Main Street Independent

TAG  ·  Religion & Society

achievement

Astronomers spot faintest planet ever directly imaged from Earth

Illustration accompanying article: Astronomers spot faintest planet ever directly imaged from Earth
  • A Scottish and German-led team detected a faint cold gas giant orbiting Beta Pictoris using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, then confirmed its orbit from archival data spanning 11 years.
  • A separate California-led team independently spotted the same planet with NASA's Webb Space Telescope, requiring just two observations to make the discovery.
  • The planet is the dimmest world ever directly imaged from Earth, having been hidden by the glare of its parent star and two brighter companion planets.
  • European Southern Observatory's Markus Bonse, who co-led the first team, said the search "was very much playing hide-and-seek for 11 years."
 2026-07-15 · 3 MIN READ

Alan Greenspan, former Fed chair who shaped modern economy, dies at 100

Illustration accompanying article: Alan Greenspan, former Fed chair who shaped modern economy, dies at 100
  • Alan Greenspan, who served as Federal Reserve chairman from 1987 to 2006 under four presidents, died June 22 at age 100 from complications of Parkinson's disease, his wife Andrea Mitchell announced.
  • During his tenure, Greenspan presided over a prolonged economic expansion marked by falling unemployment and low inflation, but was later criticized for light-touch regulation that critics said contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.
  • Greenspan, a former clarinetist who studied at Juilliard and performed with jazz musician Stan Getz, became a celebrity central banker whose every public remark moved financial markets.
  • In 2008 testimony, Greenspan acknowledged a flaw in his belief that financial institutions could police themselves, telling Congress he was "in a state of shocked disbelief" that self-interest had not prevented excessive risk-taking.
 2026-06-22 · 3 MIN READ
Illustration accompanying article: Trump awards Medal of Honor to three Vietnam, Afghanistan veterans