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 far-flung moon Nereid may be the last of the planet's original companions that managed to survive a cosmic crash, scientists reported Wednesday. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-neptune-mysterious-moon-nereid-survivor.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 20 May 2026 15:55:54 EDT news698511286 The Haystack 37m Telescope has been a landmark in radio astronomy and radar studies of the solar system since its first light in 1964. Over the following four decades, it supported NASA's Apollo landings on the moon, made planetary radar maps of the surface of Venus, contributed to experimental tests of Einstein's general relativity, supported the development of VLBI, and conducted foundational studies of quasars and star-forming regions. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-years-legendary-telescope-black-holes.html Astronomy Wed, 20 May 2026 10:00:01 EDT news698489714 Some birds sing to attract a mate. Others dance or display colorful feathers. But in the moonlit forests and shrublands of northern Argentina, one bird courts romance by snapping its wrists together, producing a sharp clapping sound scientists have puzzled over for decades. Now, researchers have captured the behavior in detail for the first time, revealing how scissor-tailed nightjars create one of the most curious sounds in the avian world. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-birds-dark-flirt-nightjars-reveal.html Plants & Animals Tue, 19 May 2026 19:40:03 EDT news698426881 A new European-led telescope could map the dusty, hidden half of the universe, all without using fossil fuels. If you have ever seen the Milky Way in the night sky, you probably noticed that it looks cloudy. That is because towards the center of our galaxy, and of most galaxies, there are vast amounts of dust that make it hard to see what is going on. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-atlast-telescope-reveal-universe.html Astronomy Tue, 19 May 2026 13:40:03 EDT news698411764 As space missions travel farther from Earth, spacecraft must increasingly be able to process and store their own data. Soon, artificial intelligence (AI) could be the primary tool for handling this growing volume of information. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-nand-storage-deep-space-missions.html Space Exploration Tue, 19 May 2026 12:20:01 EDT news698408281 In December 2023, scientists looking at Mars data stumbled across something completely unexpected—observations of an atmospheric effect never before seen in the Red Planet's atmosphere. Using instruments aboard NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission, scientists identified a phenomenon known to occur in Earth's magnetosphere, where charged particles are squeezed like toothpaste coming out of a tube along magnetic structures called flux tubes. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-mars-reveals-zwan-wolf-effect.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 18 May 2026 18:20:01 EDT news698339461 Looking back at 14 years of Hubble telescope data for Jupiter's moon Europa has given Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists a better understanding of its tenuous atmosphere. The findings have cast doubt on previous evidence suggesting that the icy moon intermittently discharges faint water plumes from a presumed subsurface ocean. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-reconsider-europa-vapor-plumes.html Astrobiology Mon, 18 May 2026 17:00:05 EDT news698337061 They rank among the darkest and coldest places in the solar system: Hundreds of lunar craters, many of them at the moon's south pole, never receive direct sunlight and lie in permanent shadow. That's exactly why physicist Jun Ye and his colleagues suggest that these craters are the perfect place to build a critical component for an ultrastable laser. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-dark-lunar-craters-host-ultrastable.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 18 May 2026 14:09:37 EDT news698332087 Researchers have developed a mathematical method that enables more precise calculations of the most economical travel routes between the orbits of celestial bodies. To demonstrate this method, they calculated a more efficient path between Earth's and the moon's orbits than any previously described in the scientific literature. The study is published in the journal Astrodynamics. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-mathematical-method-efficient-earth-moon.html Space Exploration Fri, 15 May 2026 05:30:01 EDT news698037277 The Southwest Research Institute-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) instruments aboard ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft and NASA's Europa Clipper made unique observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in late 2025. SwRI leads the UVS instruments on both spacecraft, simultaneously imaging both hemispheres of the comet and detecting the comet's ultraviolet emissions. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-dual-spacecraft-capture-hemispheres-interstellar.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 13 May 2026 14:20:01 EDT news697900019 When you think of outer space, you're likely picturing stars, planets and moons. But much of space is filled with clouds of gas, plasma and stardust—known as interstellar clouds. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-stardust-antarctic-ice-reveals-tens.html Astronomy Wed, 13 May 2026 10:00:50 EDT news697885201 Using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside have produced the most detailed map of the cosmic web ever made, tracing the network of galaxies all the way back to when the universe was one billion years old. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-jwst-cosmic-web-universe-billion.html Astronomy Tue, 12 May 2026 09:49:18 EDT news697797890 For decades, the search for life beyond Earth has revolved around a key question: What molecules should scientists be looking for on other planets or moons? A new study, published in Nature Astronomy, suggests that the more revealing clue may not be the molecules themselves, but the hidden order connecting them. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-alien-life-mars-europa-missions.html Astronomy Mon, 11 May 2026 17:00:05 EDT news697733705 The Milky Way's galactic bulge, the bulbous region that surrounds the galactic center, contains a dense collection of stars, planets, and other free-floating objects. This region has been studied for decades with numerous ground-based and space-based telescopes, including NASA's Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-hubble-survey-roman-future-milky.html Astronomy Mon, 11 May 2026 15:20:01 EDT news697723621 Ganymede is not only Jupiter's largest moon, but also the largest in our solar system and one of the few that hosts a massive ice ocean. Adding to this planet-like moon's uniqueness is the fact that among the hundreds of moons in our solar system, Ganymede is the only one that generates its own magnetic field. While the prevailing view was that Ganymede generates this magnetic field through convection in an already-formed core, there are still uncertainties surrounding this idea. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ganymede-unique-magnetic-field-powered.html Planetary Sciences Sat, 09 May 2026 12:10:01 EDT news697376960 NASA's Psyche spacecraft will get a boost from Mars on Friday, May 15, passing just 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) from the planet's surface at some 12,333 mph (19,848 kph). The spacecraft will harness the planet's gravitational pull to speed up and adjust its trajectory toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche, one of the more unusual objects in our solar system. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-mars-reshape-nasa-psyche-journey.html Planetary Sciences Sat, 09 May 2026 08:48:13 EDT news697535243 A new study, published in Science Advances, has refined some important details about the moon's largest and oldest impact crater, which stretches more than 1,200 miles (2,000 km) on the far side of the moon. The new details can help guide some of the planning for NASA's upcoming Artemis mission to the moon, which is planned for 2028. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-moon-largest-impact-crater-priceless.html Space Exploration Fri, 08 May 2026 13:50:01 EDT news697463270 New research reveals that Dante Alighieri's Inferno wasn't just a masterpiece of literature: it was a gedankenexperiment in impact physics. From multi-ring craters to shockwaves that reshaped the globe, discover how a 14th-century poet modeled a planetary impact 500 years before the birth of modern meteoritics. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-dante-inferno-planetary-impact-years.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 08 May 2026 08:00:04 EDT news697362601 A research team led by the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has developed a new type of nanoparticle therapy that could make cancer immunotherapy safer and more effective. The researchers say they've created a promising new treatment called CRYSTAL, short for Crystal-like STING-Activating nanoassemblies, by engineering a new nanoparticle that moves through the blood safely to target tumors but without triggering inflammation, which can lead to a range of negative side effects. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-nanoparticle-therapy-manganese-cancer-treatment.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 07 May 2026 17:30:03 EDT news697391341 The new focus on manned missions to the moon and Mars presents countless pressing challenges, including keeping humans alive in hostile environments. What happens when an astronaut or space tourist has a cardiac emergency millions of miles from the nearest hospital? https://phys.org/news/2026-05-cpr-simulator-space-tracks-differences.html Space Exploration Tue, 05 May 2026 19:40:01 EDT news697204081 Moonlight determines when the red-necked nightjar feeds, migrates and raises its young. A groundbreaking long-term study from Lund University shows how the migratory bird's entire annual cycle follows the moon's rhythm. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-nocturnal-migratory-birds-rhythm-moon.html Plants & Animals Mon, 04 May 2026 07:40:01 EDT news697098182 Using MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of researchers led by former MPIA (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany) Ph.D. student Sebastian Zieba (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, U.S.) and Laura Kreidberg, MPIA Director and study PI (principal investigator), analyzed the surface composition of the rocky exoplanet LHS 3844 b. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-astronomers-explore-surface-composition-nearby.html Astronomy Mon, 04 May 2026 05:00:01 EDT news696851882 The Eta Aquarid meteor shower soon will light the sky with debris from Halley's comet. But a bright moon will spoil the fun this year, making the display harder to glimpse. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-bright-moon-dim-eta-aquarid.html Space Exploration Sun, 03 May 2026 06:40:22 EDT news697009166 We're focusing on space news this week, but we did cover the usual amount of local news down here in Earth's gravity well: A new Tokamak reactor regime sustained stable plasma fusion for one full minute. An anomaly in global sea level rise turns out to be due to deep ocean heating. And Chinese researchers report that they found microplastics in every part of both healthy and diseased human brains. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-saturday-citations-spaaa-aaace.html Other Sat, 02 May 2026 09:00:01 EDT news696857370 Expose an animal to extreme physical stress, and the expectation is simple: It will break down. But when UC Riverside scientists subjected fruit flies to forces many times stronger than Earth's gravity—a condition called hypergravity—the insects did something unexpected. They survived. They even mated and reproduced. Their movements and behaviors changed dramatically and then, over time, they recovered. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-hypergravity-fruit-flies-recover.html Space Exploration Fri, 01 May 2026 09:40:03 EDT news696845581 Mammals and dinosaurs coexisted on Earth until a catastrophic event 66 million years ago killed 75% of life on the planet. Despite the devastation, some animals survived, including rodent-like mammals in the Cimolodon genus. These creatures are part of the multituberculates, a group that arose during the Jurassic Period and survived over 100 million years before going extinct. Studying these animals helps researchers better understand how mammals survived the mass extinction event and then diversified into the variety of mammals around today. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-dinosaurs-hamster-sized-mammal-survived.html Evolution Sat, 25 Apr 2026 14:00:04 EDT news696179114 For observers on Earth, the sun appears as a bright, familiar disk—but what we see is only half the story. Like the moon, one half of the sun is permanently hidden from our direct view: the far side beyond the visible solar limb. Yet, activity brewing there can eventually turn toward Earth, sometimes unleashing solar flares and eruptions capable of disrupting human technology. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-scientists-hidden-magnetism-sun-side.html Astronomy Fri, 24 Apr 2026 13:20:03 EDT news696248402 As space agencies and private companies look toward a sustained human presence on the moon, a fundamental challenge centers on how to build strong, durable infrastructure without hauling every material from Earth. New research from Rice University points to an unexpected solution—transforming one of the moon's most stubborn obstacles, its abrasive dust, into a valuable building resource. The study demonstrates that lunar regolith simulant, a terrestrial stand-in for the moon's fine, abrasive dust, can be used to strengthen advanced composite materials. The work, published in Advanced Engineering Materials, was also selected for the cover of the journal's latest issue. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-moon-nuisance-reshaping-humans-earth.html Space Exploration Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:50:03 EDT news696182702 NASA's Curiosity rover has identified seven new organic compounds on the planet Mars, according to new research published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-nasa-curiosity-rover-ancient-life.html Astrobiology Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:20:04 EDT news696161582 An origami-inspired reflectarray antenna developed by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo enables CubeSats to achieve high antenna gain while fitting within the tight size constraints of small satellites. Weighing just 64 grams, it folds compactly inside a 3U CubeSat for launch and expands in space. Such designs could support higher data-rate communications, expanding the capabilities of future CubeSat missions, including deep-space and lunar exploration. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tiny-satellites-big-limits-foldable.html Space Exploration Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:40:06 EDT news696081783