Ryan Whalen

6 days ago | thedebrief.org | Ryan Whalen

For the first time, physicists have demonstrated a phenomenon known as the Terrell-Penrose effect, which causes an object moving close to the speed of light to warp before our eyes. The new findings, a collaboration between TU Wien and the University of Vienna, once again confirm a key prediction of Einstein’s theory of relativity by making an optical illusion of relativistic motion observable for the first time.

1 week ago | thedebrief.org | Ryan Whalen

Controversial geoengineering research, including a plan to study blocking sunlight, received $75 million in funding from the UK government’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), which some scientists warn could be just as dangerous as the climate change it seeks to combat. Proposals to geoengineer humanity’s way out of the impending climate crisis span 21 projects, from sunlight-reflecting clouds to thickening arctic ice.

1 week ago | thedebrief.org | Ryan Whalen

Superconductors are one major step closer to practical use, thanks to new work from Columbia University physicists that could usher in a technological future of wireless charging vehicles, efficient energy transmission, and exponentially faster computers through more efficient electron transfer. Currently, most technologies rely on semiconductors to transmit energy in chips, transistors, and diodes, which are subject to energy loss and moderate transfer speeds.

1 week ago | thedebrief.org | Ryan Whalen

For the first time, astronomers have used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to peer through the thick haze of a sub-Neptune planet’s atmosphere, offering new clues about one of the universe’s most mysterious and common types of worlds. Sub-Neptunes may be the most common type of exoplanet, but their thick atmosphere makes them difficult to observe. Now, thanks to JWST’s close-up of exoplanet TOI-421 b, scientists are finally getting a good look at the small gas planets.

1 week ago | thedebrief.org | Ryan Whalen

The Gaia star surveyor has identified strange behavior in a group of stars rushing to escape their birthplace, which astronomers say are unlike any previously observed. Operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), Gaia ended its decade-long mission to map the Milky Way on January 15, 2025. It recorded how star families form as strings, streaming across space to form our galaxy.