Space & Physics: JWST spots most distant galaxy in known universe

June 13th–What would happen if a nuke detonated in low-Earth orbit? Our top story highlights the science and history of space-based nuclear blasts. Plus, read about the farthest galaxy ever seen, the 'goldene rush,' and much more. --Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space and Physics

Top Stories

What Happens if a Nuke Goes Off in Space? Russia may be planning to put a nuclear weapon in orbit. We have known since the 1960s why that is a bad idea Allison Parshall

JWST Detects the Earliest, Most Distant Galaxy in the Known Universe—And It's Super Weird NASA's James Webb Space Telescope observed an unusually large and highly luminous galaxy at a record-breaking 290 million years after the big bang Riis Williams, intern writer

Atom-Thick Gold Coating Sparks Scientific 'Goldene Rush' Ultrathin gold was achieved with the help of a century-old sword-making technique Rachel Nuwer

First Wooden Satellite Will Test 'Green' Space Exploration Japan's LignoSat will test wood's resilience in space and could lead to a new era of more sustainable, less polluting satellites Tim Hornyak; Nature magazine

Smartphone Cameras Owe Their Power to Astronomy The next time you snap a selfie, consider thanking an astronomer for your phone's camera Phil Plait

Prime Number Puzzle Has Stumped Mathematicians for More Than a Century Experts have only started to crack the tricky twin prime conjecture Manon Bischoff

Rock Samples from Far-Side of the Moon and a 'Morning-After Pill' for STIs The Hubble Space Telescope's woes, moon rocks and antibiotic candidates discovered with AI are all in this week's news roundup. Kelso Harper; Rachel Feltman; Fonda Mwangi; Madison Goldberg, contract writer

Astronomers Should Take a Deeper Look at Naming We should—and must—take careful measure of what we name cosmic objects and the terms we use throughout science Phil Plait

Why More Space Launches Could Be a Good Thing for the Climate A space technology company CEO explains how growing competition in the commercial space industry may help boost climate science Riis Williams, intern writer

AI Will Become Mathematicians' 'Co-Pilot' Fields Medalist Terence Tao explains how proof checkers and AI programs are dramatically changing mathematics Christoph Drösser

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