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Lost in Space-Time

Each month, we hand over the keyboard to a physicist or mathematician to tell you about fascinating ideas from their corner of the universe. You can sign up to the Lost in Space-Time newsletter here.
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Caption This image from NASA?s James Webb Space Telescope shows a portion of the Leo P dwarf galaxy (stars at lower right represented in blue). Leo P is a star-forming galaxy located about 5 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. A team of scientists collected data from about 15,000 stars in Leo P to deduce its star formation history. They determined that it went through three phases: an initial burst of star formation, a ?pause? that lasted several billion years, and then a new round of star formation that is still continuing. The image from Webb?s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) combines infrared light at wavelengths of 0.9 microns (represented in blue), 1.5 microns (green), and 2.77 microns (red). The stars in Leo P appear blue in comparison to the background galaxies for several reasons. Young, massive stars that are common in star-forming galaxies are predominantly blue. Leo P also is extremely lacking in elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, and the resulting ?metal-poor? stars tend to be bluer than Sun-like stars. A bubble-like structure at bottom center is a region of ionized hydrogen surrounding a hot, massive O-type star. Credits Image NASA, ESA, CSA, Kristen McQuinn (STScI) Image Processing Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Space

James Webb captures a beautiful smattering of blue stars

The striking blue stars of the Leo P dwarf galaxy appear dashed across the lower right corner of this image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope

News

The physicist trying to build humanity's lunar future with moon dirt

Space

The physicist trying to build humanity's lunar future with moon dirt

Features

Incredible images show the moment SpaceX's Starship exploded

Space

Incredible images show the moment SpaceX's Starship exploded

Regulars

Atlas C2024-G3 Jan 11, 2025

Space

See comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) as viewed from Earth's orbit

News

The physicist on a mission to understand Mercury's epic solar storms

Space

The physicist on a mission to understand Mercury's epic solar storms

Features

n 2025 BepiColombo image1 Top three images from BepiColombo's sixth Mercury flyby 09/01/2025 619 views 4 likes ESA / Science & Exploration / Space Science / BepiColombo On 8 January 2025, the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission flew past Mercury for the sixth time, successfully completing the final ?gravity assist manoeuvre? needed to steer it into orbit around the planet in late 2026. The spacecraft flew just a few hundred kilometres above the planet's north pole. Close-up images expose possibly icy craters whose floors are in permanent shadow, and the vast sunlit northern plains. At 06:59 CET, BepiColombo flew just 295 km above Mercury's surface on the planet's cold, dark night side. Around seven minutes later, it passed directly over the Mercury's north pole before getting clear views of the planet's sunlit north. European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Josef Aschbacher revealed the first image during his Annual Press Briefing on 9 January. As during BepiColombo's previous flybys, the spacecraft's monitoring cameras (M-CAMs) did not disappoint. This flyby also marks the last time that the mission's M-CAMs get up-close views of Mercury, as the spacecraft module they are attached to will separate from the mission's two orbiters ? ESA?s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA?s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter ? before they enter orbit around Mercury in late 2026. Celebrating the M-CAMs' final hurrah, let's explore the best three images from BepiColombo's sixth close encounter with the little planet, and what they reveal about mysterious Mercury.

Space

BepiColombo snaps Mercury's dark craters and volcanic plains

News

Ritual Sticks - Uncle Russell Mullett on the balcony of Cloggs Cave

Humans

Ancient humans understood the future and the past pretty much as we do

Comment

Mathematics

How a typo spoiled my proof of Fermat’s last theorem

News

2M9CJ0J 1940s SCATTERED PAGES FROM A ONE DAY AT A TIME FLIP DESK CALENDAR NUMBERS DAYS OF WEEK PATTERN PAPER TEXTURE - s10448 HAR001 HARS REPRESENTATION

Mathematics

This mathematical trick lets you work out the weekday of any date

Regulars

How the covid-19 pandemic distorted our experience of time

Health

How the covid-19 pandemic distorted our experience of time

Many of us experienced time differently in the pandemic. Learning why can help us, say Ruth Ogden and Patricia Kingori

Comment

Physics

Physicists in 2024 searched the quantum realm for the truth about time

News

Space

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory gets started next year. I can't wait

Comment

Space

The best space images from 2024

News

Video

2024 review: Stunning JWST images that reveal the beauty of space

Video

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