Check out these images capturing the wonders of space
This incredible photo shows an event known as a solar prominence eruption. This is when gas extends outwards from the Sun's surface and this can create some pretty impressive shapes. This eruption, snapped on 7 November 2024, lasted about one hour from the initial burst to its end.
This photo is of a supernova remnant called Abell 85. Supernova remnants are formed after a star explodes. This one is shaped a bit like a pomegranate and the photographer, Deqian Li, spent six days camping in the Hongyuan County in China to capture it.
This image beautifully captures the Cygnus region of the Milky Way from Gerakies, Cyprus.The part of the photo closest to the camera was captured during blue hour, which is the time just before the sun rises or just after it sets, to achieve greater detail of the distant mountains and the trees directly in front of the camera.
How cool is this photo! It shows a dragon tree standing tall in the heart of Socotra's Dragon Blood Tree forest in Yemen. The final image is actually made up of 300 individual shots.
This picture really captures the spectacular wonders of space. It shows lots of stars, a glowing cloud of gas known as an emission nebula and a mysterious central bulge. Did you know the mist surrounding the galaxy is actually tens of thousands of yellowish tiny stars?
This photograph is of M33, a huge galaxy three million light-years away from Earth. It's also known as the Triangulum Galaxy and has around 40 billion stars.
This impressive panorama is a view from the Utah desert. It captures the mysterious landscape below a starry Milky Way.
This magical looking image was taken in a location on Senja island in Norway. It shows the mesmerising colours of the aurora in the sky.
Snapped on the evening of 12 October 2024 at Pu'u O Kaimukī Park in Hawaii, this photo shows the passage of Comet C/2023 A3.It was one of the most anticipated astronomical events of the year.
How amazing does the Moon look here? It was snapped above the peaks of the Dolomite mountains in Italy. With no clouds in sight, the golden light of sunset can be seen right across the mountains.
The winners of each of the competition's nine categories, two other special prizes and the overall winner will be announced on Thursday 11 September 2025. Those looking to catch a glimpse of the photos up close will be able to do so at a special exhibition at the National Maritime Museum from Friday 12 September.
"...we believe that astrophotography is not only a way to record the cosmos, but also a way to inspire curiosity, foster education and build communities that transcend borders," said Sam Wen the founder and CEO of ZWO."Everyone deserves a chance to connect with the Universe — and through our support, we hope to bring that experience to more people."What of the shortlisted images is your favourite and why? You can let us know in the comments below.
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Medical News Today
14 hours ago
- Medical News Today
2 low-calorie days a week could aid weight loss, blood sugar control in diabetes
Weight loss can be effective in managing type 2 diabetes, a condition where a person cannot control their blood glucose losing weight can be challenging, so finding a method of weight control that fits with a person's lifestyle is important.A new study has shown that several forms of energy restriction can help people with obesity and type 2 diabetes to lose weight and manage their blood the 5:2 diet, time-restricted eating, and continuous energy restriction were all beneficial, experts suggest that people opt for the form of energy restriction they find easiest to 2 diabetes is an increasingly common condition, and a serious public health concern. Forecasts predict that it will affect close to 10% of the world's population by condition, in which a person's cells stop responding to insulin, resulting in uncontrolled blood glucose (sugar) levels, is strongly linked to overweight and obesity. Losing weight can help to manage the symptoms, and significant weight loss may even reverse type 2 diabetes in some people.A new study from The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, China, tested three methods of energy restriction for weight loss and blood glucose control in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes. The study, which was presented at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Francisco, CA, suggests that while all three methods showed benefits, intermittent energy restriction (IER) — characterized by 5 days normal eating and 2 days of very low energy intake each week — was slightly more effective in reducing fasting blood glucose, improving insulin sensitivity, and lowering findings are yet to appear in a peer-reviewed researcher Haohao Zhang, PhD, chief physician at The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Zhengzhou, China, told Medical News Today:'All three dietary approaches — IER, TRE [time-restricted eating], and CER [continuous energy restriction] — were beneficial because they reduced total calorie intake, a key factor in improving glycemic control (HbA1c) and promoting weight loss in obese individuals with type 2 diabetes. Regardless of the method, calorie restriction facilitated weight loss, reducing insulin resistance and improving glycemic control.'3 ways to reduce energy intake in diabetesThe researchers recruited 90 people with type 2 diabetes and obesity into their study. They then randomly assigned them to three groups, each of which followed a different diet program. At the start, participants had a mean age of 36.8 years, and a mean duration of type 2 diabetes of 1.5 total, 63 people (18 women and 45 men) completed the 16-week, nutritionist-supervised researchers measured glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) — a standard test for type 2 diabetes that measures blood glucose over the previous 90 days — at the start and end of the trial. Optimal HbA1c is less than 5.7%, with 6.5% or over indicating type 2 the start of the study participants had a mean HbA1c, of 7.42%, and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 31.7 kilograms per square meter (kg/m²).Each group followed one of three low-calorie diet programs, with the same overall energy intake each week, as Zhang explained to MNT:intermittent energy restriction (IER) — This group consumed very low calories (500–600 kilocalories [kcal]) on two nonconsecutive days per week, with normal eating on the remaining 5 days, adhering to a weekly total calorie goal. Eating times were not restricted, but calorie intake was limited on fasting eating (TRE) — Participants ate within a 10-hour window (6–8 am to 4–6 pm) each day, fasting for the remaining 14 hours. Within the eating window, food intake was controlled to match the weekly calorie goal consistent across all energy restriction (CER) — These people followed a low-calorie diet without specific time restrictions, maintaining a consistent weekly calorie deficit to match the other groups' weekly calorie intake. Which diet leads to weight loss and better blood glucose control?Participants in all three groups lost weight and showed better blood glucose control by the end of the 16-week study. Mean weight loss for the 3 groups was 7.5 kilograms (kg), with those in the IER group losing the most, and participants in all three groups reduced their HbA1c by more than 1%.David M. Cutler, MD, a board-certified family medicine physician at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, not involved in the study, told MNT that:'Data from the study showed statistically significant benefit in weight loss and reduction in hemoglobin A1c, which indicates better control of diabetes. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the three groups for these measures.'Further research needed in diverse populationsCutler pointed out that: 'This study was conducted at The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. So, it remains to be seen if such dietary restrictions would yield similar results in an American population. Further research would need to be done in a larger, more diverse population to see which form of dietary restriction is most likely to be beneficial.'Zhang agreed, saying that future studies should 'include broader populations — e.g. [of] varying ages, ethnicities, or diabetes durations — to assess the generalizability of these dietary approaches, and explore psychological and behavioral factors affecting adherence to IER, TRE, and CER to optimize patient support and intervention design.'What is the best way to lose weight and manage type 2 diabetes?'The fact that only 63 of the 90 patients actually completed the study speaks to the fact that adhering to dietary restrictions is difficult,' Cutler told recommended the 5:2 diet 'due to its greater benefits in reducing fasting blood glucose, improving insulin sensitivity, lowering triglycerides, and achieving higher compliance (85%).'He added that it 'offers flexibility, allowing normal eating for five days and calorie restriction on two non-consecutive days, which may be easier to sustain than daily restrictions (CER) or strict eating windows (TRE).''However,' he told MNT that people should consult a dietitian and that, 'the choice should be individualized, considering patient preferences, lifestyle, and adherence capacity.'Both he and Cutler emphasized that any weight-loss regime will benefit people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, with Cutler concluding that:'The major take home message seems to be that any dietary restriction can be helpful for weight loss and managing type 2 diabetes if [the] patient will stick to it. My personal recommendation is to eat less, and mostly vegetables. And for people who want more structure than that, they should try any form of intermittent fasting or specific calorie restriction which is most appealing to them.'
The Independent
15 hours ago
- The Independent
Why cleaner air is actually accelerating global warming
Global warming has picked up pace since around 2010, leading to the recent string of record warm years. Why this is happening is still unclear, and among the biggest questions in climate science today. Our new study reveals that reductions in air pollution – particularly in China and east Asia – are a key reason for this faster warming. Cleanup of sulphur emissions from global shipping has been implicated in past research. But that cleanup only began in 2020, so it's considered too weak to explain the full extent of this acceleration. Nasa researchers have suggested that changes in clouds could play a role, either through reductions in cloud cover in the tropics or over the North Pacific. One factor that has not been well quantified, however, is the effect of monumental efforts by countries in east Asia, notably China, to combat air pollution and improve public health through strict air quality policies. There has already been a 75% reduction in east Asian sulphur dioxide emissions since around 2013, and that cleanup effort picked up pace just as global warming began accelerating. Our study addresses the link between east Asian air quality improvements and global temperature, building on the efforts of eight teams of climate modellers across the world. We have found that polluted air may have been masking the full effects of global warming. Cleaner air could now be revealing more of the human-induced global warming from greenhouse gases. In addition to causing millions of premature deaths, air pollution shields the Earth from sunlight and therefore cools the surface. There has been so much air pollution that it has held human-induced warming in check by up to 0.5°C over the last century. With the cleanup of air pollution, something that's vital for human health, this artificial sunshade is removed. Since greenhouse gas emissions have kept on increasing, the result is that the Earth's surface is warming faster than ever before. Modelling the cleanup Our team used 160 computer simulations from eight global climate models. This enabled us to better quantify the effects that east Asian air pollution has on global temperature and rainfall patterns. We simulated a cleanup of pollution similar to what has happened in the real world since 2010. We found an extra global warming of around 0.07°C. While this is a small number compared with the full global warming of around 1.3°C since 1850, it is still enough to explain the recent acceleration in global warming when we take away year-to-year swings in temperature from natural cycles such as El Niño, a climate phenomenon in the Pacific that affects weather patterns globally. Based on long-term trends, we would have expected around 0.23°C of warming since 2010. However, we actually measured around 0.33°C. While the additional 0.1°C can largely be explained by the east Asian air pollution cleanup, other factors include the change in shipping emissions and the recent accelerated increase in methane concentrations in the atmosphere. Air pollution causes cooling by reflecting sunlight or by changing the properties of clouds so they reflect more sunlight. The cleanup in east Asian air pollution influences global temperatures because it reduces the shading effect of the pollution over east Asia itself. It also means less pollution is blown across the north Pacific, causing clouds in the east Pacific to reflect less sunlight. The pattern of these changes across the North Pacific simulated in our models matches that seen in satellite observations. Our models and temperature observations also show relatively strong warming over the North Pacific, downwind from east Asia. The main source of global warming is still greenhouse gas emissions, and a cleanup of air pollution was both necessary and overdue. This did not cause the additional warming but rather, removed an artificial cooling that has for a time helped shield us from some of the extreme weather and other well-established consequences of climate change. Global warming will continue for decades. Indeed, our past and future emissions of greenhouse gases will affect the climate for centuries. However, air pollution is quickly removed from the atmosphere, and the recent acceleration in global warming from this particular unmasking may therefore be short-lived. Laura Wilcox is a Professor at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Reading
Times
16 hours ago
- Times
Biggest Martian meteorite on Earth is yours ‘for $4m'
In November 2023, deep in the Sahara desert, a meteorite hunter saw a glistening surface shining in the sand and their fortunes were transformed. This object from another world was the largest rock from Mars found on Earth. At 25kg (55lb) it weighs as much as a labrador retriever and more than the average British Airways checked-in baggage allowance. Now the space rock is up for sale and is estimated to fetch $2 million to $4 million at auction on Wednesday. Known as NWA 16788, the rock is believed to have been dislodged from the surface of Mars by a large asteroid strike before travelling 140 million miles and plummeting into the Sahara. It was found in Niger by an anonymous meteorite hunter, according to Sotheby's in New York, which is overseeing the sale. 'This Martian meteorite is the largest piece of Mars we have ever found by a long shot,' Cassandra Hatton, vice-chairman for science and natural history at Sotheby's, said. Measuring 37.5cm by 27.9cm by 15.2cm, the chunk of the red planet is about 70 per cent larger than the next largest piece found on Earth. The red, brown and grey rock represents nearly 7 per cent of all the Martian material in the world. There are only 400 Martian meteorites out of the more than 77,000 officially recognised meteorites found on Earth, according to the auction house. A small piece of the rock was sent to a specialised lab, which matched it with rocks discovered during the Viking space probe that landed on Mars in 1976, Hatton said. Its glassy surface, likely to have been formed by the heat it experienced as it fell through Earth's atmosphere, was the 'first clue that this wasn't just some big rock on the ground,' Hatton said. • Why is Mars red? We were wrong, say scientists It is unclear when exactly the meteorite hit Earth, but testing shows it probably happened in recent years, Sotheby's said. The fragment was previously on show at the Italian Space Agency in Rome. The identity of its owner has not been disclosed by the auction house. Wednesday's auction is part of Sotheby's Geek Week 2025 and features 122 items, including other meteorites, fossils and gem-quality minerals. As part of the natural history-themed auction, a juvenile Ceratosaurus skeleton that is more than 2m tall and almost 3m long is also up for sale. Found in 1996, it is estimated that the dinosaur skeleton will sell for between $4 million and $6 million.
