Black holes snacking on small stars create particle accelerators that bombard Earth with cosmic rays

a bright orb next to a cloud of brown dust

Using 16 years of data from NASA’s gamma-ray detecting Fermi spacecraft, astronomers have discovered that “microquasars,” systems in which a black hole is slowly devouring a star, may be small, but they pack one heck of a punch. Despite their diminutive nature, this research suggests even microquasars snacking on small stars can have an impressive … Read more

Gamma rays create Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World, but how do they work in the real world?

A comic book still showing a huge red-skinned man with an angry expression, surrounded by fire.

Captain America: Brave New World opens in theaters globally on Valentine’s Day 2025, bringing with it a popular expansion to Hulk-lore, the Red Hulk. Like all Hulks across various forms of media, there is a good chance that the origins of the Red Hulk in the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are … Read more

Cosmic rays may complicate the quest to find life on Mars

On Mars, some of the most likely places to look for traces of ancient life may also be the least likely to preserve those traces. This is the result of a recent study that simulated exposing important building blocks of life called “lipids” to cosmic rays pummeling the surface of Mars. And, in short, the … Read more