February 24, 2025: What's on the far side of the Milky Way? Plus, a measles outbreak in Texas and wind storms more damaging than hurricanes. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | Anchalee Phanmaha/Getty Images | | | • Low vaccination rates and undetected infections are driving a measles outbreak in West Texas. Nearly 100 confirmed cases have been reported. | 5 min read | | | • Derechos—long-lasting wind storms associated with thunderstorms—can be more damaging than hurricanes. Here's why. | 3 min read | | | This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the nebula nicknamed "the Dragonfish." This turbulent region lies beyond the galactic center—effectively on the dust-obscured "far side" of our galaxy—and is home to some of the most luminous massive stars in the Milky Way. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Toronto | Far Side of the Milky Way | Nearby stars and other structures in our region of the Milky Way are easy enough for astronomers to observe using optical telescopes, which detect visible light. But pervasive, obscuring dust makes visible light much more difficult to see more distant objects in the galaxy's center and on its far side. In recent years, astronomers have overcome this problem by using a variety of radio, microwave, infrared, and x-ray detectors to capture the light of far-side objects emitted at those other wavelengths, writes astronomer and science communicator Phil Plait. How it works: Longer wavelengths of radio waves and shorter wavelengths of x-rays can pass through dust more easily than visible light, revealing details of our galaxy's contents and structure. And so-called maser emissions, light between radio and infrared wavelengths, from gas clouds have revealed details of the Milky Way's distinctive spiral arms.
What they've found: Using non-optical instruments, astronomers have identified the following otherwise obscured Milky Way objects: Sagittarius A*, a supermassive black hole at our galaxy's center; the Dragonfish Nebula, a far-side gigantic gas cloud and star nursery located 31,000 light-years from Earth; and G1.9+0.3, a far-side supernova remnant that's 27,000 light-years from Earth. —Robin Lloyd, contributing editor | | | If you're enjoying all the science we cover in this newsletter, dive deeper with a subscription to Scientific American. You'll have access to all our articles and will be supporting crucial science journalism. | | | • The loss of a grandparent has a particularly strong impact on boys, affecting their cognitive development and academic performance. Both reading and math scores are significantly lower in boys who have recently lost grandparents. Boys of color are the most at risk, write Michelle S. Livings, a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University, and colleagues. "Policy makers, health professionals and educators need to think more broadly about this phenomenon. This is of critical importance for future generations." | 5 min read | | | Welcome to a new week of scientific discovery! This newsletter is for you, so please let us know how we're doing by emailing newsletters@sciam.com. | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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