Friday, July 24, 2026

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope discovered a third giant planet orbiting the star Beta Pictoris, hidden within a debris disk. Beta Pictoris d was detected through its atmospheric chemical fingerprint rather than direct imaging, marking the first exoplanet discovered primarily through moderate-resolution spectroscopy.^[1]

SpaceX launched Northrop Grumman's Mission Robotic Vehicle carrying DARPA's Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites payload on July 21, marking the first privately owned, operational robotic satellite servicing mission in geosynchronous orbit. The spacecraft will install life-extending jetpacks on aging satellites and perform inspections, repairs, and upgrades over a 10-year mission.^[2]

Researchers at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics discovered a proton-assisted mechanism that dramatically improves how triplet energy moves between quantum dots and nearby molecules. The finding, published in Nature Materials, could lead to new ways to tune solar cells, lasers, and catalytic reactions.^[3]

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to launch August 30, eight months ahead of schedule, from Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The telescope is designed to survey the sky in near-infrared light to study dark energy, exoplanets, and the structure of the universe.^[4]

ETH Zurich scientists built PLATON, a new particle detector that could replace millions of tiny detector components with a single block of light-producing material. Using a light-field camera, sensitive photon sensors, and AI, the device reconstructs particle paths in three dimensions.^[5]

Researchers developed a frozen fiber by cooling a glass capillary filled with liquid that guides light and sound waves simultaneously and couples them 1,000 times more strongly than standard glass fibers. The advance could improve quantum communications and sensing technologies.^[6]

President Trump announced new tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 countries, citing inadequate enforcement of bans on goods produced by forced labor. The tariffs take effect Friday as temporary global levies expire following a Supreme Court ruling.^[7]

A massive wildfire in Spain's Guadalajara province has burned over 32,000 hectares, making it one of the country's largest recorded blazes. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the area and called for a cross-party pact to address climate change.^[8]

Yemen's Houthi forces claimed attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, days after announcing a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia. The move follows increased violence after the Yemeni government bombed the Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing.^[9]

Astronomers reported that the Jellyfish nebula may contain evidence of two stars going supernova approximately 100,000 years apart, with gamma-ray, X-ray, and multiwavelength data indicating that supernova remnants IC 443 and G189.6+3.3 share the same environment and distance.^[10]