Researchers have developed highly sensitive X-ray detectors using green fabrication methods, surpassing commercial detectors in both sensitivity and long-term stability. The new materials, which can be produced without solvents through ball milling, enable lower radiation exposure during medical imaging procedures.
Researchers have developed a new class of x-ray detectors that can detect extremely weak X-ray signals, reducing the radiation dose required for imaging. The enhanced CsPbBr3 detectors employ innovative cooling and defect-passivation strategies to boost sensitivity and suppress noise.
A distant galaxy's black hole has suddenly activated, producing rare and intense X-ray light bursts. The phenomenon, known as a quasiperiodic eruption, challenges existing models of black hole behavior and offers an unprecedented opportunity for astronomers to study the energetic events powering these cosmic monsters.
George Biddell Airy's emphasis on standardization in the Royal Observatory's library and archive led to improved record-keeping, increased book loans, and enhanced research output. His labors also contributed to the observatory's role in British society, solidifying its position as a 'scientific civil servant'.
A study published in the British Journal of General Practice found a significant link between chest x-ray referrals and earlier lung cancer diagnosis and better survival rates. Patients attending practices with high chest x-ray usage were more likely to be diagnosed at an earlier stage, leading to improved survival rates.
A new ESO analysis confirms that the INNA megaproject will increase light pollution above the VLT by at least 35% and above the CTAO-South by more than 50%. The project will also increase air turbulence, impairing astronomical observations, while vibrations could seriously affect some facilities like the ELT.
The Rubin Observatory will capture more data than any other observatory in history using its 3200-megapixel LSST Camera. The camera's installation marks a significant step forward in the decades-long story of its design, construction, and transport to Chile.
The Einstein Probe mission aims to probe X-ray transient sources and explosive astrophysical phenomena, contributing significantly to astronomical research. The mission's sophisticated observational instruments will enhance the detection of sudden X-ray transients and monitor variability in known celestial sources.
Scientists discovered a rare binary system consisting of a massive Be star and a compact white dwarf, with the Einstein Probe catching the X-ray signal from its initial flare-up to its fading away. The analysis revealed clues about the elements present in the exploding material, including nitrogen, oxygen, and neon.
Researchers found a remarkable X-ray flash in archived Chandra Observatory data, hinting at possible explanations: X-ray burst, magnetar flare, or new cosmic event. The discovery showcases the potential of AI for scientific breakthroughs in astronomical archives.
The ESO's VISTA telescope captures the colourful extravaganza of RCW 38, a young star cluster located 5500 light-years away. The image reveals vibrant pink hues from gas clouds and multi-coloured dots representing young stars.
Researchers have developed a perovskite X-ray detector that uses cascade engineering to reduce dark current, enabling high-quality medical images at ultra-low doses. The device achieved a detection limit of 100 nGy·s−1, a significant improvement over previous limits.
Astronomers have detected a supermassive black hole with a jet pointed towards Earth in the first billion years of the universe. The discovery offers crucial information for studying reionization and could point to other supermassive black hole candidates from the early universe.
The AES Andes industrial complex, planned near Paranal Observatory in Chile's Atacama Desert, poses a critical risk to the planet's most pristine night skies. The project could irreparably impact astronomical observations, hindering significant research discoveries and breakthroughs.
The CTAO Observatory has been established as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium, enabling rapid construction and data distribution. The ERIC status will attract new talent and investment, driving scientific discovery.
The M87 black hole is observed to have a high-energy gamma-ray flare with an emission region of less than three light-days in size. The rapid variability in gamma rays suggests an extremely small flare region, which has different characteristics depending on the wavelength.
A Kennesaw State University professor has received a grant to analyze the relationship between access to cancer treatment and patient outcomes in Kenya. The research aims to identify cost-effective and sustainable treatment protocols that improve survival rates and address financial barriers to care.
The MIT team fabricated a simple water filter modeled after the mobula ray's plankton-filtering features and studied its performance. They found that the ray's filtering features are broadly similar to industrial cross-flow filters, which could inform design of water treatment systems.
Researchers at European XFEL and DESY develop self-chirping method to produce high-power attosecond hard X-ray pulses without reducing electron bunch charge. This enables non-destructive measurements at the atomic level and opens new avenues for studying matter at the atomic scale.
Researchers analyzed 21 distant quasars to find a connection between X-ray emission and wind speed, indicating rapid accretion of matter. This study challenges physics limits and provides insights for future X-ray missions.
The Einstein Probe has detected a new X-ray transient source, EP240408a, with characteristics unlike any known transients. Its unique light curves and spectrum set it apart from regular Tidal Disruption Events (TDEs) and Fast Blue Optical Transients (FBOT).
Astronomers observe low-mass supermassive black hole consuming matter at over 40 times the theoretical limit, providing new insights into rapidly growing black holes. The discovery reveals a possible mechanism for black holes to exceed their Eddington limit, sparking further investigation.
Researchers at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona found a 1.1 ºC temperature increase in the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory over 20 years, more than double predicted by climate models. The study also revealed an increase in diurnal temperature range and seasonal oscillations.
A team of researchers has discovered a new pattern in the high-energy jet of particles blasted by the supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy Centaurus A. The study found that the speed of one knot in the X-ray jet was at least 94% the speed of light, significantly faster than previously measured speeds using radio observations.
X-ray detectors have achieved ultra-high sensitivity but still require improvement in detective quantum efficiency (DQE) for high-quality imaging. Researchers analyzed the influences of various factors on DQE and established requirements for optimal detector performance and circuit design.
Scientists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics have discovered that near-earth microquasars are a significant source of gamma photons with extremely high energies. This finding challenges the previous understanding of ultra-high energy cosmic radiation and opens up new avenues for research in the field.
Researchers have discovered Flickering Gamma-Ray Flashes (FGFs), a phenomenon that could be the missing link between Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes and gamma-ray glows. Studies reveal dynamic gamma-ray emissions in tropical thunderclouds, challenging previous assumptions about these events.
Researchers using NASA airborne platforms have found a new kind of gamma-ray emission, dubbed flickering gamma-ray flashes, that fills in the missing link between steady glows and brief bursts. These discoveries provide new insights into thundercloud radiation and mechanisms that produce lightning.
The XRISM space mission is providing unprecedented insights into the galactic neighborhoods of supermassive black holes. The mission's data confirms decades-old speculation about these regions, revealing complex structures and unexpected clues about their environment.
The European Southern Observatory's VISTA telescope has created the largest infrared map of the Milky Way, comprising over 200,000 images and covering an area equivalent to 8600 full moons. The dataset contains about 10 times more objects than a previous map released in 2012, including newborn stars, globular clusters, and brown dwarfs.
Astronomers have detected two closely spaced supermassive black holes in the nearby universe using NASA's Hubble and Chandra telescopes. The black holes are fueled by infalling gas and dust, causing them to shine brightly as active galactic nuclei (AGN).
Researchers have captured sub-adult male northern elephant seals returning to a deep-sea cabled observatory off Canada's British Columbia coast. The footage provides new insight into their fish foraging behavior at depth.
The LHAASO experiment reveals a 'bending' structure in the gamma-ray spectrum at tens of TeV, indicating the acceleration limit of cosmic rays in the W51 complex. The energy spectrum shows evidence of particle acceleration approaching PeV energies.
A team of researchers has discovered a gamma-ray line with an energy of up to 37 million electron volts, making it the highest-energy spectral line observed in the universe. The study used data from two space gamma-ray monitors and found that the line energy and flux evolve as a power law function of time.
A team of researchers has demonstrated a novel way of storing and releasing X-ray pulses at the single photon level, enabling future X-ray quantum technologies. This breakthrough uses nuclear ensembles to create long-lived quantum memories with improved coherence times.
The Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) is a wide-field X-ray telescope that will image Earth's magnetospheric boundaries, revealing invisible structures and processes. It is part of the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission, which aims to study the solar winds' impact on our planet's magnetic environment.
Researchers proposed a design strategy to mitigate nonlinear responses in polycrystalline metal halide perovskite X-ray detectors, addressing issues like 'delay' and 'ghosting'. The study demonstrated high-resolution X-ray imaging with suppressed ghosting contrast and top sensitivity for similar X-ray energies among polycrystalline per...
Researchers have discovered a hidden treasure in the Milky Way, identifying Cygnus X-3 as an ultra-luminous X-ray source. The use of X-ray polarized vision has revealed the configuration of dense matter surrounding the black hole, sparking new insights into extreme matter consumption.
The new approach uses multi-contrast x-ray images combined with machine learning to distinguish threatening materials from non-threatening ones. It achieved a near-perfect recall rate of 99.68% and could be useful for security screening and medical imaging applications.
Chinese researchers have developed a high-performance perovskite X-ray detector that offers improved spatial resolution, readout speed, and low-dose detection efficiency for medical imaging applications. The new detector uses a thick inorganic CsPbBr3 perovskite film printed on a dedicated CMOS pixel array.
The new mirror technology enhances X-ray microscope performance, offering high-resolution imaging with improved accuracy. The researchers created a deformable mirror using lithium niobate single crystal, allowing for precise adjustments and maintaining stability over time.
Researchers translate visual data of celestial objects into sonified sounds to improve accessibility and trust in scientific discoveries. The study shows significant learning gains and positive experiential responses among participants, increasing access to astronomy for everyone.
Researchers have detected tellurium in a kilonova afterglow, indicating that neutron star mergers can create rare heavy elements. This discovery sheds light on the formation of elements heavier than iron and provides new insights into the universe's chemical composition.
Scientists have discovered a giant ultra-high-energy gamma-ray bubble structure in the Cygnus star-forming region, indicating the presence of a super cosmic ray accelerator. The discovery is the first to reveal the origin of cosmic rays with energy higher than 10 Peta-Electronvolt.
A new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and VLA data reveals that the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* is spinning at about 60% of its maximum possible speed. This spin could provide an incredibly powerful kick to surrounding matter if the amount of material in the vicinity increases.
SourcePenn State·JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society·TypeImaging analysis·DateFeb 21, 2024
The GRAPES-3 experiment detected a new kink in the cosmic-ray proton spectrum around 166 TeV energy, challenging current models. This finding suggests a re-evaluation of cosmic ray sources and acceleration mechanisms.
The H.E.S.S. Observatory detected gamma-ray emission from the outer jets of SS 433, revealing a shift in energy-dependent morphology. This suggests strong shock acceleration, where high-energy particles collide with photons, producing x-ray radiation and explaining the X-ray reappearance of the jets.
Researchers have discovered a novel galactic 'fossil' in the spiral galaxy NGC 4945, which sheds light on the evolution of galaxies. The X-rays outline giant clouds of cold gas that were blasted through the galaxy after its central supermassive black hole erupted 5 million years ago.
Christoph Keller, a world-recognized astronomer, has been appointed as the next Director of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) succeeding Dr. Valentin Pillet. Keller brings extensive experience and expertise in solar physics to lead NSO into its exciting future.
Researchers at KIT have developed a method that uses radiation more efficiently to produce images of micrometer resolution, allowing for longer observation times of small living organisms. The method combines X-ray phase contrast with a Bragg magnifier and photon-counting detector.
Researchers developed an X-ray imaging technique that produces detailed images of living organisms at high resolution while minimizing radiation exposure. This advance enables small organisms to be studied over longer periods, revealing new insights into dynamic processes.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory has discovered nearly 300 gamma-ray pulsars, transforming the field of pulsar research with more than 15 years of data from Fermi. These cosmic clocks have been used in experiments to search for gravitational waves and study their origins.
A team of researchers has detected an extremely energetic cosmic ray with an energy exceeding ~240 exa-electron volts (EeV), but its arrival direction shows no obvious source. The detection was made by the Telescope Array experiment's surface detector, which is located in Utah, USA.
Researchers at ALMA achieved the highest resolution ever, observing a ring-like gas structure around R Leporis and confirming gas escape from the star. This capability will now be applied to young stars with protoplanetary disks where planets are forming.
Researchers detected tellurium and other essential elements needed for life in the aftermath of a gamma-ray burst, revealing insights into heavy element formation. The study provides valuable information about kilonovae and neutron star mergers, paving the way for a deeper understanding of the universe.
The James Webb Space Telescope has made its first detection of a heavy element, tellurium, in a star merger. This breakthrough allows scientists to better understand the process by which rare elements are created, and may shed light on other elements near tellurium that could be present.
Scientists will use the Simons Observatory to uncover secrets hidden in the cosmic tapestry, revealing mysteries of the universe with unparalleled precision. The observatory's completion marks a major milestone in understanding the cosmos.
Research explains why X-ray diffraction images 'darken' at high intensities, offering new perspective for ultra-short laser pulse production. Different atoms respond differently to ultrafast X-ray pulses, potentially improving atomic structure reconstruction and generating even shorter pulses.
Researchers developed an AI-based method to estimate BMD from plain X-ray images using a hierarchical learning framework. The approach showed high performance and reliability in estimating BMD, with correlation coefficients of 0.88 and 0.92 compared to DXA and QCT.
The University of Miami Rosenstiel School has upgraded its Barbados Atmospheric Chemistry Observatory to collect more accurate data on Saharan dust particles affecting the Caribbean region. The observatory now includes state-of-the-art instruments to study dust's impact on clouds, climate and air quality.