NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured its first image of a star the week of February 9, as scientists shed light on cryptic species and human-Neanderthal interactions.
Astronomers found a supermassive black hole obscured by a dust cloud at the center of Messier 77, also known as the squid galaxy. The finding supports a 30-year-old theory that all active galactic nuclei include a supermassive black hole surrounded by dust, but some black holes may be hidden by the angle they’re viewed from Earth.
Biologists discovered at least 16 different species of wasps currently identified as one species, Orymus labotus. The wasps are visually identical but genetically distinct. Researchers say it highlights the importance of identifying cryptic species, which is crucial for their conservation.
Bill Gray, the astronomer who first spotted the rocket on a collision course with the Moon, issued a correction on the booster’s origin. Rather than a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, it’s now believed to be a booster from China National Space Agency’s Chang'e 5-T1, a test for future lunar missions.
Researchers created a robotic armband with haptic feedback that allows prosthetic hand users to perform multiple grasping functions at once. Study participants could hold objects in the robotic hand while unscrewing bottle caps or flipping light switches with other fingers.
The James Webb Space Telescope captured its first image of a star as it nears the end of the first phase of its mirror alignment. The image shows 18 instances of the same star from each of the telescope’s primary mirror segments. As part of the alignment process, the telescope also stopped for a selfie.
Scientists discovered evidence of one of the lightest exoplanets ever found orbiting Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our Solar System. Named Proxima d, the planet is one-quarter of Earth’s mass but orbits its sun too closely to hold liquid water.
Researchers found evidence that humans were in western Europe around 54,000 years ago. Teeth and tools recovered in a cave in France put humans in the region 10,000 years earlier than previous research. They likely coexisted with Neanderthals there.