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The best new science fiction books of July 2023

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The best new science fiction books of July 2023

From George R. R. Martin’s new Wild Cards anthology to Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's dystopian take on America, there is a wealth of exciting science fiction out this month. Culture editor Alison Flood shares the novels she is most anticipating

Culture

JWST image of Saturn

Space

Stunning JWST image sees Saturn show off its glowing rings

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What looks much like craggy mountains on a moonlit evening is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on NASA???s James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals previously obscured areas of star birth. Called the Cosmic Cliffs, the region is actually the edge of a gigantic, gaseous cavity within NGC 3324, roughly 7,600 light-years away. The cavernous area has been carved from the nebula by the intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from extremely massive, hot, young stars located in the center of the bubble, above the area shown in this image. The high-energy radiation from these stars is sculpting the nebula???s wall by slowly eroding it away. NIRCam ??? with its crisp resolution and unparalleled sensitivity ??? unveils hundreds of previously hidden stars, and even numerous background galaxies. Several prominent features in this image are described below. ??? The ???steam??? that appears to rise from the celestial ???mountains??? is actually hot, ionized gas and hot dust streaming away from the nebula due to intense, ultraviolet radiation. ??? Dramatic pillars rise above the glowing wall of gas, resisting the blistering ultraviolet radiation from the young stars. ??? Bubbles and cavities are being blown by the intense radiation and stellar winds of newborn stars. ??? Protostellar jets and outflows, which appear in gold, shoot from dust-enshrouded, nascent stars. ??? A ???blow-out??? erupts at the top-center of the ridge, spewing gas and dust into the interstellar medium. ??? An unusual ???arch??? appears, looking like a bent-over cylinder. This period of very early star formation is difficult to capture because, for an individual star, it lasts only about 50,000 to 100,000 years ??? but Webb???s extreme sensitivity and exquisite spatial resolution have chronicled this rare event. Located roughly 7,600 light-years away, NGC 3324 was first cat

Space

The JWST is already delivering on its promise to transform cosmology

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What the huge young galaxies seen by JWST tell us about the universe

Space

What the huge young galaxies seen by JWST tell us about the universe

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Humans could bring microbes into space

Space

Space germs: How can we avoid contaminating other worlds?

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Space

Planned moon landings could pelt orbiting spacecraft with dusty debris

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JWST has spotted a water vapor plume shooting out from the southern pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus

Space

JWST has spotted an enormous plume of water coming out of Enceladus

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NASA's group that studies UAPs is holding its first public meeting

Space

NASA’s UFO team discusses its findings publicly for the first time

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We are finally closing in on the cosmic origins of the “OMG particle”

Space

We are finally closing in on the cosmic origins of the “OMG particle”

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Why sending messages to extraterrestrials is controversial

Space

Why sending messages to extraterrestrials is controversial

If there are intelligent aliens out there, should we try to get in touch with them? And who should speak for Earth, asks professor of astronomy Chris Impey

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Space

Lab imitations of the unobservable cosmos can be genuinely insightful

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Space

Questions I dread: How did the universe begin, and what is space-time?

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Physics

To create a wormhole that doesn't collapse, you need exotic matter

Features

Physics

Why darkness between stars reveals more about the universe than light

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