Laser shocks close the gap in diamond's melting point, a star laps the galaxy's black hole and a Falcon 9 leaves a crater on the Moon
Researchers have closed a discrepancy in diamond's melting point using laser shocks, while astronomers tracked a star orbiting Sagittarius A* every 8.7 years and NASA's orbiter spotted an 18-metre crater left by a Falcon 9 upper stage.
Science··Evening
Diamond melting point
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have compressed diamond beyond the pressures found inside Neptune and Uranus. Using the Omega Laser Facility, they found that the material holds its crystal structure until melting, closing a 20-year, 1,000-degree gap between theoretical models and laboratory measurements. The team notes this corrected melting curve is significant for inertial fusion target design, where models suggest slower initial shocks could yield higher energy gains.[1]
Star near Sagittarius A*
The GRAVITY+ instrument on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope Interferometer has tracked S301, a star orbiting the Milky Way's central black hole in 8.7 years. The star reaches speeds of 25,000 km per second—over 8 percent of the speed of light—and passes 1.78 billion km from the black hole. The team notes that the star's proximity should eventually allow them to measure the supermassive black hole's spin.[2]
Lunar impact crater
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has photographed an impact site on the Moon created by a spent SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage. The stage, which had been drifting since launching two lunar missions in January 2025, hit the surface near Einstein Crater at 8,690 km per hour on 5 August 2026. Images from 11 and 12 August show an 18-metre crater with V-shaped ejecta, matching a low-angle impact.[3]
