https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Neptune's moon and ring system stand out among the giant planets because of the strange imbalance between its one very large moon and its many tiny moons. Its largest moon, Triton, makes up more than 99% of the mass of all satellites orbiting the planet while orbiting retrograde compared with Neptune's rotation. The predominant theory is that Triton is a captured Kuiper Belt object that caused a major disruption in Neptune's early moon system. Now, a new study published in Science Advances provides spectroscopic evidence to support this theory. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-neptune-tiny-moons-story-triton.html Planetary Sciences Sat, 15 Aug 2026 11:20:01 EDT news704628891 In a billion years, the sun will start to run out of fuel and expand to become a red giant. Earth's oceans and atmosphere will be burned away, and Earth will likely be engulfed by the sun altogether. The sun will then shrink to a dim white dwarf, and all light and warmth in the solar system will diminish. In a hundred trillion years, the galaxy's ability to produce stars will be exhausted, and everything will turn dark. However, there's a way for life to escape this fate—and what's more, we wouldn't need to leave the planet to do it. We just need to build some safeguards. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-earth-habitable-sun-dies.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 16:40:03 EDT news704969045 Scientists have detected evidence of landslides on Pluto for the first time. A paper published in the journal Icarus reports that images taken by the New Horizons spacecraft during a flyby revealed six large landslides in three impact craters. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-massive-landslides-icy-pluto.html Astrobiology Mon, 13 Jul 2026 15:30:02 EDT news703172932 Earth is divided into two halves: the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Both reflect equal amounts of sunlight (albedo) even though they have different landmasses and weather patterns, especially cloud distribution. Why this is so is an ongoing mystery waiting to be solved. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-earth-hidden-east-west-symmetry.html Earth Sciences Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:00:06 EDT news699787932 New observations by a team of US astronomers have cast fresh doubt on whether the lunar surface could host abundant water ice. Publishing their results in Science Advances, a team led by Shuai Li at the University of Hawaii at Manoa has shown that relatively pure ice (making up more than about 20–30% of the surface material) is likely absent from the moon's permanently shadowed regions. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-shadowcam-abundant-lunar-ice.html Astronomy Fri, 20 Mar 2026 15:20:03 EDT news693221849 A team of scientists from around the world has created the first system that can predict when and where extremely powerful solar storms, called superflares, are most likely to happen. These storms can disrupt power grids, communications, and satellites, and even pose dangers to astronauts in space. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-solar-eruptions-sun-side-validate.html Astronomy Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:20:01 EST news691166641 To reduce air pollution associated with ocean transport, the International Maritime Organization tightened restrictions on sulfur content in ship fuel, resulting in an 80% reduction in emissions by 2020. That shift created an inadvertent real-world experiment in how man-made aerosols influence cloud formation over the ocean. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-cleaner-ship-fuel-clouds-climate.html Earth Sciences Thu, 29 Jan 2026 11:32:33 EST news688908722 An international team, involving researchers from the University of Seville, the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences in Granada and the University of Huelva, has identified the first fossilized vertebrate footprints from the Quaternary period in fossil dune deposits in Murcia, attributed to the elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus, known as the straight-tusked elephant. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-prehistoric-elephant-footprints-documented-murcia.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 17 Dec 2025 18:50:10 EST news685197782 Tropical cyclones can unleash extensive devastation, as recent storms that swept over Jamaica and the Philippines made unmistakably clear. Accurate weather forecasts that buy more time to prepare are crucial for saving lives and are rooted in a deeper understanding of climate systems. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-scientists-climate-pattern-tropics.html Earth Sciences Mon, 24 Nov 2025 15:00:01 EST news683202777 A Southwest Research Institute-led team has reported the first detection of gas on the distant dwarf planet Makemake, using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This discovery makes Makemake only the second trans-Neptunian object, after Pluto, where the presence of gas has been confirmed. The gas was identified as methane. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-methane-gas-dwarf-planet-makemake.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 09 Sep 2025 13:29:03 EDT news676643341 New NASA research has found that Ceres may have had a lasting source of chemical energy: the right types of molecules needed to fuel some microbial metabolisms. Although there is no evidence that microorganisms ever existed on Ceres, the finding supports theories that this intriguing dwarf planet, which is the largest body in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, may have once had conditions suitable to support single-celled lifeforms. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-ceres-energy-fuel-habitability.html Astrobiology Wed, 20 Aug 2025 16:56:03 EDT news674927761 As the climate warms and regional drying becomes more frequent, peatlands—some of the planet's most important carbon sinks—are increasingly under threat. But a study led by an international team including scientists from the University of Bristol has shown peatland ecosystems may have a natural defense through the combined forces of plant changes and microbes. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-ancient-alliance-woody-microbes-potential.html Earth Sciences Mon, 04 Aug 2025 11:30:08 EDT news673523772 Climate models that give a low warming from increases in greenhouse gases do not match satellite measurements. Future warming will likely be worse than thought unless society acts, according to a new study published in Science. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-climate-sensitivity-greenhouse-gases-align.html Environment Thu, 12 Jun 2025 16:00:15 EDT news668962802 Analyzing gravity data collected by spacecraft orbiting other worlds reveals groundbreaking insights about planetary structures without having to land on the surface. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-reveal-hidden-secrets-interiors-moon.html Astronomy Wed, 14 May 2025 13:20:01 EDT news666447010 For decades, scientists believed Vesta, one of the largest objects in our solar system's asteroid belt, wasn't just an asteroid and eventually concluded it was more like a planet with a crust, mantle and core. Now, Michigan State University has contributed to research that flips this notion on its head. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-vesta-core-shatters-held-beliefs.html Astronomy Mon, 28 Apr 2025 14:19:05 EDT news665068742 Carbon-containing meteorites look like they had less severe impacts than those without carbon because the evidence was blasted into space by gases produced during the impact. The Kobe University discovery not only solves a 30-year-old mystery, but also provides guidelines for a future sampling mission to Ceres. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-astrophysicists-mystery-meteorites.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 24 Apr 2025 07:06:31 EDT news664697186 When Earth first formed, it was too hot to retain ice. This means all the water on our planet must have originated from extraterrestrial sources. Studies of ancient terrestrial rocks suggest liquid water existed on Earth as early as 100 million years after the sun's formation–practically "immediately" on an astrophysical timescale. This water, now over 4.5 billion years old, has been perpetually renewed through Earth's water cycle. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-theory-earth.html Astrobiology Mon, 17 Feb 2025 13:17:04 EST news659020621 Asteroids that orbit close to the Earth inevitably cause us some anxiety due to the even remote possibility of a collision. But their proximity also offers ample opportunities to learn more about the universe. Ryugu, a 900-meter diameter asteroid in the Apollo belt, has recently proven useful in our search for signs of life's precursors elsewhere in our solar system. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-asteroid-ryugu-samples-presence-salty.html Astrobiology Fri, 14 Feb 2025 12:01:03 EST news658756861 Curtin University researchers have gained an unprecedented glimpse into the early history of our solar system through some of the most well-preserved asteroid samples ever collected, potentially transforming our understanding of planetary formation and the origins of life. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-pristine-asteroid-samples-reveal-secrets.html Astrobiology Sun, 02 Feb 2025 13:10:01 EST news657378373 Asteroid samples fetched by NASA hold not only the pristine building blocks for life but also the salty remains of an ancient water world, scientists reported Wednesday. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-aliens-nasa-asteroid-samples-ingredients.html Astrobiology Sat, 01 Feb 2025 10:50:02 EST news657377141 It took two years for NASA's OSIRIS-REx space probe to return from asteroid Bennu before dropping off a small capsule as it flew past Earth, which was then recovered in the desert of the U.S. state of Utah on September 24, 2023. Its contents: 122 grams of dust and rock from asteroid Bennu. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-asteroid-bennu-solar-potential-life.html Astrobiology Wed, 29 Jan 2025 13:07:23 EST news657378436 The organic material found in a few areas on the surface of dwarf planet Ceres is probably of exogenic origin. Impacting asteroids from the outer asteroid belt may have brought it with them. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-dwarf-planet-ceres-material-space.html Astrobiology Mon, 27 Jan 2025 16:44:05 EST news657218642 Pocked with craters, the surfaces of many celestial bodies in our solar system provide clear evidence of a 4.6-billion-year battering by meteoroids and other space debris. But on some worlds, including the giant asteroid Vesta that NASA's Dawn mission explored, the surfaces also contain deep channels, or gullies, whose origins are not fully understood. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-lab-gullies-giant-asteroid-vesta.html Planetary Sciences Sat, 21 Dec 2024 05:30:01 EST news653927000 This week, researchers studying data from NASA's Dawn mission reported the identification of 11 sites on Ceres that suggest an internal reservoir of organic materials. A multidisciplinary team published an analysis of the dazzle camouflage patterns deployed on ships during World War 1. And Japanese researchers found a nano-switch mechanism controlled by a single hydrogen atom used by every living organism to obtain energy. Additionally, we covered the enduring impacts of the pandemic on urban real estate, the world's first carbon-14 battery, and a hearty revival of the argument about whether Neanderthals and Homo sapiens were different species: https://phys.org/news/2024-12-saturday-citations-donut-effect-basically.html Other Sat, 07 Dec 2024 09:00:02 EST news652707828 Six years ago, NASA's Dawn mission communicated with Earth for the last time, ending its exploration of Ceres and Vesta, the two largest bodies in the asteroid belt. Since then, Ceres —a water-rich dwarf planet showing signs of geological activity— has been at the center of intense debates about its origin and evolution. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-evidence-material-ceres-solar-rich.html Astrobiology Wed, 04 Dec 2024 10:26:32 EST news652530377 A Southwest Research Institute researcher collaborated with a team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to attempt to explain the presence of mysterious flow features that exist on the surfaces of airless celestial bodies, such as the asteroids Vesta and Ceres, explored recently by the NASA Dawn mission, or Jupiter's moon Europa, which will soon be explored in detail by the NASA Europa Clipper mission that includes SwRI's involvement. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-experimental-insights-mysterious-features-airless.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 21 Oct 2024 11:47:03 EDT news648730021 Since the first sighting of the first-discovered and largest asteroid in our solar system was made in 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi, astronomers and planetary scientists have pondered the make-up of this asteroid/dwarf planet. Its heavily battered and dimpled surface is covered in impact craters. Scientists have long argued that visible craters on the surface meant that Ceres could not be very icy. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-asteroid-ceres-ocean-world-slowly.html Planetary Sciences Sat, 28 Sep 2024 05:17:14 EDT news646719427 A team of astrophysicists from several institutions in Italy, working with a colleague in the U.S., has found that aliphatic hydrocarbons observed on Ceres' surface have short lifetimes, suggesting they likely appeared there within the last 10 million years. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-aliphatic-hydrocarbons-ceres-surface-short.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:30:01 EDT news646566741 The dwarf planet Ceres has a diameter of almost 1,000 kilometers and is located in the asteroid belt. In the television series "The Expanse," Ceres gained new fame as the main base of the so-called 'belters': in this series, which is based on real physics, humans colonize the asteroid belt for mining. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-dwarf-planet-ceres-asteroid-belt.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 09 Sep 2024 10:32:04 EDT news645096722 Two large asteroids will safely pass Earth this week, a rare occurrence perfectly timed to commemorate this year's Asteroid Day. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-large-asteroids-safely-earth-hours.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 24 Jun 2024 09:29:14 EDT news638440148