To better understand the mechanisms underlying the fundamental astronomical phenomenon known as magnetic reconnection, scientists recreated small solar flares using twelve powerful lasers.
"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?" -Albert Einstein
Our galaxy is but one among hundreds of billions in the cosmos, nearly all of which contain supermassive black holes at the center. Ours happens to be "only" a few million times as massive as our Sun, as well as quiet.
Michael Kaplan, who shepherded Webb through its planning stages before immigrating to Israel temporarily, talks baby galaxies, space robots and the pitfalls of Israeli bravado