Astronomers may have discovered a scrawny star bolting through the middle of our galaxy with a planet in tow. If confirmed, the pair sets a new record for the fastest-moving exoplanet system, nearly double our solar system’s speed through the Milky Way. The planetary system is thought to move at least 1.2 million miles per hour, or 540 kilometers per second.

The research team of Wang Jianli of the Chun Institute of Optics, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has made progress in the observation of space objects based on metalens. In this study, the 2D concentric-ring structure, which is easier to process, is used as the basic configuration of the metalens, and the 2D meta-atoms are designed to be compatible with transverse electromagnetic wave and Transverse magnetic wave modes .Therefore, a portable telescopic system with a concentric-ring metalens with a diameter of 5cm as the main lens was developed, which achieve high-resolution detection within a 20° field of view, and further advances the deep application of metalens in the field of astronomical observation.

Measurements and data collected from space can be used to better understand life on Earth. 

An ambitious, multinational research project funded by NASA and co-led by UC Merced civil and environmental engineering Professor Erin Hestir demonstrated that Earth’s biodiversity can be monitored and measured from space, leading to a better understanding of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Hestir led the team alongside University of Buffalo geography Professor Adam Wilson and Professor Jasper Slingsby from the University of Cape Town on BioSCape, which collected data over six weeks in late 2024.