Washington (AFP) Nov 4, 2025
President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated billionaire entrepreneur and private astronaut Jared Isaacman to head NASA, again tapping the close associate of Elon Musk to lead the US space agency. The nomination, announced by Trump on Truth Social, came six months after the president withdrew his initial nomination of Isaacman to lead NASA amid a bitter row with Musk. If confirmed by the

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Nov 06, 2025
The scheduled return of the Shenzhou XX astronauts from China's Tiangong space station has been halted for safety reasons following a probable impact with space debris, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The agency reported on Wednesday that the spacecraft charged with bringing three crew members home may have suffered strikes by minuscule orbital debris fragments. "An impact anal

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Nov 06, 2025
The Tianwen 1 Mars orbiter operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) completed a close-range observation of the interstellar object designated 3I/ATLAS using its high-resolution camera. The spacecraft was positioned approximately 30 million kilometers from the object during the imaging process, achieving one of the nearest probe-based studies of 3I/ATLAS. Data obtained fro

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Nov 06, 2025
Data from ESA's Solar Orbiter spacecraft, collected during its unique vantage over the solar south pole, demonstrate that the Sun's magnetic field is carried towards the pole at speeds faster than previous models suggested. The measurements analyzed by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research incorporated Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) data from March 21, 202

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Nov 06, 2025
Researchers at the National Institutes of Natural Sciences have established a new method to determine the altitude distribution of blue aurora using a single hyperspectral camera. Inspired by laboratory plasma techniques, the team estimated auroral heights through analysis of sunlight-excited resonant scattering along the camera's line of sight. Traditional approaches for capturing auroral

London, UK (SPX) Nov 06, 2025
Astronomers from University College London and the University of Warwick have discovered that ageing stars may be responsible for destroying giant planets in close orbits. When stars similar to the Sun exhaust their hydrogen fuel, they expand and cool, entering the red giant phase. This transformation can lead to the engulfment and destruction of closely orbiting giant planets. The researc

Chicago, IL (SPX) Nov 06, 2025
Research led by UChicago's Eliza Kempton finds some 'mini-Neptunes' likely have solid surfaces rather than molten interiors A new study finds that many "mini-Neptunes" - perhaps the most common planets in the galaxy - are under so much pressure from their heavy atmospheres that the surface is likely compressed solid. Illustration courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC) As telescopes

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 06, 2025
Astronomers at the W. M. Keck Observatory have observed the innermost zones where planets begin to take shape, using the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRC2) on Maunakea, Hawaii. Their study targeted HD 34282, a young star surrounded by dust and gas roughly 400 light-years away. The telescope's advanced imaging tools enabled the team to study regions close to the star that were previously out of r

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Nov 06, 2025
Black holes are considered cosmic gluttons, from which not even light can escape. That is also why the images of black holes at the center of the galaxy M87 and our Milky Way, published a few years ago by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, broke new ground. "What you see on these images is not the black hole itself, but rather the hot matter in its immediate vicinity," explains Pro

London, UK (SPX) Nov 06, 2025
A new study led by scientists from Yonsei University suggests the universe has begun to slow its expansion, contradicting the widely held belief that this rate has been accelerating. Their research raises substantial doubts about the standard model that identifies dark energy as the cause for ongoing acceleration. The investigation, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical So