NASA just powered up Roman’s massive 300-megapixel camera

• Astronomers are sharing mind-blowing facts about space, including how we can view distant galaxies as they existed millions of years ago. • Eratosthenes, an ancient Greek scientist, calculated the size of the Earth using shadows and was less than 1% off, demonstrating early understanding of the planet's dimensions.

• Astronomers discovered 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar visitor, in July 2025. • Powerful observatories found that the object contains peculiar isotopes, which are different versions of chemical elements.

• Scientists have made recent breakthrough discoveries that are changing our understanding of the natural world across multiple academic disciplines. • These findings highlight the delicate balance of global ecosystems, which can be observed through field tracking using tools like binoculars or data analysis from science books.

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the European Space Agency (ESA) extended their space cooperation agreement until January 2032. • The renewed partnership expands joint work to include human and robotic exploration, space weather, and space sustainability.

• The 2026 Gizmodo Science Fair has announced its winners, honoring the year's most significant discoveries and breakthroughs in various fields. • The winners include breakthroughs in medicine and biotechnology, as well as advancements in space exploration and AI tools that are changing our understanding of the planet.

• Astronomers studied nine local galaxies to understand the role of supermassive black holes in shaping their surroundings. • The researchers found that shock waves from these black holes sculpt star formation, with the black holes actively reshaping their galaxies.

• Astronomers have studied the host galaxies of mysterious "Little Red Dot" objects spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope to solve their mystery. • The objects are unusual, with one astronomer stating "We hadn't seen anything like this in the local universe", indicating their peculiar nature.

• Researchers at Curtin University discovered that twisted materials can unlock exotic quantum states by creating moiré superlattices with altered electronic properties through slight rotations. • The creation of these moiré superlattices allows for the manipulation of electronic properties, which could potentially lead to the development of new superconductors.

• Jiaen Jiang, a 16-year-old student from Rosenberg, Texas, won a $25,000 Davidson Fellows Scholarship for creating a device to capture hazardous Moon dust. • The Moondust Magnet uses a bipolar interdigitated electrode array to create electric fields that attract both charged and neutral particles of lunar regolith, or Moon soil.

• NASA activated the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's 300-megapixel camera for the first time this week to capture a debut test image. • The first image features stars appearing neon-green as part of the initial technical verification of the telescope's powerful imaging system.

• The peer review system in the U.S science grant process is being dismantled, which has taken eighty years to build and establish. • The people leaving the system now have taken decades to train, resulting in significant losses of expertise and potential discoveries.