Trailblazing technique uncovers real shape of scorching-hot exoplanet atmospheres

Until now, the alien white-hot worlds of exoplanets have been depicted as circular, but new research has revealed the true shape of their atmospheres to be a deformed sphere rather than a perfect circle.

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NASA JPL testing readies Voyager technologies lander for moon mission

A commercial lander that will be at the forefront of NASA’s efforts to establish a moon base, humanity’s first lunar outpost, has passed a series of critical tests at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The tests simulated the extreme temperatures and vacuum of space, as well as the intense shaking and ear-splitting […]

New solar model maps sun more accurately by checking far-side activity

A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)-led team has developed an improved model for predicting solar events that incorporates activity on the far side of the sun. The team studied near-simultaneous maps of the whole solar surface from 2010 to 2014, combining Earth observations with data from space-based assets showing the opposite side. The resulting framework constructs […]

Structure in the unstructured: New phenomenon discovered in the solar wind

Turbulence is ubiquitous and occurs every day, such as when milk is stirred into coffee or in the stormy motions of the ocean and the atmosphere. Media in space and astrophysical systems can also develop turbulence, but the physics is different because the medium is in an ionized state (known as the plasma state) and […]

Planetary systems reveal two distinct families tied to their host stars

Analyzing a sample of 300 of the best-characterized planetary systems among the more than 1,000 known in the Milky Way, an international research team led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) has discovered that the multiplanet systems identified so far belong to two distinct “families.”

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Webb spots possible early-universe supernova just days after it happened

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has detected a possible supernova in the early universe just days after the star exploded. Called AT 2026abck, the transient lies in a star-forming galaxy at a redshift of 5.017 and was found without the help of gravitational lensing. JWST observations suggest the event was caught only about four […]

Space waves reveal where Earth’s magnetic shield is under pressure

A new study led by researchers at the University of Oulu in Finland sheds light on a poorly understood part of space weather: where powerful waves form at the edge of Earth’s magnetic shield and where the solar wind can find a way through.

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Vera Rubin Observatory spots the largest ultra-fast spinning asteroid yet

The speed of an asteroid’s spin can tell astronomers a surprising amount about what it is made of. However, existing approaches to measuring spin based on telescope observations can often produce misleading estimates.

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NASA’s SpaceX CRS-35 mission to launch health research

NASA experiments focused on human and plant health and drug-resistant organisms will travel to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s 35th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agency from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, advancing research that benefits life on Earth and future exploration.

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Primordial helium further confirms our understanding of the Big Bang

In the early moments of the big bang, two elements were forged: hydrogen and helium. Technically, the tiniest traces of light elements such as lithium were produced as well, but nothing of consequence. The early universe was about three parts hydrogen to one part helium. All the heavier elements, from the oxygen in your lungs […]

NASA demonstrates next-generation heat shield technologies

NASA is taking an unusual approach to testing heat shields that can keep astronauts safe as they return from missions to the moon and Mars: taking out the trash.

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Physics Nobel highlights Antarctica’s role in exploring the cosmos

When Belgian American particle physicist Francis Halzen was awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in physics “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin,” it was a reminder that for more than a century, scientists have treated Antarctica’s environments as windows onto worlds beyond Earth.

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The dying sun could tear the solar system apart sooner than thought

The fate of our solar system is written in the stars—well, one star to be precise: the sun. Estimates of what the end will look like once the sun sheds much of its mass and ultimately dies vary widely. New research published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters suggests that the final curtain for some of […]

Alternative gravity theory offers possible explanation for dark energy changing over time

For many years, the simplest view of dark energy has been that it remains unchanged. Throughout cosmic history, the mysterious ingredient believed to drive the universe’s accelerated expansion is thought to have behaved in the same way at every epoch. However, an increasing number of observations are challenging this idea.

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The Preliminary Lunar Science Report for Artemis II is out

On April 1, 2026, the crew of the Artemis II mission launched into space atop NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). Roughly 3 1/2 hours after launch, the rocket’s upper stage separated from the Orion spacecraft (Integrity), and astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen began their nearly 10-day journey around the moon. […]