https://phys.org/space-news/ en-us The latest science news on astronomy, astrobiology, and space exploration from Phys.org. Scientists have found that young stellar cousins of our sun are calming down and dimming more quickly in their X-ray output than previously thought, according to a new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. A paper describing the results is published in The Astrophysical Journal. Unlike in the new movie "Project Hail Mary," this quieting of young stars is a benefit for the prospects for life on orbiting planets around these stars, not a threat. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-young-stars-dim-quickly-ray.html Astrobiology Tue, 14 Apr 2026 19:20:01 EDT news695398382 Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) rank among the most powerful explosions in the universe, releasing immense energy in intense flashes of gamma rays. The most distant GRBs originate from the era when the first stars and galaxies formed. Detecting them allows astronomers to probe the early universe and understand how the first heavy elements formed and how the earliest stellar populations lived and died. Missions like HiZ-GUNDAM, a satellite planned for launch in the 2030s by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), aim to detect these distant explosions in real time. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-distant-gamma-ray-explosions-precisely.html Astronomy Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:30:01 EDT news695404202 Research led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has integrated three types of machine learning models to generate solar magnetic patches with physical properties and used those as a query to find matching patches in real observations. This elevates generative artificial intelligence (AI) from a means to produce artificial data to a novel tool for scientific data interrogation, supporting applicability beyond the heliophysics domain. The paper is published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-virtual-sunspots-ai-rare-magnetic.html Astronomy Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:10:01 EDT news695404022 Alena Tensor is a relatively new mathematical approach that allows for arbitrary curving and straightening of analyzed spacetimes. As it turns out, generalizing this model to all known fields and fully describing matter, spontaneously gives rise to the phenomena known from research on dark matter and dark energy. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-dark-alena-tensor-math-framework.html Astronomy Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:00:03 EDT news695384357 Planets, like those in our solar system, form in a bottom-up process where small bits of rock and ice clump together and grow larger over time. But the heftier the planet, the harder it is to explain its formation that way. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-webb-redefines-line-planets-stars.html Astronomy Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:40:06 EDT news695390761 Supermassive black holes are among the most enigmatic objects in the universe. They typically weigh millions or even billions of times the mass of the sun and sit at the centers of most large galaxies. At the heart of the Milky Way lies Sagittarius A*, our galaxy's supermassive black hole, with a mass of about four million suns. But these black holes do not emit light, so astronomers can only detect them indirectly through their effects on nearby stars and gas. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-shredded-stars-reveal-black-holes.html Astronomy Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:10:01 EDT news695400121 Dark matter is believed to make up a large fraction of the matter in the universe, yet its true nature remains unknown. Most past experiments have focused on heavier dark matter candidates, while much lighter dark matter, with masses closer to the mass of a neutrino, has been difficult to detect directly because its scattering signals are extremely weak. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-torsion-strongest-limits-ultralight-dark.html Astronomy Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:00:04 EDT news695386501 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 Using NASA's Chandra X-ray space telescope, astronomers have performed high-resolution X-ray spectroscopic observations of a bright low-mass X-ray binary known as GX 340+0. Results of the observational campaign, published April 3 on the arXiv pre-print server, shed more light on the composition of interstellar medium (ISM) in this system. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-chandra-explores-interstellar-medium-bright.html Astronomy Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:00:01 EDT news695294944 The IBeA group of the EHU-University of the Basque Country is proposing new measures to safeguard the purity of extraterrestrial samples. Several contaminants, including traces of ink, originating in the preparation of subsamples, have been identified in Martian meteorites by the EHU's research group. The finding highlights the importance of stricter protocols to prevent misinterpretations of the composition of these rocks and to ensure the reliability of future studies and Mars sample-return missions. The research is published in the journal Applied Geochemistry. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-contaminants-ink-meteorites-sample.html Astrobiology Tue, 14 Apr 2026 04:13:21 EDT news695358737 For the first time, new theoretical models, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, connect the magnetism at the surface of long-dead stellar remnants (white dwarfs) with recent evidence of magnetism at the cores of their dying progenitors (red giants). The team, led by astrophysicists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), argues that these magnetic fields might originate early in the stars' lives, and survive their entire evolution, emerging as "fossil fields" at the surfaces of older remnants. A better understanding of these processes can also help to better understand our own sun's future. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-starquakes-theoretical-evidence-fossilized-magnetism.html Astronomy Tue, 14 Apr 2026 03:00:02 EDT news695314244 A study led by UC Riverside physicist Hai-Bo Yu suggests that a new type of dark matter could explain three astrophysical puzzles across vastly different environments. Published in Physical Review Letters, the study proposes that dense clumps of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM)—each about a million times the mass of the sun—can account for unusual gravitational effects observed in gravitational lenses, stellar streams, and satellite galaxies. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-interacting-dark-cosmic-puzzles.html Astronomy Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:50:04 EDT news695317981 The center of our galaxy is an extreme place. Surrounding the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, stars are packed densely into a region where gravity, radiation, and dark matter all interact in complex ways. It is a natural laboratory for testing some of the deepest ideas about astrophysics. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-stars-galactic-center-survive-destroyed.html Astronomy Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:40:01 EDT news695296276 Since July 2025, the European Space Agency's pair of Proba-3 satellites has already created 57 artificial solar eclipses. So far, the mission has collected more than 250 hours of high-resolution videos of the sun's atmosphere, called the corona. That's the same amount of observing time as about 5,000 total solar eclipse campaigns carried out on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-proba-science-speedy-solar-corona.html Astronomy Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:00:11 EDT news695301302 Across Earth, every night, thousands of automated stargazers are waiting to take pictures of shooting stars. I am one of the scientists who study these meteors. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-sun-asteroid-pieces-earth-flying.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:40:04 EDT news695298482 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 British scientists have launched a crew of microscopic worms to the International Space Station in a pioneering experiment that could help unlock the secrets of long-duration space travel—and support ambitions to reach the moon and beyond. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-space-worms-microscopic-crew-orbit.html Space Exploration Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:40:06 EDT news695294943 Scientists in Japan have developed a high-resolution X-ray telescope sharp enough to distinguish an object just 3.5 mm wide from one kilometer away, by combining precision mirror-making technology with space astronomy. To test its performance, they built a first-of-its-kind evaluation system, capable of simulating starlight on the ground to measure the telescope's sharpness before its launch on the US-Japan FOXSI sounding rocket mission. The findings, published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, represent a landmark achievement for Japanese X-ray astronomy and pave the way for high-resolution X-ray observations on future smaller satellites. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-advanced-mirror-technology-powers-breakthrough.html Astronomy Sun, 12 Apr 2026 15:00:01 EDT news694879313 For decades, astronomers were only able to study the universe's very first stars using theoretical models. Now, observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed what may be the most compelling evidence to date for these ancient "Population III" stars, finding them clustered around a small companion object that formed just 400 million years after the Big Bang. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-astronomers-strongest-evidence-universe-stars.html Astronomy Sun, 12 Apr 2026 13:00:04 EDT news694772656 By analyzing the data from various space observatories, Chinese astronomers have inspected a nearby quasar designated SDSS J000532.84+200717.4. Results of the new study, published April 1 on the arXiv preprint server, shed more light on the X-ray variability of this object. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-space-telescopes-track-nearby-quasar.html Astronomy Sun, 12 Apr 2026 09:00:01 EDT news694862868 Astronomers analyzing gravitational-wave data from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration have reported that merging binary black holes fall into three distinct categories. The study shows that the three subpopulations have their own characteristic masses, spin behavior, and merger rate that may be linked to different dominant formation mechanisms. The paper outlining their results was submitted to the preprint server arXiv on March 18. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-astronomers-evidence-subpopulations-merging-black.html Astronomy Sat, 11 Apr 2026 12:30:01 EDT news694692842 With Artemis II successfully completing its historic lunar mission on Friday, NASA is banking on billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk for the next step: landing astronauts on the moon. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-artemis-ii-nasa-spacex-blue.html Space Exploration Sat, 11 Apr 2026 04:00:02 EDT news695091177 Elements essential to life, such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur, were "delivered" to Earth and the moon during the early stages of the solar system via asteroids and comets impacting their surfaces. These exogenous materials may have provided the chemical building blocks necessary for the origin and early evolution of life on Earth. But extensive geological activity and biological processes on Earth have largely erased the direct records of these early inputs on our planet. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mission-samples-reveal-exogenous-evolves.html Astrobiology Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:40:03 EDT news695047248 Observations conducted with the Subaru Telescope and its first-generation wide-field camera, Suprime-Cam, have revealed new insights into the relationship between the color and size of Jupiter Trojan asteroids. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-subaru-telescope-jupiter-trojan-asteroids.html Astronomy Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:40:03 EDT news695045701 As the Orion spacecraft hurtles home, friction caused by reentry into Earth's atmosphere will drastically decrease its speed from a potential 25,000 miles per hour (40,000 kilometers per hour). https://phys.org/news/2026-04-parachutes-vital-artemis-ii-home.html Space Exploration Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:10:01 EDT news695047959 Astronomers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have employed the Lijiang 2.4-m telescope to perform optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of a core-collapse Type IIP supernova designated SN 2024abfl. Results of the observational campaign, published April 2 on the arXiv, preprint server, deliver essential information regarding the origin of this peculiar supernova. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-peculiar-core-collapse-supernova-mold.html Astronomy Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:00:03 EDT news695033139 The Artemis II astronauts conducted a historic lunar flyby, gathered invaluable data and took in unprecedented moon views, but one of the most crucial moments of their 10-day mission is still to come: Friday's splashdown. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-meters-artemis-ii-hurtles-home.html Space Exploration Fri, 10 Apr 2026 04:12:54 EDT news695013096 On Earth, extreme solar activity often appears as beautiful, benign auroras. But venturing beyond the safety of the Earth's magnetic field, one faces the full brunt of a temperamental star that can suddenly erupt with flares and coronal mass ejections. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-medieval-japanese-poetry-trees-elucidate.html Astronomy Thu, 09 Apr 2026 23:00:02 EDT news694943326 After a successful trip around the moon, everything has been going smoothly on the Orion spacecraft's journey back to Earth—except for the $23 million toilet, which has gotten clogged. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-houston-problem-toilet.html Space Exploration Thu, 09 Apr 2026 04:28:32 EDT news694927657 Fast solar winds originating from the sun can have direct impacts on Earth—disrupting systems like GPS, aviation, electrical grids, and satellite and radio communications. A new paper by New Mexico State University astronomy graduate student Khagendra Katuwal examines the connection between coronal holes and solar wind streams, helping improve our understanding of how the sun's magnetic structure influences space weather. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-student-coronal-holes-space-weather.html Astronomy Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:00:01 EDT news694870433