Astronomers have discovered an unusual blue-tinted white dwarf star with two distinct "faces": one side is hydrogen and the other side is helium, according to a new paper published in the journal Nature. Naturally they nicknamed the star Janus , after the two-faced Roman god of duality and transition.

As previously reported , a white dwarf is essentially the burnt-out core of a dead star. One of the first white dwarf stars discovered, dubbed 40 Eridani B , had a density over 25,000 times that of the Sun, packed into a much smaller volume (roughly the size of Earth)—an observational deduction that astronomers initially deemed impossible. A second white dwarf, Sirius B (orbiting the star Sirius ), was discovered soon after and also appeared to be incredibly dense (about 200,000 times as dense as Earth).

That extreme density arises from the unusual mechanism behind the star's internal pressure to keep it from collapsing under the force of gravity. Regular stars rely on energy released via nuclear fusion, but fusion has stopped in white dwarfs. So gravity has compacted all the star's matter inward so tightly that its electrons are smashed together, forming " electron-degenerate matter ." This happens because of quantum mechanics, notably the Pauli exclusion principle , which holds that only two electrons can be in the same energy level. Normal gases don't violate this principle because there's sufficient space between electrons to keep all the energy levels in the atoms from filling up. But in a degenerate gas, the electrons do fill up all the energy levels, and this results in an outward-pressing force to halt the star's collapse.

Astronomers have discovered an unusual blue-tinted white dwarf star with two distinct "faces": one side is hydrogen and the other side is helium, according to a new paper published in the journal Nature. Naturally they nicknamed the star Janus , after the two-faced Roman god of duality and transition.

As previously reported , a white dwarf is essentially the burnt-out core of a dead star. One of the first white dwarf stars discovered, dubbed 40 Eridani B , had a density over 25,000 times that of the Sun, packed into a much smaller volume (roughly the size of Earth)—an observational deduction that astronomers initially deemed impossible. A second white dwarf, Sirius B (orbiting the star Sirius ), was discovered soon after and also appeared to be incredibly dense (about 200,000 times as dense as Earth).

That extreme density arises from the unusual mechanism behind the star's internal pressure to keep it from collapsing under the force of gravity. Regular stars rely on energy released via nuclear fusion, but fusion has stopped in white dwarfs. So gravity has compacted all the star's matter inward so tightly that its electrons are smashed together, forming " electron-degenerate matter ." This happens because of quantum mechanics, notably the Pauli exclusion principle , which holds that only two electrons can be in the same energy level. Normal gases don't violate this principle because there's sufficient space between electrons to keep all the energy levels in the atoms from filling up. But in a degenerate gas, the electrons do fill up all the energy levels, and this results in an outward-pressing force to halt the star's collapse.

Astronomers have discovered an unusual blue-tinted white dwarf star with two distinct "faces": one side is hydrogen and the other side is helium, according to a new paper published in the journal Nature. Naturally they nicknamed the star Janus , after the two-faced Roman god of duality and transition.

As previously reported , a white dwarf is essentially the burnt-out core of a dead star. One of the first white dwarf stars discovered, dubbed 40 Eridani B , had a density over 25,000 times that of the Sun, packed into a much smaller volume (roughly the size of Earth)—an observational deduction that astronomers initially deemed impossible. A second white dwarf, Sirius B (orbiting the star Sirius ), was discovered soon after and also appeared to be incredibly dense (about 200,000 times as dense as Earth).

That extreme density arises from the unusual mechanism behind the star's internal pressure to keep it from collapsing under the force of gravity. Regular stars rely on energy released via nuclear fusion, but fusion has stopped in white dwarfs. So gravity has compacted all the star's matter inward so tightly that its electrons are smashed together, forming " electron-degenerate matter ." This happens because of quantum mechanics, notably the Pauli exclusion principle , which holds that only two electrons can be in the same energy level. Normal gases don't violate this principle because there's sufficient space between electrons to keep all the energy levels in the atoms from filling up. But in a degenerate gas, the electrons do fill up all the energy levels, and this results in an outward-pressing force to halt the star's collapse.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | SOPA Images )

Microsoft will expand access to important security log data after being criticized for locking detailed audit logs behind a Microsoft 365 enterprise plan that costs $57 per user per month. The logging updates will start rolling out "in September 2023 to all government and commercial customers," the company said.

"Over the coming months, we will include access to wider cloud security logs for our worldwide customers at no additional cost. As these changes take effect, customers can use Microsoft Purview Audit to centrally visualize more types of cloud log data generated across their enterprise," Microsoft announced yesterday .

Microsoft Purview Audit Premium is available on the $57-per-user Microsoft 365 E5 plan for businesses as well as the similar A5 education plan and G5 government plan. There's also a Purview Audit Standard service that comes with a much wider range of plans, including the Microsoft 365 Business Basic tier that costs $6 per user per month.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | SOPA Images )

Microsoft will expand access to important security log data after being criticized for locking detailed audit logs behind a Microsoft 365 enterprise plan that costs $57 per user per month. The logging updates will start rolling out "in September 2023 to all government and commercial customers," the company said.

"Over the coming months, we will include access to wider cloud security logs for our worldwide customers at no additional cost. As these changes take effect, customers can use Microsoft Purview Audit to centrally visualize more types of cloud log data generated across their enterprise," Microsoft announced yesterday .

Microsoft Purview Audit Premium is available on the $57-per-user Microsoft 365 E5 plan for businesses as well as the similar A5 education plan and G5 government plan. There's also a Purview Audit Standard service that comes with a much wider range of plans, including the Microsoft 365 Business Basic tier that costs $6 per user per month.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | SOPA Images )

Microsoft will expand access to important security log data after being criticized for locking detailed audit logs behind a Microsoft 365 enterprise plan that costs $57 per user per month. The logging updates will start rolling out "in September 2023 to all government and commercial customers," the company said.

"Over the coming months, we will include access to wider cloud security logs for our worldwide customers at no additional cost. As these changes take effect, customers can use Microsoft Purview Audit to centrally visualize more types of cloud log data generated across their enterprise," Microsoft announced yesterday .

Microsoft Purview Audit Premium is available on the $57-per-user Microsoft 365 E5 plan for businesses as well as the similar A5 education plan and G5 government plan. There's also a Purview Audit Standard service that comes with a much wider range of plans, including the Microsoft 365 Business Basic tier that costs $6 per user per month.

Enlarge (credit: THQ Nordic)

The first Jagged Alliance game was published nine months after X-COM: UFO Defense , despite being developed at nearly the same time, in the same genre, with neither knowing about the other. X-COM took the throne as the progenitor of turn-based tactics games . Jagged Alliance sold okay and became a minor cult classic but is not mentioned in even a fraction of as many histories or ranked lists.

Jagged Alliance 2 was a richer, cruder, funnier, far better game. The sequel more fully meshed '80s action movie tropes and stereotypes with the peculiar fun of micromanaging a jungle gunfight, while also managing a cast of real characters. Like Soldier of Fortune magazine, or dozens of VHS box covers from the "Action" section, it's only realistic at a glance. As Darius Kazemi puts it in his wonderful book on the game : "No matter what a war-themed video game claims to do, it inevitably simulates the cultural fantasy of war and never war itself."

Like its predecessor, Jagged Alliance 2 had exponentially more developer cred than sales. It racked up editors' awards and high review scores, but its most notable nod was a nomination for " Best Game Nobody Played " in 1999. Nobody expected a true sequel 24 years later. But here we are, with a Jagged Alliance 3 that feels very direct in its sequel-dom.

Enlarge (credit: THQ Nordic)

The first Jagged Alliance game was published nine months after X-COM: UFO Defense , despite being developed at nearly the same time, in the same genre, with neither knowing about the other. X-COM took the throne as the progenitor of turn-based tactics games . Jagged Alliance sold okay and became a minor cult classic but is not mentioned in even a fraction of as many histories or ranked lists.

Jagged Alliance 2 was a richer, cruder, funnier, far better game. The sequel more fully meshed '80s action movie tropes and stereotypes with the peculiar fun of micromanaging a jungle gunfight, while also managing a cast of real characters. Like Soldier of Fortune magazine, or dozens of VHS box covers from the "Action" section, it's only realistic at a glance. As Darius Kazemi puts it in his wonderful book on the game : "No matter what a war-themed video game claims to do, it inevitably simulates the cultural fantasy of war and never war itself."

Like its predecessor, Jagged Alliance 2 had exponentially more developer cred than sales. It racked up editors' awards and high review scores, but its most notable nod was a nomination for " Best Game Nobody Played " in 1999. Nobody expected a true sequel 24 years later. But here we are, with a Jagged Alliance 3 that feels very direct in its sequel-dom.

Enlarge (credit: THQ Nordic)

The first Jagged Alliance game was published nine months after X-COM: UFO Defense , despite being developed at nearly the same time, in the same genre, with neither knowing about the other. X-COM took the throne as the progenitor of turn-based tactics games . Jagged Alliance sold okay and became a minor cult classic but is not mentioned in even a fraction of as many histories or ranked lists.

Jagged Alliance 2 was a richer, cruder, funnier, far better game. The sequel more fully meshed '80s action movie tropes and stereotypes with the peculiar fun of micromanaging a jungle gunfight, while also managing a cast of real characters. Like Soldier of Fortune magazine, or dozens of VHS box covers from the "Action" section, it's only realistic at a glance. As Darius Kazemi puts it in his wonderful book on the game : "No matter what a war-themed video game claims to do, it inevitably simulates the cultural fantasy of war and never war itself."

Like its predecessor, Jagged Alliance 2 had exponentially more developer cred than sales. It racked up editors' awards and high review scores, but its most notable nod was a nomination for " Best Game Nobody Played " in 1999. Nobody expected a true sequel 24 years later. But here we are, with a Jagged Alliance 3 that feels very direct in its sequel-dom.