The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) and the Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech), collaborated with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), have achieved the world’s first successful demonstration of next-generation error correction codes, mitigating the impact of atmospheric turbulence on ground-to-satellite laser communications.

Atmospheric turbulence in ground-to-satellite laser links is known to cause fading, resulting in burst data errors. Error correction codes are one of the key technologies to mitigate such effects. In this experiment, we transmitted next-generation error correction codes with high correction capability (5G NR LDPC and DVB-S2) and successfully corrected burst data errors caused by atmospheric turbulence in the laser link. This result confirmed that both codes can significantly improve communication quality compared to conventional schemes.

This achievement is expected to contribute to the practical implementation of ground-to-satellite laser communications by applying these codes.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have captured the most detailed look yet at how galaxies formed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang – and found they were far more chaotic and messy than those we see today.

By combining ground-based direct imaging and radial velocity measurements with precise astrometric acceleration data from the Gaia space telescope, astronomers have discovered a brown dwarf companion orbiting a nearby red dwarf star about 55 light-years from Earth. The team accurately determined its mass (≈60 Jupiter masses) and orbital distance (≈4.3 AU) using Subaru’s Infrared Doppler instrument (IRD) under the IRD Strategic Program, Keck high-contrast imaging, and Gaia data. The object, classified as a late-T-type brown dwarf, shows roughly 30% variability in near-infrared brightness, offering a valuable benchmark for studying atmospheric clouds and circulation. This marks the first successful application of Gaia-only astrometric acceleration to precisely characterize a companion beyond Hipparcos’ detection limits.

Dust that grows inside glowing plasma may sound like science fiction, but Auburn physicists have shown it’s real—and controllable. Their new research reveals that weak magnetic fields can act like steering wheels for electrons, dramatically changing how tiny carbon nanoparticles form and grow. The findings open the door to new plasma-based methods for building advanced nanomaterials, while also offering clues to how cosmic dust evolves in space.

Farmers handle a wide range of responsibilities to keep operations running — and a routine but often overlooked duty is safely disposing of dead livestock. Left unattended, carcasses can spread disease and jeopardize entire herds or flocks.

Remarkable changes are taking place in Greenland these years, according to new research. The vast ice masses are warming and melting at an accelerating rate. At the same time, movements in the bedrock caused by the last ice age are reshaping the island. As a result, Greenland is increasingly subjected to twisting, pressure, and tension.

Scientists in China have developed a vertical integrated photonic chip that achieves high-throughput optical computing at 25 million frames per second. Leveraging mutually incoherent vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array and diffractive neural networks, the chip performs single-shot images processing with high energy efficiency and robustness. This breakthrough opens a pathway to next-generation free-space optical processors for real-time vision, AI acceleration, and low-power computing.