Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-136Mercury Up Close: Secrets of the Solar System's SmallestA comprehensive, accessible guide to Mercury: its formation, oversized iron core, surface geology, polar ice, magnetic field, and key mission discoveries from Mariner 10 to BepiColombo.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-123The Universe Still Has Fuel but Makes Fewer Stars TodayNew FAST and DESI observations show the Universe retains abundant neutral hydrogen while star formation has dropped sharply, suggesting a slowdown in converting HI to molecular gas and reshaping galaxy evolution models.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-124Neptune's Inner Moons Reveal Signs of Ancient CataclysmNew Webb telescope spectra reveal clay minerals on Neptune’s small moons, suggesting ancient icy worlds were shattered and redeposited. These fragments expose deep interior chemistry once hidden beneath ice.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-112Black Hole Winds Pack 100x More Power Than ExpectedXRISM observations of quasar H1821+643 reveal supermassive black hole winds stirring hot gas across roughly 300,000 light-years and carrying about 100 times more energy than previously estimated, reshaping models of cosmic feedback.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-102Simulations Suggest Earth-like Worlds Often Form NaturallyNew simulations starting from randomized disks suggest Earth-sized planets near one astronomical unit emerge naturally, reshaping how we search for terrestrial exoplanets and assess their habitability.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-103Lava Worlds Reveal a Hidden Zone That Protects AtmospheresStanford researchers propose a new "cosmic sandbar" regime where lava-covered super-Earths can outgas fast enough to balance stellar-driven atmospheric loss, explaining unexpected thick atmospheres on some hot rocky exoplanets.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-093Swift Telescope Returns to Work as Orbit Slowly DecaysThe Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has resumed observations even as atmospheric drag shrinks its orbit. A planned boost has been scaled back; the servicing craft will now test rendezvous technologies instead.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-072Curiosity Finds Honeycomb Mud Cracks on Mars TodayCuriosity's close-up images reveal small honeycomb-like polygons in Gale Crater that may be ancient mud cracks, offering fresh clues about intermittent surface water and Mars' climatic past.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-062SpaceX Dragon Oxidizer Leak Grounds Crew-13 Launch DelayAn oxidizer leak in the SpaceX Dragon propulsion system has delayed NASA’s Crew-13 launch. Engineers from NASA and SpaceX are testing, repairing, and reviewing data before a new launch date is set.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-053Hidden Rivers of Hydrogen in Earth's Iron Heart RevealedLaboratory experiments show iron hydride can become superionic under inner-core conditions, allowing hydrogen to move through a solid iron lattice. This could affect seismic properties and trap hydrogen over geological time.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-043How Galaxies Mimic Dark Matter Signals in Stellar StreamsSimulations show Milky Way–like galaxies can produce stream distortions that mimic dark matter subhalo signatures, complicating efforts to use stellar streams to probe dark matter.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-013JWST Reveals How Young Disks Lose Gas and TimelinesWebb observations of 72 young stars show planet-forming disks shed gas in stages: early magnetic jets give way to radiation-driven photoevaporation, narrowing the window for gas giant formation.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-013Hidden Beneath Mars: Evidence of Vast Magmatic SystemsSeismic data from InSight reveal a 24 km-deep compositional boundary on Mars, implying vast, long-lived magmatic systems that produced complex crust without plate tectonics, with implications for habitability.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-012Atoms in Free Fall on China's Tiangong Confirm EquivalenceScientists on China's Tiangong repeated Galileo's free-fall test with two cold rubidium atom clouds in orbit, confirming the weak equivalence principle to 0.05 percent and tightening limits on new physics.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-08-313How a Star's Spin Explains Fading Flares from Black HolesA new study finds that a star's initial rotation explains why some repeating partial tidal disruption events produce progressively fainter flares, linking rapid spin and binary breakup to observed dimming.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-08-303Lunar Shadows Could Shelter Earth Microbes for DaysNew models show shaded hollows near the Moon's south pole could shelter Earth microbes for days, challenging assumptions about lunar sterility and highlighting contamination risks for future Artemis missions.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-08-292Roman Telescope Encapsulated, Final Steps Before LaunchNASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has been sealed inside a Falcon Heavy fairing, moving into final launch preparations. The observatory will hunt exoplanets and probe dark matter and dark energy from Sun Earth L2.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-08-293How Dark Stars Might Echo in Today's Gravitational HumPulsar timing arrays may be hearing relic signals from the first supermassive black hole seeds. New models suggest remnants of hypothetical dark stars could dominate the nanohertz gravitational-wave background.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-08-282NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Cleared for Launch SoonNASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope cleared a Flight Readiness Review and is entering final launch preparations for a targeted August 30 launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, aiming to map the cosmos and study dark energy and exoplanets.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-08-27Artemis II Crew Honored After Record-Breaking Lunar FlightPresident Trump will present the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to Artemis II astronauts after their April lunar flyby. The mission tested Orion with crew and set a new distance record for humans in space.
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