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In July, a puzzling new image of a distant extreme star system surrounded by surreal concentric geometric rungs had even astronomers scratching their heads. The picture, which looks like a kind of “cosmic thumbprint”, came from the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s newest flagship observatory.

The internet immediately lit up with theories and speculation. Some on the wild fringe even claimed it as evidence for “alien megastructures” of unknown origin.

Luckily, our team at the University of Sydney had already been studying this very star, known as WR140, for more than 20 years – so we were in a prime position to use physics to interpret what we were seeing.

Our model, published in Nature, explains the strange process by which the star produces the dazzling pattern of rings seen in the Webb image (itself now published in Nature Astronomy).

The secrets of WR140

WR140 is what’s called a Wolf-Rayet star. These are among the most extreme stars known. In a rare but beautiful display, they can sometimes emit a plume of dust into space stretching hundreds of times the size of our entire Solar System.

The radiation field around Wolf-Rayets is so intense, dust and wind are swept outwards at thousands of kilometres per second, or about 1 percent the speed of light. While all stars have stellar winds, these overachievers drive something more like a stellar hurricane.

Critically, this wind contains elements such as carbon that stream out to form dust.

WR140 is one of a few dusty Wolf-Rayet stars found in a binary system. It is in orbit with another star, which is itself a massive blue supergiant with a ferocious wind of its own.

Only a handful of systems like WR140 are known in our whole galaxy, yet these select few deliver the most unexpected and beautiful gift to astronomers. Dust doesn’t simply stream out from the star to form a hazy ball as might be expected; instead it forms only in a cone-shaped area where the winds from the two stars collide.

Because the binary star is in constant orbital motion, this shock front must also rotate. The sooty plume then naturally gets wrapped into a spiral, in the same way as the jet from a rotating garden sprinkler.

WR140, however, has a few more tricks up its sleeve layering more rich complexity into its showy display. The two stars are not on circular but elliptical orbits, and furthermore, dust production turns on and off episodically as the binary nears and departs the point of closest approach.

An almost perfect model

By modelling all these effects into the three-dimensional geometry of the dust plume, our team tracked the location of dust features in three-dimensional space.

By carefully tagging images of the expanding flow taken at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, one of the world’s largest optical telescopes, we found our model of the expanding flow fit the data almost perfectly.

Except for one niggle. Close in right near the star, the dust was not where it was supposed to be. Chasing that minor misfit turned out to lead us right to a phenomenon never before caught on camera.

The power of light

We know that light carries momentum, which means it can exert a push on matter known as radiation pressure. The outcome of this phenomenon, in the form of matter coasting at high speed around the cosmos, is evident everywhere.

But it has been a remarkably difficult process to catch in the act. The force fades quickly with distance, so to see material being accelerated you need to track very accurately the movement of matter in a strong radiation field.

This acceleration turned out to be the one missing element in the models for WR140. Our data did not fit because the expansion speed wasn’t constant: the dust was getting a boost from radiation pressure.

Catching that for the first time on camera was something new. In each orbit, it is as if the star unfurls a giant sail made of dust. When it catches the intense radiation streaming from the star, like a yacht catching a gust, the dusty sail makes a sudden leap forward.

Smoke rings in space

The final outcome of all this physics is arrestingly beautiful. Like a clockwork toy, WR140 puffs out precisely sculpted smoke rings with every eight-year orbit.

Each ring is engraved with all this wonderful physics written in the detail of its form. All we have to do is wait and the expanding wind inflates the dust shell like a balloon until it is big enough for our telescopes to image.

Then, eight years later, the binary returns in its orbit and another shell appears identical to the one before, growing inside the bubble of its predecessor. Shells keep accumulating like a ghostly set of giant nesting dolls.

However, the true extent to which we had hit on the right geometry to explain this intriguing star system was not brought home to us until the new Webb image arrived in June.

Here were not one or two, but more than 17 exquisitely sculpted shells, each one a nearly exact replica nested within the one preceding it.

That means the oldest, outermost shell visible in the Webb image must have been launched about 150 years before the newest shell, which is still in its infancy and accelerating away from the luminous pair of stars driving the physics at the heart of the system.

With their spectacular plumes and wild fireworks, the Wolf-Rayets have delivered one of the most intriguing and intricately patterned images to have been released by the new Webb telescope.

This was one of the first images taken by Webb. Astronomers are all on the edge of our seats, waiting for what new wonders this observatory will beam down to us.


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Russian Kosmos Satellites Release Mysterious Object in Orbit

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Russian Kosmos Satellites Release Mysterious Object in Orbit

A group of Russian satellites launched earlier this year has caught the attention of space watchers around the world. The satellites – Kosmos 2581, 2582, and 2583 – were sent into orbit in early February from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. They’ve been placed in a near-polar orbit, about 585 kilometres above Earth. So far, Russian officials haven’t confirmed what these satellites are actually meant to do. But what’s really stirred interest is the release of an unknown object from one of them. This new development, spotted in mid-March, has prompted fresh scrutiny from space monitoring teams across the globe.

What We Know So Far

According to tracking data from the United States Space Force and other monitoring groups, the mysterious object appeared on March 18. It was quickly catalogued and, at first, linked to Kosmos 2581. Later on, though, some signals hinted it might be tied to Kosmos 2583 instead. What’s clear is that the object was released while the satellites were still active – and so far, Russia hasn’t said a word about it.

Interestingly, before the object showed up, the satellites were seen carrying out what’s known as “proximity operations” – basically manoeuvring close to other objects in orbit, which is not something routine satellites typically do.

Expert Insight and Possible Explanations

Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics spoke to Space.com about the situation. He pointed out that the satellites had been making deliberate close-range movements, which has led many to believe this isn’t just routine activity.

As for the object itself, there are a few possibilities. It could be part of a satellite testing programme or a tool for formation flying. There’s also a chance it’s linked to some kind of military experiment. While a technical malfunction hasn’t been ruled out, experts note that accidents like that usually leave behind several bits of debris – and that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

Putting It Into Context

The “Kosmos” label has been used by Russia for decades, dating back to 1962. It covers a broad range of secretive military and scientific missions. Triplets like this group aren’t unusual either – China and the US have also used similar formations, often for surveillance or intelligence-gathering purposes.
Still, the exact purpose of Kosmos 2581, 2582, 2583 – and now this newly released object – remains a mystery. Until more information is released (if it ever is), analysts will continue to watch closely from the ground.

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NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Completes Second Close Flyby of the Sun

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NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Completes Second Close Flyby of the Sun

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has made its second close flyby of the sun. The spacecraft travelled at a speed of 692000 kilometres per hour. It moved within 6.1 million kilometres of the sun. This event took place on March 22. A signal confirming its good health was received on March 25. The signal confirmed that all systems on board were working as planned. The probe was designed to study solar winds and collect data from the sun’s outer atmosphere. The mission is being used to help scientists understand solar activity that affects Earth.

More About The Mission

According to NASA’s announcement, the probe’s instruments were activated during the pass. They were used to study the corona. This is the outer layer of the sun’s atmosphere. The spacecraft was operated on its own during the flyby. It had been programmed in advance. Scientists believe this data may help them understand why the corona is hotter than the sun’s surface. The data is also being used to study changes in space weather. This information is considered important for protecting satellites and communication systems on Earth.

Quote from NASA

In a press release issued by NASA, acting Administrator Janet Petro said that the mission has entered a zone no spacecraft has visited before. Petro said this while addressing the media at the agency’s Washington headquarters. She said that the research is expected to change how solar science is studied in the future.

Award given to the team

As per a statement released by the National Aeronautic Association, the mission team was given the 2024 Robert J. Collier Trophy. The team includes experts from NASA and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Ralph Semmel, Director at Johns Hopkins APL, said that the mission was once believed to be impossible. He shared this in an interview with NASA’s press team. The next close flyby is expected to take place on June 19.

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ISRO’s Shubhanshu Shukla Set to Make History with Space Station Mission in May

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ISRO’s Shubhanshu Shukla Set to Make History with Space Station Mission in May

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ISRO’s Shubhanshu Shukla Set to Make History with Space Station Mission in May

The mission of Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS) will take place in May 2025. This mission will be the greatest research and science-related activity carried out on an Axiom Space voyage onboard the International Space Station to date, emphasizing the mission’s global relevance and collaborative character in advancing microgravity research in low-Earth orbit (LEO). NASA confirmed from its Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States, that the mission will launch no earlier than May 2025.

Mission Overview and Crew

Shubhanshu Shukla will join an international crew on a commercial spacecraft; he is a skilled aerospace engineer and one of ISRO’s top astronaut prospects. This mission is viewed as a watershed moment in India’s larger journey toward advanced space exploration and human spaceflight.

ISRO’s research studies will focus on investigating the physical and cognitive impact of computer screens in microgravity and studying the growth, metabolism, and genetics of three microalgae strains in microgravity.

Scientific Objectives and Experiments

The ISRO-led study, in collaboration with NASA and ESSA, aims to increase microgravity research aboard the ISS to better our understanding of biological processes in microgravity and develop strategies for long-term space missions.

India’s Expanding Role in Space

Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will be the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station and the first Indian to travel to space in the past 40 years.The commercial mission will be directed by experienced NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, with Tibor Kapu from Hungary and European Space Agency project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland.

Mission Duration and Recovery

Following the launch from Kennedy Space Center, the mission crew will spend 14 days on board the International Space Station, completing several experiments.

According to Axiom Space, the Ax-4 research complement includes over 60 scientific programs and activities from 31 nations, including the United States, India, Poland, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Nigeria, the UAE, and countries throughout Europe.

After achieving their objectives, the spacecraft will return to Earth, with a splashdown scheduled in the Pacific Ocean. NASA and its allies will oversee recovery efforts to ensure the safe return of all crew members.

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