Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
A recent study by researchers at Radboud University in the Netherlands indicates that the universe may reach its end much earlier than previously estimated. Traditionally, the universe was believed to persist for approximately 10^1,100 years. However, the new calculations suggest that the universe could effectively cease to exist in about 10^78 years significantly shorter timespan. Designed upon Stephen Hawking's theory of black hole evaporation via Hawking radiation, Researchers proposed that not only black holes but all massive objects, including white dwarfs and neutron stars, will eventually evaporate due to similar radiation processes. While this revised timeline for the universe's end is still beyond human comprehension, the findings offer new insights into the long-term fate of cosmic structures and the universe itself.
Wowza! Take a look at this monster filament of plasma that just erupted off the Sun – gorgeous! The main eruption appears to be directed north, but modelling efforts will soon reveal if any part of it is heading towards Earth. #spaceweather #astronomy pic.twitter.com/84qpGb6mct
— Dr. Ryan French (@RyanJFrench) May 13, 2025
(Credit: X/@RyanJFrench)
The Sun unleashed a mega explosion from its northern hemisphere hurtling millions of tons of solar material into space. The solar filament caught by aurora chaser Vincent Ledvina, stretches over a million kilometres in length as it begins its journey away from the Sun. Meanwhile, a solar filament is a large, elongated structure of cool, dense plasma suspended above the Sun’s surface by magnetic fields. Despite being cooler than the surrounding solar atmosphere (the corona), it still emits light but appears dark when viewed against the bright background of the Sun. The thermosphere, Earth’s upper atmospheric layer was heated to a record 1,150C from the storm, causing it to expand and loft heavy nitrogen particles higher.
(Credit: NASA)
Cloaked in a thick, yellowish haze, Titan is the only place in our solar system besides Earth where rain falls from the sky and fills lakes and rivers. But on Titan, the rain is not water-it's liquid methane and ethane, hydrocarbons that are gases on Earth but behave as chilly liquids in Titan's frigid environment, as confirmed by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, along with images from the Keck II telescope, These clouds, made of methane, form much like water clouds on Earth: methane evaporates from Titan's surface, rises, cools, and condenses into clouds, which sometimes unleash oily methane rain onto the icy ground. Unlike Earth, where water is the key ingredient for life and weather, Titan's atmosphere and surface are dominated by methane and ethane. The surface temperature is a bone-chilling -179C, so water is frozen as hard as rock, while methane flows freely.
Researchers at the University of Calgary in Canada stated that the faint glow was associated with a phenomenon called ultraweak photon emission (UPE) that is produced by several living animals in strong contrast with their non-living bodies. In the cells of these organisms, a structure called mitochondria is the site where sugars are burned with oxygen in a process called "oxidative metabolism". During these reactions, molecules gain and lose energy, letting off a few photons. The light is also produced when living cells are troubled by stresses such as heat, poisons, pathogens, or lack of nutrients. The faintest of ethereal glows produced by stressed cells might help doctors understand the areas of damaged tissues.
