K. Ulaczyk

The lone planet KMT-2024-BLG-0816, one of many free-floating planets, was discovered when its gravity acted like a magnifying glass for a few hours. Passing in front of a distant star, the invisible body warped space like a glass marble, and boosted the background light.

On the night of August 18, 2025, the SVOM space telescope detected a short gamma-ray burst — a powerful flash of energy lasting less than two seconds. Such bursts are usually linked to mergers of neutron stars, the ultra-dense remnants of dead stars.