January 22, 2025: The mysterious physics of supernovas, why snow is so magical, and try to steer clear of January wellness fads. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | "Chorus waves" have been linked to auroras much like this one, seen from the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit. NASA/UPI/Alamy Stock Photo | | | • Peculiar bursts of energy called chorus waves have been detected in deep space far from our planet, suggesting they could pose problems for long-distance space travel. | 5 min read | | | • There's science behind why snow brings out a child-like joy in so many people. | 3 min read | | | • Speaking of snow: Here's what brought record-breaking snowfall to the Gulf Coast (8 inches in New Orleans!). | 2 min read | | | Astronomers aimed the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at the supernova Cassiopeia A, a relatively young, exploded star some 11,000 light-years from Earth. The new images revealed a layer of gas that escaped during the stellar explosion. The researchers also spotted a never-before-seen ring of green gas (which they named the Green Monster) that they think blew off the star before it exploded.
What the experts say: Stars create the elements required for life. Supernova eruptions spew these elements into space, seeding galaxies with the raw materials to form new stars and planets. "As citizens of the universe, it's important we understand this fundamental process that makes our place in the universe possible," says Purdue University astronomer Danny Milisavljevic, who led the team behind the JWST images. | | | NASA/ESA JWST, Danny Milisavljevic/Purdue University, Tea Temim/Princeton University, Ilse De Looze/University of Ghent and HST, R. Fesen/Dartmouth College; J. Schmidt (image processing) | This blob (dubbed the Green Monster) is made of gas layers the star cast off before it burst apart. Scientists think fast-moving clumps of supernova material punched through and created holes in the surrounding sheet of gas. The clumps of gas are enormous—roughly 500-times the distance between Earth and the sun. | | | NASA/CXC/SAO (x-ray); NASA/ESA/STScI (optical); NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/D. Milisavljevic et al., NASA/JPL/Caltech (infrared); NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt and K. Arcand (image processing) | Recent data from JWST are combined in this image with earlier observations by the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope to reveal a clearer picture of Cassiopeia A than ever before. | | | • It's that time of year again, when influencers and fitness promoters fill social media feeds with promos for wellness cures, immune boosters, green powders, detox cleanses and more. Hype over vitamin supplements remains particularly high. "Despite the tens of tens of billions of dollars spent on supplements annually, decades of data tell the same story—for nonpregnant people with no diagnosed deficiency, there are simply no known benefits to supplementation," writes scientist and author David Robert Grimes. Why is pseudoscience so rampant on social media? "The frequently one-sided relationships followers form with influencers and celebrities heighten the latter's persuasive powers, granting them undue credibility," he says. "Low levels of health and media literacy also render people especially vulnerable to hyperbolic claims about their health. | 4 min read | | | • A home security camera captures a meteorite slamming into the front walkway (with sound!). | The New York Times | • Can you read cursive? The National Archives are looking for citizen transcribers to help decode more than 200 years' worth of U.S. documents. | USA Today | | | • In 1831, the sun turned into varying shades of blue, purple and green. Scientists finally know why. | Popular Mechanics | | | Astronomer and famed science communicator (and one of my personal favorite humans) Carl Sagan famously said that "we are made of star stuff." Elements flung out into the dark reaches of space by dying stars in the early universe coalesced into the disk of dust and debris that formed our solar system, and that eventually formed us. Without the violent death of stars, we would not exist. | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
One New York Plaza, New York, NY, 10004 | | | | | | Support our mission, subscribe to Scientific American | | | | | | | | | |
