Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
Crab Nebula Expands Over Decades, Hubble Shows
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope recently revisited the Crab Nebula, a supernova
remnant, 25 years after its initial observations. The new images reveal stunning details of its intricate structure and its expansion. In an Instagram post, the European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed that the glowing cloud is the Crab Nebula, the remains of a star that exploded in 1054. It further mentioned that it shone so brightly for weeks that it was even visible in daylight. "Today, it continues to expand 6 500 light-years away, still changing before our eyes," wrote ESA. The findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal, revealed that when Hubble observed the Crab Nebula again, it found that the Crab Nebula, located 6,500 light-years away
The End May Be Nearer: New Study Changes Cosmic Timeline
A new study has revised predictions about the lifespan of the universe, suggesting it could end far sooner than previously believed, though still on timescales beyond human comprehension. For decades, scientists estimated that the universe would persist for around 10¹¹⁰⁰ years -- an almost unimaginable figure. While both numbers represent extraordinarily vast stretches of time, the gap between them is enormous, fundamentally reshaping how scientists understand the long-term fate of the cosmos. The revision is largely driven by deeper insights into Hawking radiation, a concept introduced by physicist Stephen Hawking in 1975. The theory proposes that black holes gradually emit particles and lose mass over time, eventually evaporating completely.
Monsoon May Falter This Year With El Niño’s Return
India is likely to see below-average monsoon rains for the first time in three years in 2026 due to the El Nino effect, the weather department said on Monday. According to the government, the monsoon, which typically arrives over the southern state of Kerala around June 1 and retreats by mid-September, is expected to reach 92 per cent of the long-period average this year. "Currently, weak La Nina-like conditions are transitioning to neutral conditions. But after June it's very likely that El Nino will develop," Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of the India Meteorological Department, said. While most parts of the country will experience below-normal rainfall, some areas in Northeast, Northwest and South Peninsular India, are likely to face normal to above-normal monsoon.
Elon Musk Supports Insider’s Controversial Vaccine Allegations
Elon Musk has claimed his second Covid-19 vaccine dose felt like it was killing him. This comes after a clip of a former Pfizer toxicologist, who left the company back in 2007, telling Germany’s parliament that the mRNA vaccine should never have been approved went viral online. He claimed that tens of thousands of deaths in Germany may have been linked to the Covid-19 vaccine. Now, a former head of toxicology at American biopharmaceutical firm Pfizer’s European centres has walked into a parliamentary hearing room and made a similar claim about one of the most widely used vaccines in history. Musk, who has over 200 million followers on X, amplified the testimony and questioned why it was not headline news everywhere. The post reignited a global debate about Covid-19 vaccine safety, regulatory shortcuts, and who gets to decide what counts as credible science.
