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Part of the Guadiana river has dried up and gives way to dry land under the Puente de la Mesta medieval bridge in Villarta de los Montes, in the central-western Spanish region of Extremadura, on August 16, 2022. - Temperatures in Spain have been very high this summer with several unusual heat waves. Scientists say human-induced climate change is making extreme weather events including heatwaves and droughts more frequent and more intense. (Photo by THOMAS COEX / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)

Extreme drought in 2022 exposed fragility of Europe’s energy system

14 December 2022

The past year saw temperature records fall and severe drought in many parts of the world – and it exposed how easily extreme weather can threaten Europe’s energy system

WALTER TOSTO COMPANY REPORT https://www.flickr.com/photos/fusionforenergy/52231537313/ Final assembly of Europe's sector 4 of the ITER Vacuum Vessel, Walter Tosto, Italy, May 2022.

Unlimited energy from fusion became a more feasible prospect in 2022

14 December 2022

Landmark confirmations of physics theory, including an energy production breakthrough at the end of the year, have turned fusion power stations into an engineering challenge rather than a physics one

https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2022/053/01GFRYSFM89AFADVAA0W625BSB NASA?s James Webb Space Telescope?s mid-infrared view of the Pillars of Creation strikes a chilling tone. Thousands of stars that exist in this region disappear ? and seemingly endless layers of gas and dust become the centerpiece. The detection of dust by Webb?s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) is extremely important ? dust is a major ingredient for star formation. Many stars are actively forming in these dense blue-gray pillars. When knots of gas and dust with sufficient mass form in these regions, they begin to collapse under their own gravitational attraction, slowly heat up ? and eventually form new stars. Although the stars appear missing, they aren?t. Stars typically do not emit much mid-infrared light. Instead, they are easiest to detect in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light. In this MIRI view, two types of stars can be identified. The stars at the end of the thick, dusty pillars have recently eroded the material surrounding them. They show up in red because their atmospheres are still enshrouded in cloaks of dust. In contrast, blue tones indicate stars that are older and have shed most of their gas and dust.

JWST captured the most thrilling and inspiring space images of 2022

14 December 2022

The launch of the much-delayed James Webb Space Telescope finally paid off in 2022, as the orbiting observatory delivered jaw-dropping pictures throughout the year

TOPSHOT - Icebergs float in Disko Bay, Ilulissat, western Greenland, on June 28, 2022. - The icebergs originate from Jakobshavn glacier (Sermeq Kujalleq), the most productive glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. The massive icebergs that detach from the glacier float for years in the waters in front of the fjord before being carried south by ocean currents. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) (Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Arctic and Antarctic saw record warmth and ice melt in 2022

14 December 2022

The sea ice around Antarctica shrank to the smallest area ever recorded in early 2022, and there were exceptionally high temperatures at both poles

The W boson gave particle physicists a major shock in 2022

14 December 2022

Physicists are still puzzled by a new measurement of a fundamental particle called the W boson, which doesn't agree with our existing understanding of the universe

TOPSHOT - Staff members from the Hoshinoya Tokyo hotel demonstrate the

The covid-19 pandemic’s third year saw countries adopt new approaches

14 December 2022

As the world faced the third year of the coronavirus pandemic, Iceland began 2022 by shifting towards "herd immunity" while China ended the year easing its zero covid approach

Landmark pig heart transplant was a big leap forward in 2022

14 December 2022

On 7 January, a man with severe heart failure received a genetically modified pig's heart. Although he died two months later, the procedure marked a step towards xenotransplantation

ASI?s LICIACube satellite acquired this image just before its closest approach to the Dimorphos asteroid, after the Double Asteroid Redirect Test, or DART mission, purposefully made impact on Sep. 26, 2022. Didymos, Dimorphos, and the plume coming off of Dimorphos after DART impact are clearly visible. Credits: ASI/NASA

NASA's asteroid redirection spacecraft was a smashing success in 2022

14 December 2022

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test aimed to change the orbit of the space rock Dimorphos, and it did so perfectly

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Peter Dejong/AP/Shutterstock (13628749bk) Activists take part in a protest at the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt COP27 Climate Summit, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt - 18 Nov 2022

This year's COP27 set up a major battle for next year's climate summit

14 December 2022

An agreement to compensate nations losing out from climate change made at COP27 was welcomed, but expect fireworks at the next summit, COP28, when countries have to agree who pays for it