Irvine, United States (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
University of California Irvine astronomers have reported the discovery of the largest known stream of super heated gas in the universe flowing out of a nearby spiral galaxy called VV 340a. The team describes the finding, made with data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and other facilities, in the journal Science under the identifier 10.1126/science.adp8989. The observations show sup

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 13, 2026
NASA mission controllers have acquired full signal from the agency's Pandora small satellite, confirming the health and initial operations of the exoplanet observatory following launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Jan. 11, 2026. The spacecraft rode to orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East, sharing the flight with the Star-Planet Activity Re

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jan 13, 2026
Temperatures of several thousand degrees Celsius and pressures of millions of atmospheres drive water into a superionic state in which hydrogen ions move freely through a solid lattice of oxygen atoms. In this exotic phase, which forms only under extreme conditions, water behaves like a hybrid of solid and liquid and shows very high electrical conductivity. Because this phase can efficient

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 13, 2026
What astronomers know about the birth of a black hole has long mirrored the objects themselves, tending to be dark, difficult to observe, and seemingly quiet despite their immense gravitational influence. Stellar mass black holes form in the final gravitational collapse of massive stars with several tens of the mass of the Sun, and these heavyweights were thought not to produce bright supernova

London, UK (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
Physicists at the University of Oxford have contributed to a new experimental study that shows iron rich asteroids can withstand far more energy than previously estimated before breaking apart. The work provides direct insight into how metallic asteroid material behaves under impact like conditions and could help refine planetary defense strategies. Recent demonstration missions such as NA

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jan 13, 2026
Using high resolution images from several Mars orbiters, an international team led by the University of Bern has identified a system of fan deltas in southeast Coprates Chasma that record the highest stand of an ancient ocean in Mars Valles Marineris. The geomorphologic structures, preserved today as scarp fronted deposits near the lower end of the canyon system, closely resemble classic river d

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 13, 2026
For decades scientists have puzzled over why the moons two hemispheres look so different despite sharing a common origin in the early solar system. The near side that always faces Earth is dominated by dark flat volcanic plains called maria that create the familiar man in the moon pattern seen with the naked eye. In contrast the far side has a much thicker crust and appears as a rugged hea

Riverside, CA (SPX) Jan 12, 2026
At half the size of Earth and one-tenth its mass, Mars is a featherweight as far as planets go. And yet, new research reveals the extent to which Mars is quietly tugging on Earth's orbit and shaping the cycles that drive long-term climate patterns here, including ice ages. Stephen Kane, a professor of planetary astrophysics at UC Riverside, began this project with doubts about recent studi

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 13, 2026
A Chinese suborbital spacecraft designed for reusable operations and future space tourism has completed a key test flight, marking a new step in the country's commercial space ambitions. The vehicle, designated PH-1, is developed by Beijing-based commercial aerospace company CAS Space and is intended to support low cost scientific experiments in microgravity as well as pave the way for pas