Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Jan 06, 2026
The sun rotates about once every 28 days, so active regions on its surface are usually visible from Earth for only around two weeks before they move out of view behind the limb. Ioannis Kontogiannis, a solar physicist at ETH Zurich and the Istituto ricerche solari Aldo e Cele Dacco (IRSOL) in Locarno, notes that ESA's Solar Orbiter mission, launched in 2020, has extended this viewing window by o

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 06, 2026
Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope with ground-based observatories, astronomers have traced how Betelgeuse's recently identified companion star, Siwarha, disturbs gas in the red supergiant's extended atmosphere and produces a dense wake of material. The work, led by researchers at the Center for Astrophyphysics | Harvard and Smithsonian (CfA), links this wake to puzzling changes in Betelgeuse's

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