News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
Like an ancient cardigan, the Milky Way should be absolutely riddled with black holes. According to our best estimates, there should be as many as 10 million to 1 billion stellar-mass black holes out there, drifting peacefully and quietly through the galaxy. There’s just one problem when it comes to counting them: Unless they manage … Read more
Human vision may be limited to a specific range of wavelengths, but that doesn’t mean we’ll never understand the full complexity of light in our Universe. Instruments can peer into the cosmos in regimes that are otherwise invisible to our eyes, showing us not just the dynamics of the stars, but their absolutely awe-inspiring beauty. … Read more
The sun may appear to be the largest star in the sky but that’s just because it’s the closest. On a stellar scale, it’s really quite average — about half of the known stars are larger; half are smaller. The largest known star in the universe is UY Scuti, a hypergiant with a radius around … Read more
What you’ve never heard of the Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon? it’s the Lego kit that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs. The Millennium Falcon screams classic Star Wars. Along with the X-Wings and the TIE Fighters, the Millennium Falcon is one of the coolest spaceships in sci-fi. Who hasn’t wondered what … Read more
Trekkies of all persuasions will rejoice with word of the newly announced premiere date for the new “Star Trek: Discovery” spinoff series “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” coming to the streaming service Paramount Plus. During this week’s TCA Press Tour, the streaming platform presented an atmospheric new key art poster and a May 5 debut … Read more
If you’re looking for the best Lego Star Wars sets in the universe, then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve covered all types of kits from smaller, kid friendly builds all the way up to huge centerpiece models that can take days to complete like the Millennium Falcon or the Ultimate Collector Series (UCS) … Read more
It’s always great to save on a Lego Star Wars set, and with the recent success of Disney Plus’ “The Book of Boba Fett,” now is the best time to get the bounty hunter’s ship. A saving of $10 isn’t just a good deal on the surface, but it’s even better knowing this is the … Read more
Spacecraft controllers started powering up the four cutting-edge instruments on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope as they prepare for the observatory’s first glimpses of a target star. That star, called HD 84406, is located 241 light-years from Earth and part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The images will not be used for … Read more
Astronomers have just peered into the atmosphere of one of the most extreme exoplanets ever discovered. Although it’s absolutely not habitable (at least as we understand it), the exoplanet WASP-189b is the first in which scientists have been able to probe distinct atmospheric layers, each with their own chemical compositions and characteristics. “In the … Read more
Original full-cast audio dramas harkening back to the golden age of radio are all the rage these days, with impressive productions being mounted for our favorite geek franchises like “Harry Potter,” “Star Wars,” and “Star Trek.” With the second season of “Star Trek: Picard” now slated to premiere on March 3 on Paramount Plus, an … Read more