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. 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 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 Rice plants and Venus flytraps share something in common that was not scientifically documented until recently. Using a faint smell to lure caterpillars into a trap, rice plants killed early-stage fall armyworm larvae by trapping them in a spikelet, the part at the end of a rice panicle where individual grains develop. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-rice-fall-armyworm-caterpillars.html Ecology Wed, 13 May 2026 16:18:22 EDT news697907881 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 The mysterious origin of an impressive cloud disturbance on Venus has now been revealed by a team including the University of Tokyo. Researchers used numerical models to show that an enormous 6,000-kilometer-wide atmospheric wave front, which circumnavigates the planet for days at a time, is caused by a large "hydraulic jump." This is when a fluid abruptly slows down, changing from shallow and fast to deep and slow. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-vast-atmospheric-venus-largest-hydraulic.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 08 May 2026 13:20:01 EDT news697462381 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 stick-on gel for plants could one day offer a simple, safe and targeted way to treat diseases and pests. Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed an adhesive gel that can be loaded with substances, such as small molecule drugs or nanoparticles, and applied directly onto a plant to deliver those materials into its tissues. In tests, a gel loaded with antibiotics cleared a bacterial infection in a plant within about 48 hours. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-gel-drugs-infections-quickly.html Plants & Animals Tue, 28 Apr 2026 13:40:08 EDT news696600061 Under a microscope, a bouquet of lollipop-like structures, each smaller than a grain of sand, waves gently in a Petri dish of liquid. Suddenly, they snap together, like the jaws of a Venus flytrap, as a scientist waves a small magnet over the dish. What was previously an assemblage of tiny passive structures has transformed instantly into an active robotic gripper. The lollipop gripper is one demonstration of a new type of soft magnetic hydrogel developed by engineers at MIT and their collaborators at EPFL and the University of Cincinnati. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-swipe-magnet-microscopic-magno-bots.html Nanophysics Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:00:03 EDT news696587647 When Mauna Loa erupted in 2022, the largest lava flow headed on a path headed directly toward Daniel K. Inouye State Highway 200, also known as Saddle Road, a critical route that carries many residents from their homes on one side to their jobs on the other. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-volcano-eruption-earth-venus-mauna.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:20:08 EDT news696508381 On a calm day, a light breeze might barely ripple the surface of a lake on Earth. But on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, a similar mild wind would kick up 10-foot-tall waves. This otherworldly behavior is one prediction from a new wave model developed by scientists at MIT. The model is the first to capture the full dynamics of waves and what it takes to whip them up under different planetary conditions. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-titan-lakes-spawn-foot-gentle.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:00:06 EDT news695550271 Unfortunately for science fiction fans, desert worlds outside our solar system are unlikely to host life, according to new research from the University of Washington. Scientists show that an Earth-sized planet needs at least 20 to 50% of the water in Earth's oceans to maintain a critical natural cycle that keeps water on the surface. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-planets-life-scientists-previously-thought.html Astrobiology Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:40:03 EDT news695485502 The fossil record has given us another new prehistoric species, named Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa (from the Greek personification of the morning star—the planet Venus), a member of the group called Crocodylomorpha, which includes modern crocodiles. The bones had been sitting around in a museum drawer for three-quarters of a century and had been misidentified as another type of closely related reptile. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-museum-drawer-fossil-reveals-million.html Evolution Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:00:05 EDT news695476133 Venus, often called Earth's twin, is in fact a planet of extremes. Beneath its thick carbon dioxide atmosphere are crushing surface temperatures and dense clouds of sulfuric acid. While the planet's main cloud layer sits between 47 and 70 kilometers above the surface, scientists have long been puzzled by a mysterious layer of particles below 47 kilometers, known as the "lower haze." First detected by spacecraft in the 1970s, the origin of this haze remained unexplained for more than half a century. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-cosmic-source-venus-enigmatic-haze.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 14 Apr 2026 09:40:02 EDT news695374801 An international team including the University of Bern (UNIBE) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), members of the National Center of Competence in Research PlanetS, has succeeded in mapping the climate of rocky exoplanets with masses similar to Earth for the first time. This breakthrough is based on continuous observations using the James Webb Space Telescope. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-eternal-night-day-cousins-earth.html Astrobiology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:00:13 EDT news695294959 Planetary scientists have long debated where the material that formed Earth comes from. Despite its location in the inner solar system, they consider it likely that 6–40% of this material must have come from the outer solar system, i.e., beyond Jupiter. For a long time, material from the outer solar system was considered necessary to bring volatile components such as water to Earth. Accordingly, there must also have been an exchange of material between the outer and inner solar systems during the formation of Earth. But is that really true? https://phys.org/news/2026-03-earth-material-exclusively-solar-planetary.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:00:03 EDT news694087382 If we're to find extraterrestrial life in the universe, astronomers have pinpointed the best places to look for it. They have identified just under 50 rocky worlds most likely to be habitable out of the more than 6,000 exoplanets discovered so far. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-alien-life-scientists-earth-worlds.html Astrobiology Thu, 19 Mar 2026 10:31:24 EDT news693134878 Even 200 years after asteroid 16 Psyche was discovered, astronomers continue to puzzle over its formation. Psyche is the 10th-most massive asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, and the largest known metallic asteroid, at 140 miles in diameter. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-large-craters-clues-asteroid-psyche.html Astronomy Tue, 17 Mar 2026 07:00:02 EDT news692946841 A thick layer of haze around the ultra-low-density planet Kepler-51d likely obscures not only the strange planet's composition, but also its origin, according to a new study. A team led by Penn State researchers used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to take a deeper look at the "super-puff" planet that defies planetary formation models. However, the thickest layer of haze found on a planet yet makes discerning the chemical elements in the planet's atmosphere—and any clues to the planet's formation—challenging. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-lowest-density-super-puff-planet.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 16 Mar 2026 14:40:01 EDT news692884502 Heat shields are designed to protect the surface and cargo of a spacecraft as it enters an atmosphere. Aerospace engineers in The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recently observed a violently destructive difference in how heat shields function in atmospheres like Earth that contain oxygen versus nitrogen-rich atmospheres such as Venus and Titan, one of Saturn's moons. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-titan-entry-lab-flag-nitrogen.html Space Exploration Mon, 16 Mar 2026 06:56:37 EDT news692862940 Finding Earth-like planets orbiting sun-like stars and identifying signs of life such as oxygen or water is a major goal in astronomy and a key interest for the public. Addressing this challenge speaks directly to one of humanity's most fundamental questions: Are we alone in the universe? However, these planets are about 10 billion times dimmer than their stars in visible light, making direct detection extremely challenging. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-earth-exoplanets-planet.html Astrobiology Fri, 06 Mar 2026 12:40:04 EST news692011638 Volcanic activity is not unique to Earth: traces of volcanic activity, such as lava tubes, have been found on Mars and the moon. Now, the University of Trento has demonstrated the existence of an empty lava tube even in the depths of Venus, a planet whose surface and geology have been largely shaped by volcanic processes. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-evidence-subsurface-lava-tube-venus.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 09 Feb 2026 05:00:01 EST news689606641 Mars, often depicted as a barren red planet, is far from lifeless. With its thin atmosphere and dusty surface, it is an energetic and electrically charged environment where dust storms and dust devils continually reshape the landscape, creating dynamic processes that have intrigued scientists. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-electrifying-science-martian.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 08 Jan 2026 16:26:33 EST news687111961 In the run up to Christmas, carols fill the air. Many have an astronomical twist, singing of the "Christmas Star" from the story of the nativity. Described in the Gospel of Matthew, the star guided the three wise men to the cradle of the young baby Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-christmas-star-astronomy.html Astronomy Mon, 29 Dec 2025 10:30:04 EST news686226375 The moon and sun share top billing in 2026. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-moon-sun-figure-big-year.html Space Exploration Mon, 29 Dec 2025 07:41:49 EST news686216460 The material used to build the Temple of Venus in Naples has remarkably endured even as Earth's surface around it sank from volcanic activity, and researchers were curious to know how. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-secret-temple-venus-resilient-uncovered.html Archaeology Thu, 27 Nov 2025 08:00:02 EST news683385475 An international team has made a significant breakthrough in understanding the tectonic evolution of terrestrial planets. Using advanced numerical models, the team systematically classified for the first time six distinct planetary tectonic regimes and identified a novel regime: the "episodic-squishy lid." https://phys.org/news/2025-11-tectonic-regimes-terrestrial-planets-earth.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:21:04 EST news683212861 Imagine the catastrophic winds of a category 5 hurricane. Now, imagine even faster winds of more than 100 meters per second, encircling the planet and whipping clouds across the sky, with no end in sight. This scenario would be astonishing on Earth, but it's business as usual on Venus, where the atmosphere at cloud level rotates about 60 times faster than the planet itself—a phenomenon known as superrotation. In contrast, Earth's cloud-level atmosphere rotates at about the same speed as the planet's surface. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-key-driver-extreme-venus.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 19 Nov 2025 12:58:03 EST news682779481 For decades, scientists have been baffled by two enormous, enigmatic structures buried deep inside Earth with features so vast and unusual that they defy conventional models of planetary evolution. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-mysterious-earth-mantle-clues-life.html Earth Sciences Tue, 18 Nov 2025 17:07:03 EST news682708021 With the discovery of ever more exoplanets—over 6,000 now—scientists, of course, want to know if they are habitable for life. (At least, life as we know it.) But assessing habitability is a difficult task, as information about an exoplanet can be scarce. Now a new metric developed by researchers in England could help. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-metric-exoplanet-habitability.html Astrobiology Tue, 30 Sep 2025 10:00:05 EDT news678444990 Plants lack nerves, yet they can sensitively detect touch from other organisms. In the Venus flytrap, highly sensitive sensory hairs act as tactile sensing organs; when touched twice in quick succession, they initiate the closure cascade that captures prey. However, the molecular identity of the touch sensor has remained unclear. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-venus-flytrap-response-specialized-ion.html Plants & Animals Tue, 30 Sep 2025 05:00:08 EDT news678377162