Star caught in the act of planetary engulfment
Astronomers have observed a star 1,300 light-years from Earth consuming a brown dwarf about 22 times the mass of Jupiter, marking one of the first direct observations of a star engulfing a planetary body. The star TOI-5882 appears to have swallowed TOI-5882-b, with the event captured using the Very Large Telescope. The discovery provides real-time data on a process that scientists believe happens frequently over cosmic timescales but is rarely caught in action.
Hayabusa-2 completes asteroid flyby
JAXA's Hayabusa-2 spacecraft completed the first asteroid encounter of its extended mission on July 5, flying past the near-Earth asteroid Torifune and returning close-up visible and thermal images. The successful flyby comes years after the mission's original asteroid sample-return objective and demonstrates Japan's continued deep-space capabilities.
Nobel-winning chemist moves to China
Nobel Prize-winning chemist Omar Yaghi announced he will leave the University of California, Berkeley to lead a new AI-driven materials discovery institute in China. The move highlights the growing gravitational pull of Chinese research institutions as US science policy faces uncertainty under the Trump administration. Yaghi's departure is part of a broader pattern of prominent scientists relocating to China.