Ward: Society

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Scientists may have found the best place for humans to land on Mars

A newly identified region on Mars may hold the key to future human landings. Researchers found evidence of water ice less than a meter beneath the surface, close enough to be harvested for water, oxygen, and fuel. The location strikes a rare balance between sunlight and cold, helping preserve the ic…

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Something fundamental about black holes may be changing

New observations reveal that the relationship between ultraviolet and X-ray light in quasars has changed over billions of years. This unexpected shift suggests the structure around supermassive black holes may evolve with time, challenging a decades-old assumption.

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Watch: Meteor lights up sky over Japan's Mount Fuji

The meteor could be seen blazing through the night sky over Japan's Mount Fuji

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Flaring black hole whips up ultra-fast winds

Leading X-ray space telescopes XMM-Newton and XRISM have spotted a never-seen-before blast from a supermassive black hole. In a matter of hours, the gravitational monster whipped up powerful winds, flinging material out into space at eye-watering speeds of
60,000 km per second.

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Startups, NASA pursuing supersonic commercial flight

Nearly 20 years after the Concorde made its final commercial flight, new efforts are underway to make supersonic passenger travel viable again. Bill Whitaker reports.

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Gemini and Blanco telescopes unlock clues to origin of longest gamma-ray burst ever observed

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the most powerful explosions in the universe, second only to the Big Bang. The majority of these bursts are observed to flash and fade within a few seconds to minutes. But on 2 July 2025, astronomers were alerted to a GRB source that was exhibiting repeating bursts …

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Supernova from the dawn of the universe captured by James Webb Space Telescope

An international team of astronomers has achieved a first in probing the early universe, using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), detecting a supernova—the explosive death of a massive star—at an unprecedented cosmic distance.

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Moon phase today: What the moon will look like on December 27

See the moon phase expected for December 27, 2025 as well as when the next full moon is expected.

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Former ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno Joins Blue Origin

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Uranus and Neptune may be 'rock giants,' not 'ice giants,' new model of their cores suggests

A new computational model suggests that Uranus' and Neptune's cores may be less icy than their "ice giant" nickname suggests.

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Astronomers explore the double nucleus of galaxy NGC 4486B

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team of astronomers has observed an elliptical galaxy known as NGC 4486B. Results of the observational campaign, published Dec. 16 on the arXiv preprint server, deliver important insights into the properties of the double nucleus of this …

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Was 2025 the year we found signs of past life on Mars?

Tantalising signs of past microbial life showed up on Mars this year, but to truly know whether they contain the answer to the biggest question in the universe, we will need to bring samples back to Earth

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Starlink Rival Launches Its Largest Satellite Yet for Space-Based Cellular Network

AST SpaceMobile wants to launch up to 60 of its satellites in 2026.

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The Epstein Files: Why Half the Internet Is Wrong About Those Redactions

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SpaceX defends airspace safety ahead of Florida Starship launch plans

With plans to launch the massive Starship from Florida next year, SpaceX defended its commitment to airspace safety after a Wall Street Journal article claimed an explosive mission in early 2025 was a greater danger to some flights than previously reported.

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Moon phase today: What the moon will look like on December 25

See the moon phase expected for December 25, 2025 as well as when the next full moon is expected.

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A strange star near a black hole is defying expectations

Astronomers have decoded the hidden past of a distant red giant star by listening to tiny vibrations in its light, revealing clues of a dramatic cosmic history. The star, which quietly orbits a dormant black hole, appears to be spinning far faster than it should—and its internal “starquakes” suggest…

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