NEWS

SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY
Here is an RSS feed from Science Daily’s Space and Time section to keep you up to date on current events in the space community.
  • Earth's fiery birth may have created hundreds of oceans' worth of water

    Earth's water may have been born in the planet's fiery atmosphere rather than delivered by icy comets or asteroids. Scientists discovered that rocky pebbles reacting with hydrogen under extreme heat can produce water in minutes, potentially generating hundreds of oceans' worth during Earth's formation. The findings suggest that water may be a natural part of how rocky planets form, rather than something that must arrive from space.
  • A massive new simulation reveals how the universe emerged from darkness

    A groundbreaking new supercomputer simulation is revealing how the universe escaped its cosmic dark age and transformed into a cosmos filled with stars and galaxies. Called Lumina, it recreates 2 billion years of early cosmic history across a region 1.6 billion light-years wide, capturing extraordinary details that previous simulations could not.
  • NASA’s Parker Solar Probe discovers a hidden pattern in the Sun’s chaotic magnetic fields

    NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has revealed a surprising secret hidden within the chaos of space: turbulent magnetic fields reverse their direction of rotation when examined at extremely small scales. The discovery exposes an unexpected pattern in solar wind turbulence that could help scientists better understand solar activity and predict geomagnetic storms.
  • NASA’s CHAPEA Mars crew finally emerges after more than a year in isolation

    After more than a year of simulated life on Mars, four NASA volunteers have finally emerged from isolation, bringing a remarkable space exploration experiment to an end. Their experiences growing food, conserving resources, and overcoming Mars-like challenges could help NASA prepare for humanity's future on the Moon and Mars.
  • NASA offers $500,000 to develop next-generation electric rocket engines

    NASA is putting $500,000 on the line in a new competition to accelerate the development of advanced electric rocket engines for satellites and future space exploration. The AMPERE Challenge will reward up to two U.S. companies with cash prizes and access to NASA testing facilities to help bring promising propulsion technology closer to real-world missions.
  • NASA reveals bold new plan to return astronauts to the Moon in 2028

    NASA has revealed an accelerated plan to land astronauts on the Moon in 2028, with SpaceX and Blue Origin developing competing lunar landers and a crucial orbital test scheduled for 2027. Faster rocket preparations, new lightweight spacesuits, and redesigned missions could help pave the way for a permanent lunar presence and future human exploration of Mars.
  • Caltech robot makes history by building a structure in space

    For the first time, a robot has autonomously built part of a structure in space, demonstrating a breakthrough that could fundamentally change space exploration. The technology could one day allow scientists to construct enormous telescopes, communications antennas, and solar power stations in orbit, far beyond the size limits of today's rockets.
  • A radical theory says the universe is twice as old as we thought

    A provocative new cosmological model suggests the Universe could be 26.7 billion years old and might not need dark matter or dark energy to explain its behavior. University of Ottawa researchers tested the theory against several major astronomical observations, finding that it could explain galaxy rotation, cosmic expansion, and the formation of early elements.
  • Astronomers discover hidden alien planet in James Webb images

    A breakthrough in telescope imaging could reveal countless alien worlds that have been hiding in plain sight. Scientists developed a new technique that uses a digital twin of the James Webb Space Telescope to remove the overwhelming glare of stars, making faint exoplanets two to 15 times easier to detect than with conventional methods. The technology has already uncovered a previously hidden planet in existing telescope data and could reveal many more.
  • A nuclear blast could save Earth from an asteroid, but there's a catch

    A nuclear explosion might save Earth from a deadly asteroid, but new research suggests that hitting the wrong side could make the difference between success and disaster. Scientists found that an asteroid's irregular shape can dramatically affect how it responds to an X-ray blast, with deflection effectiveness varying nearly fivefold depending on the angle.
  • Mysterious gas leaks suggest Mars may still be volcanically alive

    Mysterious gas emissions and fresh volcanic fissures suggest that Mars may not be geologically dead after all, with hot magma potentially still active deep underground. The discovery could point to hidden pockets of warmth and chemical energy capable of supporting microbial life beneath the Red Planet’s surface.
  • A mysterious 93-billion-mile cosmic structure may be the wreckage of colliding worlds

    NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has revealed surprising new details about a mysterious, 93-billion-mile-long cloud of dark, fluffy dust that may have formed when massive planetary bodies collided. The discovery challenges previous assumptions about the structure and offers new clues about the violent birth of planetary systems.
  • Comets may have destroyed life's ingredients instead of delivering them to Earth

    A century-old theory about the origins of life on Earth may be wrong. New research from the University of Cambridge suggests that comets traveled too fast and struck at unfavorable angles for the fragile molecules needed for life to survive, making successful delivery extraordinarily unlikely. Surprisingly, Mars may have had a better chance of receiving these cosmic ingredients, although even there the odds were slim. The findings point toward asteroids or chemical processes on Earth as more plausible sources of life's building blocks.
  • Don't miss: Meteor showers, fireballs, and a supermoon light up November's night sky

    November's night sky is packed with celestial wonders, from bright meteor fireballs and a close pairing of Mars and Jupiter to a spectacular supermoon. Meanwhile, NASA's Voyager 1 is making history by becoming the first spacecraft to reach a distance of one light-day from Earth.
  • NASA’s Swift telescope falls to Earth after nearly 22 years in space

    After nearly 22 years of exploring the universe’s most violent explosions, NASA’s Swift Observatory has re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over Indonesia. Originally designed to last just two years, the pioneering space telescope transformed our understanding of black holes, exploding stars, and mysterious cosmic outbursts.
  • Einstein's equations reveal how gravity could break, reconnect, and release energy

    More than a century after Einstein revolutionized our understanding of gravity, scientists have uncovered a surprising new phenomenon hidden within his equations. Researchers at Columbia University and Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez have identified a theoretical process called "gravitational reconnection," in which structures within gravitational fields can break apart and reconnect, transferring energy into matter.
  • NASA is racing against time to save the Hubble Space Telescope

    NASA is exploring a daring plan to save the legendary Hubble Space Telescope from its eventual fiery plunge into Earth's atmosphere. After more than 35 years of groundbreaking discoveries, Hubble is slowly losing altitude, and without intervention, it could fall back to Earth as early as 2033 or 2034. To keep the iconic observatory operating, NASA is asking private space companies to propose innovative ways to boost Hubble into a higher orbit, upgrade its capabilities, or safely dispose of it when its mission finally ends.
  • Rubin Observatory discovers two hidden companions of the Milky Way. Hundreds more may be waiting

    The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has already uncovered two previously unknown companions of the Milky Way using preliminary observations covering just 7% of the night sky. The discoveries include an extremely faint galaxy 355,000 light-years away and a star cluster hidden behind cosmic dust. Scientists suspect hundreds of additional satellite galaxies remain undiscovered, and Rubin's powerful telescope could finally bring them into view.
  • A dead star's mysterious rings reveal what could happen when our Sun dies

    Astronomers have discovered a strange double ring of planetary wreckage around a dead star, revealing a possible preview of our Solar System's distant future. The two rings are separated by a mysterious gap that researchers believe is maintained by surviving planetary bodies, including one potentially as large as Pluto or the Moon. Their different chemical compositions suggest they may contain the remains of separate destroyed planets.
  • NASA smashed into an asteroid. Now Hera is closing in to see what happened

    Europe’s Hera spacecraft has captured its first clear view of two asteroids involved in NASA’s historic 2022 experiment to redirect a potentially dangerous space rock. Now approaching the pair, Hera will investigate the mysterious aftermath of the collision and uncover why the asteroid shifted far more than scientists predicted.
  • NASA’s Voyager 1 is about to reach a historic one-light-day milestone

    NASA’s Voyager 1 is approaching an extraordinary milestone nearly 50 years after its launch, even as engineers battle dwindling power and mysterious technical problems. A clever energy-saving maneuver has extended the spacecraft’s scientific mission, while an unexplained 48-hour communications blackout recently gave NASA a scare. On November 18, Voyager 1 will reach a distance of one light-day from Earth, making even the simplest round-trip communication take 48 hours.
  • A hidden star is plowing through Betelgeuse’s atmosphere, new evidence suggests

    Something mysterious is disturbing Betelgeuse, and astronomers believe they have identified the culprit: a hidden companion star called Siwarha. New radio observations reveal that the smaller star may be plowing through Betelgeuse’s enormous atmosphere, creating disturbances that subtly stretch and distort the red supergiant’s shape.
  • Dead stars could break one of physics' most famous limits

    A surprising new discovery suggests that some dead stars can grow far more massive than scientists once thought possible. Computer simulations show that powerful magnetic fields could allow white dwarfs to reach 2.4 times the mass of the Sun, dramatically exceeding a famous limit that has stood for decades. The findings could help explain unusually bright supernova explosions that have long puzzled astronomers.
  • All 5 genetic “letters” of DNA and RNA discovered in a 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid

    Scientists have discovered all five essential nucleobases used in DNA and RNA in pristine samples from asteroid Ryugu, revealing that key ingredients for life existed in space billions of years ago. The remarkable finding adds to growing evidence from other asteroids and meteorites that these molecules were widespread throughout the early Solar System.
  • NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover breaks historic record after traveling 28 miles

    NASA’s Perseverance rover has set a historic record by traveling 28.10 miles across Mars, farther than any vehicle has ever driven on another world. Armed with groundbreaking autonomous navigation technology and increasingly advanced driving capabilities, the rover is pushing the boundaries of robotic exploration.