Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
A mysterious structure has been discovered close to the Solar System as scientists rush to investigate its origin and evolution. The structure appears to be a star-forming region and is one of the largest single structures in the sky. Scientists have named the molecular hydrogen cloud “Eos,” after the Greek goddess of mythology who is the personification of dawn. The details of the findings, published in the journal Nature, state that the structure long invisible, appears to be a vast ball of hydrogen. Astronomers maintained that Eos poses no danger to Earth and the solar system.
SOLAR ECLIPSE: There was a partial solar eclipse on Sunday but no one on Earth saw it. Thankfully, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory did. This time-lapse shows the Moon partially eclipsing the Sun. pic.twitter.com/7yRKzAR8O9
— FOX Weather (@foxweather) April 29, 2025
(Credit: X/@foxweather)
A solar eclipse visible only from space was captured in various images thanks to the US space agency NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). According to Forbes, the event took place on Sunday, April 27. The moon blocked 23% of the sun in a partial eclipse, but it was not possible to see this from Earth. The images of the "lunar transit" show in its entirety, before a large dark orb - moon - passes by, blocking almost a quarter of the star from view. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is a semi-autonomous spacecraft that points at the sun, allowing almost continuous observation. According to NASA, there will be another eclipse on May 25 that will cover only four per cent of the sun.
Hurricanes, storms, floods and other natural disasters may cause $145 billion in insured losses in 2025, nearly 6% up from 2024 and one of the costliest years on record, reinsurance company Swiss Re (SRENH.S), opens new tab said in a report. The year's projected tally of losses from natural catastrophes covered by insurance compares with $137 billion recorded in 2024 and is well above long-term averages. “Underlying risk is increasing continuously with economic and population growth as well as urban sprawl, including in areas vulnerable to natural catastrophes. In addition, climate change effects are playing a role in compounding losses for some weather perils and regions," Swiss Re said in its report.
Dr. Melvin Vopson, a UK-based physicist, suggests that gravity might be evidence we're living in a virtual world, with the universe acting like a giant computer. His theory echoes the 1999 film's concept of a simulated universe, but with a scientific twist. Dr. Vopson's research suggests that gravity might be a form of data organisation, similar to computer code compression. He proposes that the universe's tendency to pull objects with mass towards the Earth's core is analogous to how computers optimise data, supporting the idea that our universe could be a simulated or computational construct. According to the study, gravity reduces "information entropy," or the amount of information an object holds in a given space. Gravity shapes galaxies, orbits planets around stars, and affects nearby objects' motion. In Dr Vopson's theory, gravity pulls objects together as the universe strives to keep information organised and compressed.
