https://phys.org/space-news/ en-us The latest science news on astronomy, astrobiology, and space exploration from Phys.org. Four years ago, NASA purposely smashed a spacecraft into a small asteroid to see if they could deflect it—a test to prove humanity could protect Earth from threatening space rocks. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-nasa-dart-planetary-defense-shift.html Planetary Sciences Sat, 07 Mar 2026 07:13:14 EST news692089930 Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have conducted the most detailed simulation of the interior of stars and disproved a theory scientists have believed for 45 years: that stars switch their rotation patterns as they age, with poles rotating faster than the equator in older stars. Scientists have now found that this switch may not occur. Stars maintain solar-type rotation, spinning fast at the equator and slow at the poles throughout their lifetime. The findings are published in Nature Astronomy. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-stars-sun-rotation-pattern-life.html Astronomy Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:20:03 EST news692024284 Neutron stars harbor some of the most extreme environments in the universe: their densities soar to several times those of atomic nuclei, and they possess some of the strongest gravitational fields of any known objects, surpassed only by black holes. First observed in the 1960s, much of the internal composition of neutron stars is still unknown. Scientists are beginning to look to gravitational waves emitted by binary neutron‐star inspirals—pairs of mutually orbiting neutron stars—as possible sources of information about their interiors. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-neutron-stars-sharpen-gravitational-tide.html Astronomy Fri, 06 Mar 2026 14:20:03 EST news692028121 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 A new study published in Nature Astronomy indicates that the dense, star- and dark-matter–rich environments around supermassive black hole binaries pack on the order of a million solar masses into each cubic parsec. The team used gravitational-wave data from pulsar timing arrays to probe galactic centers that are otherwise impossible to observe directly. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-gravitational-reveal-hidden-galactic-centers.html Astronomy Fri, 06 Mar 2026 11:40:01 EST news692010701 A new study by researchers at the SETI Institute suggests that stellar "space weather" could make radio signals from extraterrestrial intelligence harder to detect. Stellar activity and plasma turbulence near a transmitting planet can broaden an otherwise ultra-narrow signal, spreading its power across more frequencies and making it more difficult to detect in traditional narrowband searches. The paper is published in The Astrophysical Journal. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-technosignatures-turbulent-plasma-blur-ultra.html Astronomy Thu, 05 Mar 2026 16:20:04 EST news691944722 Astronomers have analyzed the images collected by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to investigate a galactic open cluster known as NGC 2158. Results of the study, published Feb. 25 on the arXiv pre-print server, provide essential insights into the population of binary stars in this cluster. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-binary-star-population-cluster-ngc.html Astronomy Thu, 05 Mar 2026 11:20:01 EST news691931058 When the densest objects in the universe collide and merge, the violence sets off ripples, in the form of gravitational waves, that reverberate across space and time, over hundreds of millions and even billions of years. By the time they pass through Earth, such cosmic ripples are barely discernible. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-lvk-gravitational-candidates.html Astronomy Thu, 05 Mar 2026 09:51:15 EST news691926604 As the U.S. plans to return to the moon with the upcoming Artemis II mission, a question endures: What will future lunar explorers eat? According to new research from The University of Texas at Austin, the answer might be chickpeas. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-scientists-successfully-harvest-chickpeas-moon.html Astrobiology Thu, 05 Mar 2026 09:00:01 EST news691842481 Researchers from the University of Bologna and the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) along with other institutes have proposed a new way to address the Hubble tension by comparing estimates of the universe's age rather than its expansion rate. Using precise stellar data, they determined ages for carefully selected very old Milky Way stars and found a most likely age of about 13.6 billion years. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-universe-oldest-stars-clue.html Astronomy Thu, 05 Mar 2026 08:40:03 EST news691922102 What happens when a solar superstorm hits Mars? Thanks to the European Space Agency's Mars orbiters, we now know: glitching spacecraft and a supercharged upper atmosphere. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-esa-mars-orbiters-solar-superstorm.html Astronomy Thu, 05 Mar 2026 05:00:06 EST news691842362 For the first time, the Tibet ASγ Experiment has successfully measured magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence on scales below one parsec (approximately 3.3 light-years) within the gamma-ray halo surrounding the Geminga pulsar wind nebula (PWN). This observation extends to the highest energies, above 100 tera-electron volts (TeV), providing new insights into the behavior of cosmic rays and magnetic fields within the Milky Way. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-geminga-tev-cutoff-cosmic-ray.html Astronomy Wed, 04 Mar 2026 19:30:01 EST news691867081 Just a few days in simulated microgravity can subtly change the way women's blood clots, sparking bigger questions about health monitoring protocols for astronauts who can spend six months or more in orbit, say Simon Fraser University researchers. First reported in 2020, an International Space Station mission detected an unexpected blood clot in a female astronaut's jugular vein. To date, space-health research has had more male participants, but with the number of female astronauts on the rise, a new SFU–European Space Agency study examined how microgravity affects blood clotting specifically in women. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-female-astronauts-clotting-day-weightlessness.html Space Exploration Wed, 04 Mar 2026 15:40:07 EST news691852801 In a first, a space mission led by NASA and France has tracked Earth's rivers swelling and shrinking from month to month over the course of a year and found significantly less of a swing than previous model-based estimates. A record drought in the Amazon likely influenced the tally made by the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite. The findings also reveal new details about the underwater topography of the world's river channels. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-swot-satellite-stock-world-river.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 04 Mar 2026 13:00:06 EST news691850042 Astronomers have reported observations of a rare star system consisting of one star orbiting a system of three more tightly bound stars. This quadruple star system is described in a new study, published in Nature Communications, as the most compact quadruple star system observed to date, with all four stars fitting into an area the size of Jupiter's orbit. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-compact-quadruple-star-area-size.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:20:03 EST news691844414 An international team of scientists, led by a Ph.D. researcher from Northumbria University, has made further discoveries about a spectacular feature of Jupiter's northern lights, revealing a never-before-seen temperature structure and dramatic density changes within the top of the giant planet's atmosphere. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-jwst-reveals-secrets-jupiter-northern.html Astronomy Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:20:01 EST news691838101 Using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher for the Northern Hemisphere (HARPS-N), an international team of astronomers has discovered a hot sub-Neptune exoplanet orbiting a nearby star. The newfound alien world, designated TOI-5734 b, is about two times larger and nine times more massive than Earth. The discovery was presented in a research paper published February 20 on the arXiv pre-print server. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-astronomers-toi-hot-neptune-earth.html Astronomy Wed, 04 Mar 2026 08:00:03 EST news691753161 Scientists have analyzed more than 40 years of astronomical data to uncover evidence that the sun's internal structure subtly changes from one solar cycle minimum to the next. Publishing their findings in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, researchers from the University of Birmingham and Yale University reveal that even small differences in solar magnetic activity produce detectable changes inside the sun. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-decades-unique-insight-sun-life.html Astronomy Tue, 03 Mar 2026 19:00:03 EST news691669092 Astronomers with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) have used data from the project to make the largest, most accurate 3D map yet of the light emitted by excited hydrogen in the early universe, 9 billion to 11 billion years ago. This specific form of light, called Lyman alpha, is emitted in large quantities when hydrogen atoms are exposed to a star's energy. That makes it a great tool for finding bright galaxies in this far-off time, which experienced a rash of star creation. However, the locations of fainter galaxies and gas, which also emit Lyman alpha, have remained largely unknown. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-hetdex-reveal-vast-sea-early.html Astronomy Tue, 03 Mar 2026 14:40:03 EST news691760761 Tiny life forms tucked into debris from an asteroid hit could catapult to other planets—including Earth—and survive, a new Johns Hopkins University study finds. The work demonstrates that a certain hardy bacterium easily withstands extreme pressure comparable to an ejection from Mars after an asteroid hit, as well as the inhospitable conditions it would face during the ensuing interplanetary journey. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-life-planet-asteroid-debris-survive.html Astrobiology Tue, 03 Mar 2026 13:20:04 EST news691758061 To uncover the history of our solar system, it is necessary to study the dynamic evolution of the ancient solar nebula materials. These materials interacted and coevolved with the weak but widespread magnetic field of the solar nebula, which was generated by the weakly ionized nebular gas in the protoplanetary disk. During the formation or alteration, the magnetization of these materials can become locked in for billions of years, a phenomenon known as natural remanent magnetization (NRM). NRM measurements of primordial astromaterials can therefore provide critical information on the spatiotemporal evolution of the early solar system. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-asteroid-ryugu-samples-insights-early.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 03 Mar 2026 11:20:06 EST news691752001 For the past two decades, scientists have wondered about a bright, distinct striped pattern seen in radio waves emanating from the Crab Pulsar, the remnant of a supernova observed by Chinese and Japanese astronomers in the year 1054. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-reveals-cosmic-war-crab-pulsar.html Astronomy Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:10:01 EST news691693802 While sifting through the extensive data collected by NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft over the last decade, scientists discovered a familiar type of electromagnetic signal commonly caused by lightning. This rare find represents the first direct indication of lightning activity on Mars. The team recently published their findings in Science Advances, where they describe the event and why it's so difficult to detect lightning-like activity on Mars. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-nasa-maven-evidence-lightning-mars.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 02 Mar 2026 13:00:04 EST news691672920 An international team of astronomers has carried out photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN 2024abvb—a recently discovered supernova of a rare Type Icn. The new observational campaign yields important information regarding the properties and nature of this supernova. The study was published February 18 on the arXiv pre-print server. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-rare-icn-supernova-sn-2024abvb.html Astronomy Mon, 02 Mar 2026 11:20:06 EST news691669065 Astronomers using the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa have discovered the most distant hydroxyl megamaser ever detected. It is located in a violently merging galaxy more than 8 billion light-years away, opening a new radio astronomy frontier. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-meerkat-cosmic-laser-halfway-universe.html Astronomy Mon, 02 Mar 2026 09:40:03 EST news691666021 Planetary systems such as our solar system take hundreds of millions of years to evolve. Since humanity has only existed for a sliver of that time, astronomers have only observed planetary systems at birth or, more often, long after they have settled into adulthood. There is an information gap about what happens in the middle. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-rare-teenage-planetary-deepens-cosmic.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 27 Feb 2026 14:30:01 EST news691422781 Simulated lunar dirt can be turned into extremely durable structures, potentially paving the way to more sustainable and cost-effective space missions, a new study suggests. Using a special laser 3D printing method, researchers melted fake lunar soil—a synthetic version of the fine dusty material on the moon surface, called regolith simulant—into layers and fused it with a base surface to manufacture small, heat-resistant objects. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-moon-dirt-3d-future-lunar.html Space Exploration Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:20:01 EST news691409642 Tardigrades, commonly known as water bears, may be better suited by a new name: Tardiguardians of the Galaxy. Unlike the fictional ragtag team of unenthusiastic heroes, the microscopic animals are providing real insight into how humans could adapt extraterrestrial resources to support space exploration, as well as whether such resources could help protect against the Earthly contaminants that humans might shed. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-mars-soil-block-earth-microbes.html Astrobiology Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:00:01 EST news691409521 Yale junior Donglin Wu leads a new study showing that some of the biggest stars in the universe shed some of the smallest dust particles. It's fitting that Wu's first major scientific journal article as lead author focuses on stardust—tiny solid grains that form from stellar winds, drift into interstellar space, and may eventually become parts of new planets. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-stardust-massive-binary-stars-emit.html Astronomy Fri, 27 Feb 2026 09:40:01 EST news691406162 Some of the universe's most extreme explosions leave behind almost no trace. The original explosion is unseen, but our observations can capture the long-lived echo it leaves behind as the shock front plows into its surrounding environment. In new research accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, we have discovered what may be the clearest example yet of one of these hidden explosions: the radio afterglow of a powerful gamma-ray burst whose initial blast went unnoticed. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-cosmic-explosion-billion-suns-unseen.html Astronomy Thu, 26 Feb 2026 17:00:03 EST news691335860