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review

Wolf-Rayet stars are known to be efficient dust producers, and the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on NASA?s James Webb Space Telescope shows this to great effect. Cooler cosmic dust glows at the longer mid-infrared wavelengths, displaying the structure of WR 124?s nebula. The nebula is made of material cast off from the aging star in random ejections, and from dust produced in the ensuing turbulence. This brilliant stage of mass loss precedes the star?s eventual supernova, when nuclear fusion in its core stops and the pressure of gravity causes it to collapse in on itself, and then explode. As MIRI demonstrates here, Webb will help astronomers to explore questions that were previously only left to theory about how much dust stars like this create before exploding in a supernova, and how much of that dust is large enough to survive the blast and go on to serve as building blocks of future stars and planets.

Space

Six of the most amazing space pictures from 2023

This year saw an extraordinary number of awe-inspiring images of objects in space, thanks in part to the James Webb Space Telescope. Here are the ones that dazzled us most and why they are important

News

The best science-inflected music of 2023

Comment

The best science-inflected music of 2023

Culture

The best 3 board games of 2023 – if you love science

Comment

The best 3 board games of 2023 – if you love science

Culture

Space

2023 saw thrilling space missions and new cosmic mysteries

News

2F3WH8B Book of the universe - opened magic book with planets and galaxies. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

Comment

The 22 best non-fiction and popular science books of 2023

Culture

2T11AWH London, UK. 10th Oct, 2023. Staff pose with the Lightning Fields series at the preview. 'Hiroshi Sugimoto: Time Machine' exhibition preview and photocall at the Hayward Gallery. The exhibition will run until 7th Jan, 2024. Credit: Imageplotter/Alamy Live News

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The best science picture books for your coffee table in 2023

Culture

Colorful light trail soaring the sky connecting the world with wireless technology with the Yosemite National Park in California.

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The 13 best new science fiction books of 2023

Culture

The Future of Language review: Powerful tech will change everything

Mind

The Future of Language review: Powerful tech will change everything

Culture

2AR175X Amsterdam, Netherlands. 25th Jan, 2020. AMSTERDAM, 25-01-2020, Amsterdam, Dam Square, 5G Protest Credit: Pro Shots/Alamy Live News

Comment

Troubled by Faith review: How delusion marked psychology's beginnings

Culture

2K00NBC Diver in a bloom of jellyfishes Aurelia aurita pointing something

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How do two new books on consciousness close in on the elusive field?

The Four Realms of Existence by Joseph LeDoux and Consciousness by John Parrington tell us a lot about human cognition, brain structure and evolution – but most of all they demonstrate how far this most tricky of quests still has to go

Culture

Comment

For All Mankind season four review: Space race drama still a winner

Culture

Comment

Into the Dark review: Intriguing book dissects darkness

Culture

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Most Delicious Poison review: A lively journey through nature's toxins

Culture

Comment

Irresistible review: A charming look at why we find things cute

Culture

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