Paris, France (SPX) Jan 06, 2026
A team using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has identified a new type of astronomical object, a starless gas-rich dark-matter cloud considered a relic of early galaxy formation and nicknamed "Cloud-9." The object is the first confirmed example of a Reionization-Limited H I Cloud, or RELHIC, a neutral hydrogen cloud from the early universe that never formed stars. Program principal investiga

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 06, 2026
Peking University, January 2, 2026: A coordinated observation campaign using space- and ground-based telescopes has yielded the first precise mass measurement of a rogue planet, confirming that one long-standing candidate is indeed a planet. Unlike planets in the Solar System, rogue planets travel through space without orbiting a host star. Over the last decade, astronomers have identified

Houston TX (SPX) Jan 06, 2026
Small lakes on ancient Mars may have remained liquid for decades, even with average air temperatures well below freezing. Using a climate model adapted for Martian conditions, a team of researchers from Rice University discovered that lakes in locations such as Gale Crater, near Mars' equator, could have persisted under thin seasonal ice for at least decades and likely as long as climate conditi

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 06, 2026
Cameron Beccario, creator of the global weather visualization site earth.nullschool.net, has created a new company called Nullschool Technologies to support the platform's operation and development as a full-time focus. The one-person company is intended to keep the project small and flexible while adding structure to daily work, with the stated goal of making Earth's weather and climate visible

A team using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a new type of astronomical object – a starless, gas-rich, dark-matter cloud that is considered a 'relic' or remnant of early galaxy formation. Nicknamed 'Cloud-9,' this is the first confirmed detection of such an object in the Universe.

Image: Tree planting for εpsilon

On 5 January 2026, the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany, hosted a special tradition: the planting of an astronaut tree by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot in honour of her first mission to space, εpsilon. This symbolic gesture celebrates her achievements and future mission while reinforcing the deep connection between space explorers and the planet they call home. 

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Animation showing a possible interoperability application in orbit of payload deployment and retrieval operations with ESA’s reusable Space Rider. 

Space Rider is a versatile uncrewed robotic laboratory about the size of two minivans. This video shows operations of how Space Rider could fly to an orbital platform and deliver payloads using a robotic arm as well as retrieving other payloads to return them to Earth. In the near future platforms orbiting Earth could allow for cheap and efficient experimentation and research in the low Earth-orbit economy. Whereas Space Rider could stay in orbit for two months, by delivering

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 05, 2026
A new international assessment details how the January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai volcano in the South Pacific altered the stratosphere, atmospheric chemistry, and radiation while having only a small impact on global surface climate and the Antarctic ozone hole. The Hunga Volcanic Eruption Atmospheric Impacts Report, released under the Atmospheric Processes and their Rol

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 01, 2026
A recent study presents ACA-SIM, an atmospheric correction algorithm that uses satellite-in situ matchup data and neural networks to improve ocean color retrievals over coastal waters. The approach relies on real satellite radiance and in situ reflectance from Aerosol Robotic Network-Ocean Color (AERONET-OC) sites to reduce errors and striping artifacts in derived ocean color products, particula