We have an idea of what the solar system’s past was like: It was violent and chaotic. However, we are still studying how violent it was. Current models suggest that at some point after their formation, the giant planets went through a phase of such extreme instability that one or even two bodies the size of Uranus or Neptune were ejected into interstellar space. If that scenario occurred, we may find clues in the most unexpected places in the solar system, such as the moons of Jupiter and, especially, those of Uranus.

A recent article published in Icarus analyzed 122 possible scenarios of such instability to assess how the satellite systems of the “left behind” planets would have reacted. The researchers concluded that it would be extremely difficult to explain the current characteristics of Uranus’ moons without some episode of violent instability. And that type of instability only appears in models where more giant planets existed than we see today.

Most likely, the authors point out, the moons of Uranus were destabilized at least twice in the past: First by the impact that tilted the planet, and then by close encounters between giant planets during the instability. That chaos, fueled by the presence of one or more planets that were later ejected, would have destroyed and rebuilt the system of moons to what we see today.

Miranda, the moon of Uranus considered the most unusual in the solar system.

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The Solar System and Chaos

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune did not always have their current positions in the solar system. According to the planetary-instability model, they were born a little closer to the Sun and closer together. After millions of years, they migrated towards their current orbits.

But there are details of this model that do not fit with the observations. For one thing, the current orbits of Jupiter and Saturn are eccentric, while there are specific structures such as the Kuiper belt that seemingly should have prevented Neptune from moving into its current position. In the simulations, the planets did not reach where they are today.

It is therefore possible that the solar system at one point had more planets, and these were the ones that “pushed the others.” Under this hypothesis, the puzzle of the solar system fits better. The problem is, those bodies, if they existed, are gone—they were ejected and left no physical traces or fragments. This leaves the idea of missing planets in the realm of hypotheses, waiting for sufficient evidence to be accumulated to confirm it.

The Unusual Moon

The new Icarus study tested the missing planets hypothesis using the moons of Uranus as direct evidence. It used a total of 122 solar system evolution simulations. In 85 percent of the scenarios, the Uranus moon system collapsed. Only in a handful of scenarios did its moons survive, and, in all of them, the hypothesis of lost and ejected planets fit very well.

The report points to Miranda, the smallest moon in Uranus’ major system. Astronomers consider it to be the most unusual in the solar system. It is patchy, as if sewn together from scraps, too icy for its size, and quite small considering the rest of Uranus’ moons. It is also geologically active.

Astronomers think that Miranda is the debris of a larger body. The study reinforces that idea and proposes that it is the clearest example of traces of planetary instability.

Xbox opened its 2026 Games Showcase with extended gameplay from Gears of War E-Day, handing the series the lead spot for the first time. What followed was a focused look at the opening days of the Locust War, rebuilt from the ground up and aimed squarely at longtime fans who remember the original tension. Release arrives October 6, 2026, exactly twenty years after the first Gears of War reached players. The game lands on Xbox Series X and Series S, on PC through Steam and the Xbox app, and via cloud streaming. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers gain day-one access. Xbox leadership confirmed during the show that this release stays exclusive to Xbox consoles and PC, with no version planned for PlayStation 5.

Kalona is the game’s whole setting, modeled after real-world coastal and industrial locations such as waterfront refineries, dense residential neighborhoods, a stadium district, and enormous industrial yards. The plot then successfully confines you within the Bravo Squad’s minds for three long, dramatic days while the world around them implodes. You meet Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, who are still shaken up by Dom’s loss of his older brother Carlos some 6 years ago, despite being younger veterans with a lot to prove. The crew is completed by Mags Carter, a seasoned Gear who used to work in the Imulsion refineries and was seriously harmed by it, Lucas Reyes, a young communications cadet, and Tai Kaliso, who crosses paths with them as the crisis spirals out of control.

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Combat is classic, as one would expect from a Gears game, but there are some unique twists that keep things interesting. You may now jump up and take out a rooftop or elevated position, slip from a full sprint right into cover if your timing is good, climb over obstacles if necessary (and you will), and vault through gaps. The cover components are now available in a range of shapes and sizes, allowing you to select a flanking angle or hold many angles at once. When it comes to destruction, both good and bad, the consequences are serious. A few well-placed rounds from a small-arms rifle can gradually destroy a barrier, as can a larger event such as a sinkhole dragging a car or structure section into the depths. Locusts can appear anywhere on the planet, and a well-placed grenade will essentially imprison them in an e-hole before more emerge.

The weapons have been totally revamped, yet the Gnasher still dominates close-quarters fighting while the Longshot continues to hit its target from afar. The Gut Puncher is a new toy in town that functions as a grenade launcher, firing armour-piercing bullets that may also be manually detonated for maximum damage. There’s also the Incinerator, which essentially melts things with an Imulsion-powered flame. Even the Lancers get a new backstory, as they are depicted as an early prototype chainsaw rig that men put together on the front lines in the early days of the war.

Consoles support four-player online co-op and two-player split-screen, allowing you and your friends to approach tasks in different ways. One squad can press along a narrow street while the other goes to the balcony to lay up some support fire. That adaptation works equally well in narrow alleys as it does in the larger communities that emerge later in the three-day span. Multiplayer’s role extends beyond the campaign mode. Horde Siege has 12 players divided into three teams, each defending a greater area of Kalona. Players can choose from positions such as Assault, Marksman, Medic, or Breacher and form four-person teams to fulfill common objectives and battle massive global bosses. Versus mode has also been updated, with all-new 4v4 maps set in and around the city. New movement aspects supplement the traditional cover-based gameplay, and playlists are available for both ranked and social play.

An open beta begins on August 6th, albeit much of it is reserved for pre-orders or Game Pass holders at the highest tier. The Coalition’s creators started with a completely blank slate in Unreal Engine 5, with no existing assets to import; every single street, building, weapon, animation, and sound effect was created from the ground up. That implies continual destruction throughout the city, and the new lighting tools make night sequences feel much more frightening, particularly in collapsing interior scenes.

Microsoft has officially kicked off celebrations for Xbox’s 25th anniversary with a nostalgic new limited-edition console that pays tribute to the original Xbox era. Unveiled during the Xbox Games Showcase, the new Xbox Series X25 combines modern hardware with the iconic translucent green aesthetic that defined Microsoft’s first gaming console back in 2001.

The special edition console arrives ahead of Xbox’s official 25th anniversary in November and is clearly designed to appeal to longtime fans who grew up during the original Xbox generation. Officially called the Xbox Series X25, the console features a translucent green shell inspired by the classic debug-style look associated with the first Xbox hardware.

Microsoft has also included several nostalgic touches throughout the design. The Xbox power logo lights up in green, while the front of the console includes a dedicated 25th anniversary emblem. Despite the visual overhaul, the hardware specifications remain identical to the standard Xbox Series X, including the same 1TB storage configuration and overall performance capabilities.

Microsoft is leaning heavily into Xbox nostalgia

The anniversary edition highlights how important nostalgia has become in the gaming industry. Console makers increasingly rely on retro-inspired hardware, limited-edition designs, and legacy branding to reconnect with longtime fans who grew up alongside iconic gaming platforms.

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For Xbox specifically, the translucent green aesthetic carries significant emotional weight. The original Xbox launched in 2001 with a bold industrial design language that helped differentiate Microsoft from Sony and Nintendo at the time. The green color scheme quickly became one of the brand’s defining visual identities.

The new console also reflects the growing popularity of translucent gaming hardware again. Over the past few years, companies including 8BitDo have successfully revived retro transparent designs through Xbox-themed keyboards, mice, controllers, and accessories inspired by the original console generation.

Alongside the console, Microsoft also announced the Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition. The controller features the same translucent green shell along with colored ABXY buttons and bumpers inspired by the original “Duke” controller that shipped with the first Xbox.

For longtime Xbox fans, the controller may end up being just as nostalgic as the console itself. The Duke controller remains one of the most recognizable – and famously oversized – controllers in gaming history.

The anniversary launch shows that Xbox still values hardware identity

The limited-edition release arrives during an important period for Xbox. Microsoft has spent the past several years expanding beyond traditional console gaming through Game Pass, cloud streaming, PC integration, and AI-powered gaming initiatives. Some industry observers questioned whether Xbox hardware itself would remain central to Microsoft’s long-term strategy.

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Instead, the anniversary launch reinforces that Microsoft still sees emotional value in dedicated gaming hardware and the Xbox brand identity. Even as the company pushes toward subscription ecosystems and cloud gaming, nostalgic console releases continue to generate excitement among collectors and longtime players.

Microsoft says the Xbox Series X25 Console and Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition will launch together in select markets starting in November. The controller will also be sold separately for fans who want the retro design without purchasing a new console.

Pricing and pre-order details have not yet been announced, but given the limited-edition nature of the hardware, demand from collectors is expected to be high once sales begin later this year.

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A storage device capable of destroying its own contents remotely has emerged as one of the more unusual technologies unveiled at Computex 2026.

Teamgroup unveiled the T-CREATE EXPERT P35SG, an external SSD that combines portable storage with an integrated cellular communications system.

Yamaha has entered the premium wireless hi-fi speaker category with the NX-70A, a new active stereo speaker system aimed at listeners who want proper stereo performance without a rack full of separates, speaker cables, and the 7 a.m. Dunkin’ drive-thru conversation where you try to explain why the “simple wireless speakers” cost more than the family vacation.

The NX-70A is not another lifestyle speaker pretending to be serious because someone gave it a fabric grille and a fancy app. Yamaha is bringing real hi-fi engineering to the category, including Harmonious Diaphragm drivers, Synergistic Drive amplifier integration, YPAO room calibration, HDMI eARC, MusicCast, AirPlay, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, and Roon Ready support.

Yamaha has clearly noticed that KEF, Klipsch, Cambridge Audio, DALI, Fyne Audio, Sonus faber, and others are doing well with active and wireless hi-fi speakers. The NX-70A is Yamaha’s attempt to bring its loudspeaker, amplifier, DSP, home theater, and musical instrument experience into a modern wireless stereo system.

Yamaha Returns to Wireless Stereo with Real Hi-Fi Intent

The NX-70A is Yamaha’s first wireless stereo speaker system in roughly a decade, and it arrives with a feature set aimed at modern living rooms, smaller listening spaces, and TV-based systems where a soundbar may not be the ideal answer.

Each speaker uses Yamaha’s Harmonious Diaphragm technology across its driver array. Yamaha says the diaphragm material is made from a carefully balanced blend of PBO fiber ZYLON and spruce wood. ZYLON is used in Yamaha’s flagship loudspeakers, while spruce wood is used in the soundboards of Yamaha grand pianos.

The NX-70A also uses Yamaha’s Synergistic Drive, which integrates the amplifier circuit and speaker unit as a dedicated system. Yamaha says this direct amplifier-to-driver approach helps manage current flow more precisely and reduce distortion caused by conventional amplifier/speaker interactions.

Yamaha rates the system at 100 watts for each woofer and 60 watts for each tweeter, confirming that the NX-70A is a fully active design with dedicated amplification for each driver rather than a passive speaker with wireless convenience bolted on.

Yamaha also lists frequency response at 50 Hz to 35 kHz when the speakers are connected by wire, and 50 Hz to 21 kHz when used wirelessly, both measured at -10 dB. That distinction matters because the NX-70A is being marketed as a wireless system, but Yamaha is clearly giving users a wired option for maximum performance and stability.

The primary speaker includes HDMI eARC/ARC, optical digital, 3.5mm analog input, Ethernet, USB-A for music playback and firmware updates, a YPAO microphone input, and an RCA subwoofer output. The secondary speaker can connect wirelessly or via Ethernet/LAN, and Yamaha includes a 3-meter LAN cable in the box for that purpose.

Physically, the NX-70A is compact but not featherweight. Each speaker measures 189 x 234 x 333mm, or roughly 7.5 x 9.25 x 13.125 inches. The primary speaker weighs 5.7 kg / 12.6 pounds, while the secondary speaker weighs 5.4 kg / 11.9 pounds. That puts the NX-70A firmly in the serious desktop, den, or living-room category rather than the “cute wireless speaker for the kitchen counter” pile.

YPAO Room Calibration and Wireless Left/Right Placement

One of the NX-70A’s most useful features is YPAO room calibration. Yamaha’s system uses a dedicated microphone to measure the listening environment and adjust playback for the room. In the NX-70A, YPAO R.S.C. addresses early reflections, while EQ is used to fine-tune tonal balance.

That matters because active wireless speakers are often used in real rooms, not review spaces with perfect symmetry, acoustic treatment, and no furniture that anyone actually owns. Walls, windows, bookshelves, coffee tables, and questionable placement all have a say in the final sound. Yamaha is at least giving users a tool to manage some of that.

The left and right speakers can also connect wirelessly, so users do not need to run a cable between them. That should make placement easier, especially in living rooms where “just run a cable across the floor” is how arguments start.

HDMI eARC, MusicCast, and Roon Ready Support

Yamaha has given the NX-70A the kind of connectivity that makes sense in 2026. HDMI eARC/ARC with CEC allows the speakers to connect directly to a TV and be controlled with a TV remote. That immediately makes the NX-70A a serious alternative to a soundbar for listeners who care more about stereo imaging than simulated surround fireworks.

Streaming support includes Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, Google Cast, AirPlay, MusicCast multiroom playback, and Roon Ready compatibility, which should cover most potential buyers. Qobuz Connect does not appear to be supported at this stage.

Designed for Sound, Not Just the Showroom

The NX-70A cabinet uses rounded surfaces intended to avoid parallel internal walls and reduce standing waves. Yamaha also uses a 5mm aluminum top plate secured to the cabinet to increase rigidity and help control unwanted vibration.

The system will be available in black and white finishes, with a matching SPS-70A stand also listed by Yamaha.

The Bottom Line

The Yamaha NX-70A matters because it is not just another wireless speaker system with a premium badge and a tidy app. Yamaha is bringing a properly active 2-way design to the category, with dedicated amplification for each driver, YPAO room calibration, HDMI eARC, subwoofer output, wired or wireless speaker linking, and broad streaming support that includes MusicCast, AirPlay, Google Cast, TIDAL Connect, Spotify Connect, and Roon Ready compatibility.

At a reported £2,587, or roughly $3,500, the NX-70A is not inexpensive, and it will have to compete with strong active and wireless systems from KEF, DALI, Fyne Audio, Sonus faber, Klipsch, and others. What makes Yamaha’s entry different is the combination of hi-fi, DSP, home theater, and musical instrument engineering behind it. That does not guarantee victory, but it does make the NX-70A one of the more credible new wireless stereo systems to watch in 2026.

The real test will be whether Yamaha can turn that spec sheet into a system that sounds balanced, images properly, integrates well with TVs and subs, and makes traditional separates feel less necessary. On paper, the NX-70A has the right pieces. Now it has to prove they belong together.

For more information: europe.yamaha.com

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This is very handy when you want to share an excerpt of writing in context, a concept that is totally lost if you just take a screenshot with a highlight.

How This Works

This feature is made possible by a web standard called Text fragments. It’s been built into browsers for years now; it’s just not the kind of feature that made a lot of headlines at the time.

The feature basically creates a URL that includes enough information for your browser to find the highlighted text portion. If you copy a URL made this way and paste it into a document so you can study the link’s structure, you can see how this works.

In the simplest cases, the URL will include the entire highlighted portion. That works fine for short fragments, but for long passages, the URL gets ungainly pretty fast. When you’re linking to longer text fragments, the URL includes a reference to the beginning and end of the excerpt. Either way, the URL tells your browser not only which page to load, but what part of the text should be highlighted. Your browser finds the text, highlights it, and jumps directly to it.

There are subtle differences in how browsers handle this. Safari highlights text in yellow, for example, whereas in my tests Chrome seemed to prefer purple. But since this URL structure is standardized across browsers, a link created in one browser works in every browser.

It’s worth noting this feature doesn’t work in all contexts. If the website you’re reading is behind a paywall, and the person you’re sharing with doesn’t have access, they probably won’t be able to see the excerpt you’re trying to share. The feature also doesn’t work inside PDF files, even when you open them in your browser.

But sharing a text fragment, in most cases, is a lot more useful than sharing a screenshot. Give it a try the next time you’re trying to win an argument online.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: What someone may attempt to explain in a long, drawn-out description
Answer: DREAM

6A clue: Back in style
Answer: RETRO

7A clue: Remnants in a recently used fire pit
Answer: ASHES

8A clue: Sheds tears
Answer: WEEPS

9A clue: Animal in need of adoption
Answer: STRAY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Takes a card from the deck
Answer: DRAWS

2D clue: The Great Meme ___, movement to purge social media of “brain rot”
Answer: RESET

3D clue: Thin air, so to speak
Answer: ETHER

4D clue: Colombian food cart dish
Answer: AREPA

5D clue: Green and fuzzy, as a rock
Answer: MOSSY