https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/physics/RSS feed for PhysicsenFri, 14 Aug 2026 15:47:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-peered-at-the-early-universe-and-may-have-discovered-a-new-kind-of-celestial-object-black-hole-stars-180989334/Since the James Webb Space Telescope started collecting data in 2022, it has found puzzling objects dubbed little red dots. A new study suggests they might be giant black holes with some characteristics of starsFri, 14 Aug 2026 15:47:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-peered-at-the-early-universe-and-may-have-discovered-a-new-kind-of-celestial-object-black-hole-stars-180989334/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-global-web-of-subsea-cables-that-connects-the-world-can-now-detect-whales-even-when-theyre-silent-180989326/A diving whale revealed how existing technology makes it possible to monitor cetaceans swimming quietly across the seabedThu, 13 Aug 2026 14:26:39 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-global-web-of-subsea-cables-that-connects-the-world-can-now-detect-whales-even-when-theyre-silent-180989326/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stunning-new-images-reveal-whirlpools-on-the-suns-surface-the-swirling-strutures-might-help-power-solar-flares-180989292/Observed directly in the solar photosphere for the first time, the vortices might braid magnetic fields, thought to be responsible for energy buildups and eventual outbursts. The features also offer clues about why the sun’s outer atmosphere is millions of degrees hotter than its surfaceWed, 12 Aug 2026 18:19:56 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stunning-new-images-reveal-whirlpools-on-the-suns-surface-the-swirling-strutures-might-help-power-solar-flares-180989292/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/A-spacex-rocket-part-is-expected-to-smack-into-the-moon-in-august-highlighting-the-growing-problem-of-space-junk-180989173/The unintended event also creates an opportunity for scientists and skywatchers to witness lunar impact dynamics in real time, although the debris will hit a sunlit portion of the moon from the perspective of Earth, making it hard to seeWed, 22 Jul 2026 19:44:04 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/A-spacex-rocket-part-is-expected-to-smack-into-the-moon-in-august-highlighting-the-growing-problem-of-space-junk-180989173/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-first-scientists-witness-the-seafloor-spread-in-real-time-giving-them-a-rare-glimpse-at-a-mysterious-geologic-process-180989123/Across a matter of days in 2024, the seafloor in part of the Indian Ocean dropped by about 13 feet, and roughly 5.7 billion cubic feet of molten rock rose to the crust's surface, according to a new studyWed, 15 Jul 2026 16:02:29 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-first-scientists-witness-the-seafloor-spread-in-real-time-giving-them-a-rare-glimpse-at-a-mysterious-geologic-process-180989123/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-first-astronomers-find-sugar-in-the-space-between-stars-providing-new-clues-about-the-origins-of-life-on-earth-180989122/Sugars are crucial components of RNA and DNA, the basis of all known organisms alive today. In a new study, the sugar erythrulose was detected in a gas- and dust-filled cloud near the center of our Milky Way galaxyWed, 15 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-first-astronomers-find-sugar-in-the-space-between-stars-providing-new-clues-about-the-origins-of-life-on-earth-180989122/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-greatest-cosmic-movie-ever-made-the-worlds-largest-digital-camera-begins-a-historic-decade-long-survey-of-the-night-sky-180989059/After a year of testing, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has started capturing data as part of the much-anticipated Legacy Survey of Space and TimeWed, 01 Jul 2026 21:21:11 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-greatest-cosmic-movie-ever-made-the-worlds-largest-digital-camera-begins-a-historic-decade-long-survey-of-the-night-sky-180989059/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-male-fruit-flies-have-sperm-that-are-nearly-as-long-as-their-bodies-heres-how-the-cells-dont-become-a-tangled-mess-180989054/Males of the species Drosophila melanogaster pack thousands of almost two-millimeter-long sperm cells into significantly smaller storage organs. A new study reveals how they move in an orderly mannerWed, 01 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-male-fruit-flies-have-sperm-that-are-nearly-as-long-as-their-bodies-heres-how-the-cells-dont-become-a-tangled-mess-180989054/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-worlds-first-nuclear-clocks-are-ticking-opening-a-new-way-to-investigate-dark-matter-and-other-mysteries-of-physics-180989002/Two independent teams of scientists have created the first functional clocks that can keep ultraprecise time using the nuclei of a radioactive elementWed, 24 Jun 2026 16:37:19 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-worlds-first-nuclear-clocks-are-ticking-opening-a-new-way-to-investigate-dark-matter-and-other-mysteries-of-physics-180989002/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-newly-discovered-spider-builds-a-unique-web-that-sends-ants-catapulting-through-the-air-180989003/Flung prey can reach speeds of up to 14.4 feet per second, or a little less than ten miles per hour. An insect will land in the spider's main web about a foot above the spring-loaded trapWed, 24 Jun 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-newly-discovered-spider-builds-a-unique-web-that-sends-ants-catapulting-through-the-air-180989003/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonianmag/this-week-nasa-will-launch-a-first-of-its-kind-mission-to-save-a-space-telescope-that-has-observed-the-sky-for-nearly-22-years-180988998/In 2024, researchers realized that the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was falling from its orbit faster than expected. Now, a robotic spacecraft called LINK aims to give the satellite a boostTue, 23 Jun 2026 18:21:57 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonianmag/this-week-nasa-will-launch-a-first-of-its-kind-mission-to-save-a-space-telescope-that-has-observed-the-sky-for-nearly-22-years-180988998/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-discovered-a-cosmic-fossil-in-the-making-the-most-chemically-primitive-galaxy-seen-yet-by-peering-back-to-the-edge-of-time-180988954/The James Webb Space Telescope observed 13-billion-year-old light, using a closer galactic cluster like a magnifying glass. The work helps experts understand the universe’s earliest stars and mysterious ultra-faint dwarf galaxiesThu, 18 Jun 2026 16:41:08 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-discovered-a-cosmic-fossil-in-the-making-the-most-chemically-primitive-galaxy-seen-yet-by-peering-back-to-the-edge-of-time-180988954/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-a-stunning-view-of-the-southern-lights-dancing-across-the-earth-captured-by-a-nasa-astronaut-180988960/Jessica Meir, commander of NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission, shared photos and videos of a green aurora she shot while sheltering in a capsule outside the International Space StationTue, 16 Jun 2026 16:04:53 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-a-stunning-view-of-the-southern-lights-dancing-across-the-earth-captured-by-a-nasa-astronaut-180988960/