Enlarge / Most of the explanations for this phenomenon involve a neutron star, depicted above. These explanations are uniformly terrible. (credit: MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY )

On Wednesday, researchers announced the discovery of a new astronomical enigma. The new object, GPM J1839–10, behaves a bit like a pulsar, sending out regular bursts of radio energy. But the physics that drives pulsars means that they'd stop emitting if they slowed down too much, and almost every pulsar we know of blinks at least once per minute.

GPM J1839–10 takes 21 minutes between pulses. We have no idea what kind of physics or what kind of objects can power that.

A persistent transient

GPM J1839–10 was discovered in a search of the galactic plane for transient objects—something that's not there when you first look, but appears the next time you check. The typical explanation for a transient object is something like a supernova, where a major event gives something an immense boost in brightness. They're found at the radio end of the spectrum, fast radio bursts , but are also very brief and, so, fairly difficult to spot.

Enlarge / Most of the explanations for this phenomenon involve a neutron star, depicted above. These explanations are uniformly terrible. (credit: MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY )

On Wednesday, researchers announced the discovery of a new astronomical enigma. The new object, GPM J1839–10, behaves a bit like a pulsar, sending out regular bursts of radio energy. But the physics that drives pulsars means that they'd stop emitting if they slowed down too much, and almost every pulsar we know of blinks at least once per minute.

GPM J1839–10 takes 21 minutes between pulses. We have no idea what kind of physics or what kind of objects can power that.

A persistent transient

GPM J1839–10 was discovered in a search of the galactic plane for transient objects—something that's not there when you first look, but appears the next time you check. The typical explanation for a transient object is something like a supernova, where a major event gives something an immense boost in brightness. They're found at the radio end of the spectrum, fast radio bursts , but are also very brief and, so, fairly difficult to spot.

Enlarge / Most of the explanations for this phenomenon involve a neutron star, depicted above. These explanations are uniformly terrible. (credit: MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY )

On Wednesday, researchers announced the discovery of a new astronomical enigma. The new object, GPM J1839–10, behaves a bit like a pulsar, sending out regular bursts of radio energy. But the physics that drives pulsars means that they'd stop emitting if they slowed down too much, and almost every pulsar we know of blinks at least once per minute.

GPM J1839–10 takes 21 minutes between pulses. We have no idea what kind of physics or what kind of objects can power that.

A persistent transient

GPM J1839–10 was discovered in a search of the galactic plane for transient objects—something that's not there when you first look, but appears the next time you check. The typical explanation for a transient object is something like a supernova, where a major event gives something an immense boost in brightness. They're found at the radio end of the spectrum, fast radio bursts , but are also very brief and, so, fairly difficult to spot.

Enlarge / The U.S. Cyber Trust Mark logos, which may or may not have an assigned order at the moment. Which one most says "secure" to you? (credit: Federal Communications Commission)

The goal of the new US Cyber Trust Mark , coming voluntarily to Internet of Things (IoT) devices by the end of 2024, is to keep people from having to do deep research before buying a thermostat, sprinkler controller, or baby monitor.

If you see a shield with a microchip in it that's a certain color, you'll know something by comparing it to other shields. What exactly that shield will mean is not yet decided. The related National Institute of Standards and Technology report suggests it will involve encrypted transmission and storage, software updates, and how much control a buyer has over passwords and data retention. But the only thing really new since the initiative's October 2022 announcement is the look of the label, a slightly more firm timeline, and more input and discussion meetings to follow.

At the moment, the Mark exists as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) at the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC wants to hear from stakeholders about the scope of devices that can be labeled and which entity should oversee the program, verify the standards, and handle consumer education.

Enlarge / The U.S. Cyber Trust Mark logos, which may or may not have an assigned order at the moment. Which one most says "secure" to you? (credit: Federal Communications Commission)

The goal of the new US Cyber Trust Mark , coming voluntarily to Internet of Things (IoT) devices by the end of 2024, is to keep people from having to do deep research before buying a thermostat, sprinkler controller, or baby monitor.

If you see a shield with a microchip in it that's a certain color, you'll know something by comparing it to other shields. What exactly that shield will mean is not yet decided. The related National Institute of Standards and Technology report suggests it will involve encrypted transmission and storage, software updates, and how much control a buyer has over passwords and data retention. But the only thing really new since the initiative's October 2022 announcement is the look of the label, a slightly more firm timeline, and more input and discussion meetings to follow.

At the moment, the Mark exists as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) at the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC wants to hear from stakeholders about the scope of devices that can be labeled and which entity should oversee the program, verify the standards, and handle consumer education.

Enlarge / The U.S. Cyber Trust Mark logos, which may or may not have an assigned order at the moment. Which one most says "secure" to you? (credit: Federal Communications Commission)

The goal of the new US Cyber Trust Mark , coming voluntarily to Internet of Things (IoT) devices by the end of 2024, is to keep people from having to do deep research before buying a thermostat, sprinkler controller, or baby monitor.

If you see a shield with a microchip in it that's a certain color, you'll know something by comparing it to other shields. What exactly that shield will mean is not yet decided. The related National Institute of Standards and Technology report suggests it will involve encrypted transmission and storage, software updates, and how much control a buyer has over passwords and data retention. But the only thing really new since the initiative's October 2022 announcement is the look of the label, a slightly more firm timeline, and more input and discussion meetings to follow.

At the moment, the Mark exists as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) at the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC wants to hear from stakeholders about the scope of devices that can be labeled and which entity should oversee the program, verify the standards, and handle consumer education.

Enlarge (credit: Getty )

Netflix is no longer letting new subscribers select its Basic plan in the US. The $9.99-per-month plan is nixed in the UK, too, making the lowest-tier plan available for Netflix newcomers the $6.99/month one with ads and a limited library.

As spotted by UK-based cord cutting publication Cord Busters today, Netflix's Basic plan, which was the lowest-priced tier available to those who didn't want to endure ads before or during shows and movies, has been axed. The plan allowed viewers to watch content at up to 720p resolution, supported one device, and let you download content for times when you wanted to watch Netflix sans Internet.

Netflix's plan page used to look like this, as per a screenshot from WayBackMachine. (credit: Netflix/WayBackMachine )

Those who already have the Basic plan, though, are grandfathered in.

Enlarge (credit: Getty )

Netflix is no longer letting new subscribers select its Basic plan in the US. The $9.99-per-month plan is nixed in the UK, too, making the lowest-tier plan available for Netflix newcomers the $6.99/month one with ads and a limited library.

As spotted by UK-based cord cutting publication Cord Busters today, Netflix's Basic plan, which was the lowest-priced tier available to those who didn't want to endure ads before or during shows and movies, has been axed. The plan allowed viewers to watch content at up to 720p resolution, supported one device, and let you download content for times when you wanted to watch Netflix sans Internet.

Netflix's plan page used to look like this, as per a screenshot from WayBackMachine. (credit: Netflix/WayBackMachine )

Those who already have the Basic plan, though, are grandfathered in.

Enlarge (credit: Getty )

Netflix is no longer letting new subscribers select its Basic plan in the US. The $9.99-per-month plan is nixed in the UK, too, making the lowest-tier plan available for Netflix newcomers the $6.99/month one with ads and a limited library.

As spotted by UK-based cord cutting publication Cord Busters today, Netflix's Basic plan, which was the lowest-priced tier available to those who didn't want to endure ads before or during shows and movies, has been axed. The plan allowed viewers to watch content at up to 720p resolution, supported one device, and let you download content for times when you wanted to watch Netflix sans Internet.

Netflix's plan page used to look like this, as per a screenshot from WayBackMachine. (credit: Netflix/WayBackMachine )

Those who already have the Basic plan, though, are grandfathered in.