An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: An Australian beach community was confused -- and later delighted -- by the discovery of six metallic-looking spheres that washed ashore last week. The mystery, and the ensuing attention, prompted a bunch of alien jokes from local residents and businesses. But Australia's space agency put the speculation to rest on Monday, saying that the spheres appeared to be rocket debris that had recently re-entered the atmosphere from orbit. The objects were found on Forrest Beach in the northeastern state of Queensland over the weekend, the state's fire department said. Residents described them as being about twice the size of a basketball. "The recovered objects appear to be pressure vessels from a space launch vehicle," the Australian Space Agency said in a statement, adding that they were "consistent with debris from a foreign rocket body." The agency said that it had identified the likely source of the objects, without providing further details, and was working with international authorities to confirm the vehicle from which the debris originated.

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U.S. satellite image limitations have hampered journalists covering the Iran war. But other sources are offering workarounds, making it harder for militaries to conceal their actions.

New Zealand startup Zenno Astronautics has completed the first orbital test of its "Supertorquer," a shoebox-sized superconducting magnet system that uses solar power and Earth's magnetic field to help control a satellite without fuel. The company says the technology could eventually support fuel-free satellite maneuvers, docking, deep-space trajectory changes, and even magnetic radiation shielding for astronauts. Space Magazine reports: The tests began shortly after Mira's launch in November last year aboard the SpaceX Transporter 12 mission and saw the shoebox-size device perform with flying colors, Zenno Astronautics CEO and founder Max Arshavsky, told Space.com. "It's a technology that allows a spacecraft to not tumble violently in space and point in the right direction," Arshavsky said. "The unit has multiple super-conducting magnets that are positioned in different axes. When we power up the magnets, they generate a magnetic field, which interacts with Earth's magnetic field, and because we can control the magnetic field on the satellite, we can control the way in which it turns with respect to Earth." Superconducting magnets are made of coils of superconducting wire that have zero electrical resistance and can therefore conduct much larger currents than normal wires. That larger current translates into a greater magnetic force. There is, however, a catch: Superconducting materials need to be cooled to extremely low temperatures to gain their wonder properties. [...] The unit housing the superconducting magnets is wrapped in layers of insulation and fitted with a heat pump that removes all the excess heat from the system. Every time the satellite needs a push, the superconducting coils power up, drawing energy from a battery charged by the satellite's solar panels. "It's converting solar energy straight into useful work," Arshavsky said. "Energy is the one thing that is abundant in space, and you can use it to energize the magnet to create a magnetic acceleration device. It gives you acceleration without fuel." In the future, Zenno Astronautics plans to launch larger systems that could enable spacecraft to dock in space or conduct close proximity operations using just the power of their solar-powered superconducting magnets. Arshavsky envisions powerful magnets that could, in the future, propel spacecraft on missions to the moon and Mars using only solar power.

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Japan's Hayabusa2 probe captured rare close-up images of near-Earth asteroid Torifune, revealing a snowman-like shape made of two joined lobes. Phys.org reports: The fridge-sized Hayabusa2 skimmed asteroid Torifune on Sunday in a mission that demonstrated the ability to deflect a potentially dangerous space rock away from Earth. A new image released by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on Monday could aid such efforts, as researchers say near-Earth asteroids vary in their size, shape and surface characteristics. "The moment I actually saw this image and the scientific data -- it really gave me goosebumps," JAXA scientist Yuya Mimasu told reporters, adding the asteroid "personally looked like a snowman." The black-and-white image, captured by a telescopic camera, showed what appeared to be two round objects joined together. "You can actually see the rocks... I really hadn't expected to be able to take a photo like this, so I'm absolutely over the moon," he said. [...] Moving at a speed of more than 18,000 kilometers (11,185 miles) per hour, the probe was due to fly within 800 meters (2,625 feet) of the asteroid, but JAXA said it would analyze the distance later. If confirmed, the mission would be one of the closest flybys of a near-Earth asteroid ever. JAXA also said Monday it succeeded in acquiring data from three other devices that can measure the distance from the asteroid and examine the existence of water.

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What used to be a meandering journey is now an immediate arrival at your destination.

Attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz sparked a new cycle of retaliation that could throttle the flow of energy from the region.

Not for the first time, Budweiser is trying to make it in Germany. But this is a tough time to sell German drinkers on the image and taste of American beer.

The second President Trump landed in Turkey, the center of gravity shifted right to where he likes it best: himself.

The California giant has helped turn a local, seasonal treat into a worldwide refrigerator staple and marketing juggernaut.

The far-right leader’s battle with the French judiciary evokes standoffs across the populist world, including ones with President Trump and Nigel Farage.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Meta launched its inaugural AI image model from the Meta Superintelligence Labs on Tuesday, its effort to compete with the likes of OpenAI's GPT Images 2.0 and Google's Nano Banana 2 in the AI image generation race. The new model, called Muse Image, rolled out with deep integrations woven into the Instagram app. As part of this update, public Instagram profiles are now automatically opted into being fodder for generative AI remixes. All someone has to do is tag your account's profile in a prompt -- if it's public -- and they can use Meta AI to generate an image using your likeness. Meta positions this feature as a cheeky way to personalize generations with images of real people. "Whether you want to design a custom event invitation, mock up a collaborative creative concept, or generate a personalized graphic, tagging a username lets Meta AI use public photos to build a visual that's ready to post," reads one of Meta's announcement blogs about the new AI tool. [...] Instagram's help center site includes more details about how this feature will impact users, saying that "people may be able to create content with your Instagram content using AI features at Meta" if you leave your account public and on the default settings. (A previously archived version of this page from 2025 does not include similar, AI-focused language.) Instagram users who want to stop others from using their public posts for AI images (without switching your account to private) must manually disable the options under the app's "Sharing and reuse" settings. However, turning off the setting only blocks future AI generations; any AI images already created from their content will remain. Meta also says users will not be notified when others create AI-generated content using their posts.

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At their first one-on-one debate in a top Senate race, Representative Haley Stevens accused her progressive rival, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, of being too focused on publicity as he called her a tool of corporate interests.

The agency said the man was an “illegal alien” who had tried to run over the agent, though no evidence was immediately offered.

A top state party official said that Graham Platner’s team had “repeatedly” tried to “put their thumb on the scale,” but he would not influence how the party chose a new Senate candidate.

Some countries are making significant progress on raising their military spending. A few are stretching the definition of military spending to try to meet their targets.

In a hearing, prosecutors used videos to trace the steps of the man they accuse of assassinating Mr. Kirk, while defense lawyers tried to poke holes in DNA evidence.

Mr. Platner has not yet withdrawn from the race after a rape allegation, but Democrats in the state and nationally are already exploring potential alternatives.

A building at risk of partial collapse prompted the city to restrict pedestrian and vehicle traffic in the area. Some buses were diverted or delayed, but subway lines remained uninterrupted.

The ruling, based on an agreement the Trump administration signed with Florida last year, contradicted an earlier order by a judge in Washington that required the access be suspended.

The former Chicago mayor, a Democrat exploring a 2028 presidential run, is in Tel Aviv calling for an end to unconditional U.S. support of Israel.