All articles tagged with #infrared
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captured exoplanet HD 80606 b, a four-Jupiter-mass world on a highly elongated 111-day orbit, heating dramatically as it swings close to its star. Webb's MIRI spectroscopy records a temperature jump of about 1,100°F and detectable chemical changes (e.g., methane, carbon dioxide) across the planet as it moves through periastron and a secondary eclipse, enabling detailed atmospheric studies of hot Jupiters.
A UCSB-led study found infrared radiation from human skin temperatures doubles female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes’ host-seeking when combined with CO2 and human odor, revealing a new heat-detection cue that helps mosquitoes locate humans up to ~70 cm away. The mechanism likely involves heat-activated neurons on the mosquitoes’ antennae rather than visible-light receptors, with implications for improved traps and understanding disease transmission as climate change expands mosquito ranges.
Canon unveils the MS-510, a specialized industrial camera that uses a single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) sensor to count individual photons, delivering ultra-low-light imaging with a minimum subject illumination of 0.0006 lux for security, infrastructure monitoring, wildlife research, and long-range observation using Canon’s broadcast B4 lenses; shipping later this year for $22,800.
NASA released infrared imagery and Nikon DSLR photos of the Artemis II liftoff, showing the SLS rocket and Orion against a darkened sky and capturing details like booster separation. The 10-day lunar flyby mission lifted off at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1, 2026 from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, carrying crew Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. The launch used a large water-deluge system to manage heat, with exhaust temperatures around 6,000°F.
Over a week, I tested HigherDose’s $1,374 Infrared PEMF Pro Mat against a standard yoga mat, hoping for better sleep and muscle recovery. The infrared heat felt calming at first, but sleep did not improve and I woke with unusually vivid dreams. HRV data showed only small, inconclusive changes, and experts say PEMF effects are highly variable and weak compared with medical devices. In short, the mat felt like an expensive heating pad rather than a transformative wellness tool; I’d rather read a book or stretch on my rubber mat.
Astronomers studying Gaia20ehk (Gaia-GIC-1) observed a star whose visible light dimmed while infrared emission surged, consistent with a hot debris cloud from a recent collision between two planetesimals about 1.1 AU from the star, roughly 11,000 light-years away. The infrared glow persisted for years, offering a rare live glimpse into rocky-planet formation; future monitoring with JWST and the Rubin Observatory could reveal more such impacts.
Astronomers watching the Sun-like star Gaia20ehk (about 11,000 light-years away) saw dips in visible light that coincided with infrared brightening, suggesting hot debris from a collision between two planets. The team attributes the phenomenon to a catastrophic planetary collision producing debris and heat, a rare event detected thanks to decades of data and potentially observable by the Rubin Observatory in its upcoming survey.
Astronomers analyzing Gaia20ehk, a sun-like star about 11,000 light-years away, observed erratic dimming in visible light with a simultaneous infrared brightening, consistent with a violent collision between two planets that produced hot dust and debris; the event may resemble the Earth–Moon formation, and Rubin Observatory surveys could reveal many more such collisions to illuminate planetary system evolution.
Hackaday details a reverse-engineering project showing that older optical Emergency Vehicle Preemption (EVP) systems can be spoofed. By analyzing Tomar Strobecom and Opticom hardware, the researcher demonstrated that infrared preemption signals can be replicated and, in some cases, a valid vehicle ID can be transmitted with an Arduino-based transmitter, highlighting potential security risks and stressing the legal and safety implications of attempting such exploits.
A PCMag piece by Justyn Newman outlines eight approachable Flipper Zero projects for newcomers, including learning and emulating IR remotes, backing up access cards and fobs, emulating USB/Bluetooth HID devices, PC monitoring, a mouse jiggler, NFC/Amiibo reads, microchip lookups, and testing Tesla port signals. The article emphasizes responsible use and permission, warns about potential legal or ethical issues, and suggests exploring the Flipper ecosystem and community for more ideas.
Astronomers tracked a massive star in the Andromeda Galaxy (M31-2014-DS1) that brightened in infrared in 2014, then faded and effectively disappeared by 2022–2023, indicating it collapsed into a black hole rather than exploding in a supernova. The remaining dust and gas emit a long-lasting mid-infrared glow as material slowly falls back, a process driven by convection that delays accretion and explains the dimming over decades. This event, linked to a similar case (NGC 6946-BH1), supports a broader class of failed supernovae and improves understanding of how some massive stars end their lives.
A Big Think column argues that the James Webb Space Telescope should pursue a record-breaking, deepest deep-field image by leveraging infrared wavelengths, long exposures, and gravitational lensing to reveal the faintest and most distant galaxies, surpassing Hubble and current JWST surveys and advancing our understanding of cosmic history.
NASA's Pandora, a 17-inch orbital telescope launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9, will hunt for exoplanets by watching starlight for transits in infrared and visible light. In a year-long mission in a Sun-synchronous orbit, it will observe at least 20 exoplanets and their host stars, spending 24 hours per target and revisiting each star ten times to separate planetary signals from starspot noise and refine atmospheric measurements for molecules like water vapor and clouds, potentially edging closer to detecting signs of life.
NASA's SPHEREx spacecraft has released its first comprehensive all-sky map, combining over 100 exposures in 102 infrared colors to provide unprecedented details of the universe, aiding in understanding cosmic origins, galaxy distribution, and interstellar materials, despite challenges from satellite debris.
NASA's SPHEREx telescope has completed its first comprehensive infrared map of the entire sky, capturing 102 different wavelength images that provide valuable data for understanding the universe's origins and evolution, with more scans planned during its primary two-year mission.