, assurent un apport thermique aux espaces intérieurs.

© Vincent Callebaut