Genetic diseases: How scientists are working to make DNA repair (almost) a piece of cake 
Tatahouine: 'Star Wars meteorite' sheds light on the early Solar System 
How do airplanes fly? An aerospace engineer explains the physics of flight 
The mystery of consciousness shows there may be a limit to what science alone can achieve 
Why now is the time to address humanity’s impact on the moon 
Our survey of the sky is uncovering the secrets of how planets are born 
Orbital resonance − the striking gravitational dance done by planets with aligning orbits 
If life exists on Jupiter’s moon Europa, scientists might soon be able to detect it 
Black hole, neutron star or something new? We discovered an object that defies explanation 
Dark energy is one of the biggest puzzles in science and we're now a step closer to understanding it 
Customizing mRNA is easy, and that's what makes it the next frontier for personalized medicine − a molecular biologist explains 
Synthetic human embryos let researchers study early development while sidestepping ethical and logistical hurdles 
Six space missions to look forward to in 2024 
Certain phenomena in space tend to go unanswered for a while and it can stay unsolved, at least it could be said for the Blue Ring Nebula. However, NASA was able to solve its origins after 16 years of remaining a mystery.
The Blue Ring Nebula’s origins remained relatively unknown for 16 years until recently when astronomers were able to figure it out. A study by researchers using data from NASA found that the blue ring that makes up the celestial object is actually the base of a cone-shaped cloud made up of glowing molecular hydrogen. Other observations from the W M Keck Observatory in Hawaii also ended up with the same conclusion. It is our perspective that makes the clouds of gas and dust look like blue rings.
NASA scientists, on the other hand, were able to determine the origins of this once-elusive entity. It is suspected that the clouds of glowing debris formed after a star similar to that of our Sun consumed a smaller companion star some thousand years ago.
According to Caltech’s Dr. Keri Hoadley, who is also the lead author of the study, “We think this object represents a late stage of these transient events when the dust finally clears and we have a good view. But we also caught the process before it was too far along; after time, the nebula will dissolve into the interstellar medium and we would not be able to tell anything happened at all.”
From the nebula to our own Milky Way galaxy, astronomers have now discovered the biggest merger of galaxies in the history of our home galaxy. Referred to as the “Kraken,” which also happens to be the oldest merger that occurred with the Milky Way, which took place 11 billion years ago. At the time, the Milky Way galaxy was four times smaller than it is today.
“The collision with Kraken must have been the most significant merger the Milky Way ever experienced,” said the study’s lead author Diederik Kruijssen of the University of Heidelberg in Germany. “Before it was thought that a collision with the Gaia-Enceladus-Sausage galaxy which took place some nine billion years ago, was the biggest collision event.”
