Phys.org news

Phys.org / Recently discovered SN 2024abfl is a low-luminosity Type IIP supernova, astronomers find

An international team of astronomers has conducted photometric and spectroscopic observations of a recently discovered supernova designated SN 2024abfl. Results of the observational campaign, presented February 4 on the preprint ...

Feb 13, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Arctic peatlands are expanding as temperatures continue to rise, new research confirms

The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the planet, with average temperatures increasing by about 4°C in the last four decades. A new study, led by the University of Exeter, shows peatlands have expanded since 1950, ...

Feb 13, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Can our pets really say 'I love you'? Science is finding out

Purrs of contentment. Soulful eyes locked on yours over dinner. Valentine's Day? Not for pet owners. For those of us who share our lives with animals, this is a daily—if not exactly romantic—experience. So are the various ...

Feb 13, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Stressed couples may benefit most from 'joint savoring,' new research suggests

Couples who spend more time savoring the pleasurable moments they share are happier together, argue less, and are more confident their relationship will last, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers say in a new ...

Feb 13, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / AI captures particle accelerator behavior to optimize machine performance

Keeping high-power particle accelerators at peak performance requires advanced and precise control systems. For example, the primary research machine at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator ...

Feb 13, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Failed supernova provides clearest view yet of a star collapsing into a black hole

Astronomers have watched a dying star fail to explode as a supernova, instead collapsing into a black hole. The remarkable sighting is the most complete observational record ever made of a star's transformation into a black ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Scientists uncover Iron Age origins of Vietnamese tooth blackening practices

Not everyone wants their teeth to be white and gleaming. Tooth blackening is a recognized part of modern Vietnamese culture, and a recent discovery hints that the roots of this practice may stretch all the way back to the ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Elephant trunk whiskers exhibit material intelligence, revealing the secret behind an amazing sense of touch

A new study from an interdisciplinary German research collaboration, led by the Haptic Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS), reveals the secret to the gentle dexterity of the ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Unique 'inside out' planetary system reveals rocky outer world

A global team of astronomers, led by the University of Warwick, have used a European Space Agency (ESA) telescope to discover a planetary system that turns our understanding of planet formation upside down, with a distant ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Jupiter-family comet 41P/TGK slows down and reverses spin after perihelion

New analysis on 2017 Hubble images of the Jupiter-family comet, 41P/Tuttle–Giacobini–Kresak (41P/TGK), indicates that the comet underwent a spin reversal between April and December 2017. While this behavior is not unheard ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Major earthquakes are just as random as smaller ones

For obvious reasons, it would be useful to predict when an earthquake is going to occur. It has long been suspected that large quakes in the Himalayas follow a fairly predictable cycle, but nature, as it turns out, is not ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / New study maps where wheat, barley and rye grew before the first farmers found them

Using advanced machine learning and climate models, researchers have shown that the ancestors of crops like wheat, barley, and rye probably were much less widespread in the Middle East 12,000 years ago than previously believed. ...

Feb 12, 2026 in Other Sciences