Space & Physics: A century of quantum weirdness

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January 29 — This week, we're commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Challenger disaster and the 100th anniversary of the Schrödinger equation. Plus, the looming Artemis II crewed lunar mission, mind-blowing galactic discoveries, and much more. Enjoy! Thoughts? Questions? Let me know via e-mail (lbillings@sciam.com), X or Bluesky. —Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Physical Sciences

Top Stories

40 years after Challenger disaster, NASA faces safety fears on Artemis II Many of the team behind NASA's Artemis II mission were children 40 years ago, when the space shuttle Challenger disaster reshaped spaceflight Meghan Bartels

For its 100th birthday, the Schrödinger equation is getting a glow-up from quantum physicists A century ago, Erwin Schrödinger came up with an equation that says how the quantum world behaves. Now scientists are asking what happens when the observer is part of that world Joseph Howlett

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The biggest explosions in the universe, ranked From planet-scorching stellar outbursts to cataclysms so powerful they shiver the very fabric of spacetime, these are some of the biggest blasts our cosmos has to offer Phil Plait

NASA pushes ahead with 'wet' dress rehearsal for Artemis II moon mission A crucial test of NASA's upcoming crewed flight to the moon is set to take place as soon as Saturday, the agency said Jackie Flynn Mogensen

Back from the dead, a black hole is erupting after a 100-million-year hiatus Radio images captured this "cosmic volcano" being reborn at the heart of the galaxy J1007+3540 K. R. Callaway

JWST unveils most intricate map yet of cosmic dark matter Astronomers puzzled out minuscule distortions in images of faraway galaxies taken by JWST in order to chart the invisible Joseph Howlett

AI reveals 800 never-before-seen 'cosmic anomalies' in old Hubble images Scientists analyzed more than 100 million image cutouts from a Hubble Space Telescope archive and found hundreds of previously undiscovered objects Jackie Flynn Mogensen

Largest-ever 'superposition' supersizes Schrödinger's cat A record-breaking experiment shows that a cluster of thousands of atoms can act like a wave as well as a particle Elizabeth Gibney, Nature magazine

JWST spots most distant galaxy ever, pushing the limits of the observable universe The galaxy MoM-z14 could offer clues to what the universe looked like in its early infancy Jackie Flynn Mogensen

NASA gears up for a historic lunar flyby, AI gives stroke patients hope, and researchers discover the oldest known cave art What's on the road to the launch of NASA's Artemis II, how scientists are using artificial intelligence to help stroke patients speak, and what an Indonesian cave art discovery says about early human migration Kendra Pierre-Louis, Lee Billings, Sushmita Pathak, Kelso Harper, Alex Sugiura

How math can reveal lottery fraud In one day, 433 people won the Philippine lottery jackpot. What were the chances? Manon Bischoff

What We're Reading

Do you have ideas about how to improve America's space program? | Ars Technica The universe may be hiding a fundamentally unknowable quantum secret | New Scientist Is particle physics dead, dying or just hard? | Quanta Magazine

From the Archive

What's the Most Distant Galaxy? And Why Does It Matter? Record-breaking objects can tell us about the most powerful events in the cosmos—sometimes Phil Plait

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☄️Comet 3I/ATLAS tracked by NASA's planet-hunting probe | 🚀SpaceX Crew-12 launch date moved up | 🕳️New origin story for supermassive black holes

SpaceX eyes March for Starship V3 test flight | Summer triangle shines over Egypt Created for ceo.studentlike.spuniv@blogger.com | Web Version   January 29, 2026 FOLLOW US FOLLOW US   Taking you out of this world, every day SIGN UP ⋅   WEBSITE   The Launchpad NASA's planet-hunting spacecraft tracks comet 3I/ATLAS During a special observation run from Jan. 15 to Jan. 22, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) repeatedly observed comet 3I/ATLAS as it headed out of our solar system.  In other news, the James Webb Space Telescope helps with a new origin story for the universe's first supermassive black holes, a gorgeous photo caught the Milky Way glows with the stars of the Summer Triangle above Egypt's Black Desert and scientists may have to look beyond the habitable zone for alien life. We have all that and more for your daily read.  Keep looking up, Kenna Content Manager, Space.com NASA exoplanet probe tracks 3I/ATLAS to gauge its spin The interstellar visitor may still have a few things to tell us before it leaves our solar system. Read More SpaceX aims for mid-March for Starship V3 test flight "Starship launch in 6 weeks." Read More Space quiz! What makes the habitable zone special? Click here for the answer! It allows a planet's water to stay a liquid and not turn into ice or gas It allows a planet's atmosphere to trap heat It gives the perfect temperatures for a planet to host life It's another term for the 3rd planet from the sun   Skywatching Milky Way glows with Summer Triangle stars in Egypt Deneb, Vega and Altair are among the brightest stars in the night sky. Read More Spaceflight NASA, SpaceX move up Crew-12 launch to Feb. 11 That's four days earlier than originally planned. Read More Science & Astronomy Webb uncovers new origins of early giant black holes "Looking out into the universe is uniquely allowing us to look back in time and piece together this beautiful cosmic story that we are part of," one researcher said. Read More How atmosphere and climate help create a polar vortex To understand what Americans are experiencing with this winter blast, we need to look more than 20 miles above the surface of Earth, to the stratospheric polar vortex. Read More Search for Life Experts look beyond habitable zones to find alien life Scientists may need to broaden their horizons in their search for alien life. Read More Space ice may have created 1st building blocks of life "We used to think that only very simple molecules could be created in these clouds. But we have shown that this is clearly not the case," noted one expert. Read More Entertainment 'Supergirl': Release date, plot, & everything we know Superman's Kryptonian cousin is set to soar in DC Studios' 2026 solo superhero flick. Read More Today in Space On this day: Jan. 29, 1989: Phobos 2 enters Mars' orbit On January 29, 1989, a Soviet space probe named Phobos 2 arrived in orbit around Mars. Read More Our photo of day: Satellite sees river flow worldwide Along with this stunning image is the first-ever global estimate of river water discharge and overall sediment suspension. Read More Stay up-to-date on all things space science, news, and entertainment by subscribing to our newsletters. Sign Up   Follow SPACE Contact Us: Feedback | Advertise Sign Up | Update Profile | Unsubscribe Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms and Conditions Future US LLC © Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036