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. Now it's the moon's turn to pull a disappearing act. After being shut out of this month's total solar eclipse, the Americas will have the best seats in the celestial house when Earth's shadow briefly envelops the moon. Almost the entire lunar surface will be masked Thursday night into Friday—a whopping 96%—making this an especially deep partial eclipse. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-total-lunar-eclipse-americas-prime.html Space Exploration Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:38:34 EDT news706613876 Astronomers have discovered that the most massive galaxies in the early universe contain far more small stars than expected. As a result, these early galaxies were likely much more massive than initial measurements suggested. This discovery challenges current understanding about how the first galaxies formed. The results are published today in Nature Astronomy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hidden-stars-distant-galaxies-massive.html Astronomy Tue, 18 Aug 2026 17:00:04 EDT news706273141 What do you do when the observation you need comes around once a year? Well, preparation is key, but this is the awkward truth about finding another Earth. When a planet crosses the face of its star, a sliver of starlight passes through its atmosphere on the way to us, and the gases there absorb their own particular colors. Read the spectrum carefully and you can list what the air is made of: oxygen, ozone and water vapor, the things that would make you sit up. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-telescope-array-earth-exoplanet-atmosphere.html Astronomy Thu, 13 Aug 2026 17:40:01 EDT news705854101 Much of Europe is bracing for another scorching heat wave following periods of record drought that have driven rivers to historic lows, ignited historic forest fires and contributed to thousands of deaths. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-europe-braces-summer.html Environment Mon, 10 Aug 2026 15:40:04 EDT news705587457 Suddenly, the world is plunged into an eerie, violet darkness. The temperature drops. Birds and other animals, bewildered by unforeseen night, start behaving strangely. Stars and planets appear in the sky next to the blotted-out sun. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-world-eclipse-chasers-flocking-spain.html Space Exploration Wed, 05 Aug 2026 03:20:01 EDT news705116680 El Niño continues to intensify steadily and is expected to dominate global climate patterns in the August to October 2026 season, increasing the likelihood of above-normal temperatures across much of the world and driving significant shifts in rainfall patterns, according to the World Meteorological Organization. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-world-meteorological-strong-el-nio.html Earth Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 16:00:05 EDT news704987041 For the first time in more than a century, a total solar eclipse is coming to mainland Spain with an even longer encore next summer. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-august-total-solar-eclipse-spain.html Space Exploration Mon, 03 Aug 2026 03:12:40 EDT news704945507 By analyzing data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and conducting new radial velocity measurements, U.K. and French astronomers have found evidence that the mysterious Tabby's star may be orbited by an object about nine times more massive than Jupiter. The new findings are published on the preprint server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-tabby-star-orbited-planetary-mass.html Astronomy Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:00:03 EDT news704450067 Sand has a way of getting everywhere on a beach day—and for some, it can make or break the whole trip. There's the way it whips through the air just as sandwiches are being unwrapped, the way it turns blisteringly hot underfoot by midday, and the way it stubbornly clings to every piece of clothing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-physics-beach-sand.html Materials Science Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:00:15 EDT news704367519 A new review in Limnology and Oceanography led by scientists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography warns that the rapid loss of oxygen from the ocean and other aquatic ecosystems is pushing Earth toward an "unsafe space," with consequences that could be irreversible on human timescales. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-underwater-oxygen-loss-threatens-earth.html Earth Sciences Fri, 17 Jul 2026 14:20:01 EDT news703501039 Across a narrow watershed in Asakura, a rural city in Fukuoka Prefecture, centuries-old stone channels still guide water through fields and into the river below. Today, those same systems are the focus of researchers at Kyushu University's Watershed Systems Engineering Laboratory. One of their projects aims to restore abandoned rice fields to functioning wetlands and forest habitats. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-local-wisdom-science.html Environment Sat, 11 Jul 2026 14:00:01 EDT news702888177 Dust devils are a regular feature on Mars. Just like those found on Earth, these mini whirlwinds form when parts of Mars are warmed by the sun, causing air above the surface to swirl upward and carry dust with it. But in Mars' lower gravity (38% that of Earth), these devils grow much larger, reaching up to 8 km (5 miles) in height and speeds of up to 45 meters per second (150 feet per second). They are also a major part of Mars' meteorological cycles, playing a key role in distributing dust across the planet. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-mars-captures-dozens-devils-valley.html Planetary Sciences Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:00:02 EDT news701955284 The European Space Agency's Mars Express has captured part of Mars's Mamers Valles, a fascinating valley system speckled with brief, tornado-like whirlwinds known as dust devils. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-dozens-devils-caught-swirling-mars.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 17 Jun 2026 14:20:02 EDT news700914890 The phenomenon El Niño has arrived, the U.S. weather agency said Thursday, and scientists expect the pattern, synonymous with droughts, floods and soaring temperatures, will intensify through the end of the year, potentially to historic strength. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-el-nio-strongest-events.html Environment Sat, 13 Jun 2026 08:00:11 EDT news700455586 How do you take measurements using one of the most sensitive scales in the world? Researchers at TU Wien have demonstrated how the measurement process affects not only the object being measured but also the scale itself, and where the absolute limits of precision lie. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-precision-impact.html General Physics Tue, 09 Jun 2026 17:20:05 EDT news700235581 Planetary nebulae like the Crystal Ball Nebula (NGC 1514) are sort of like stellar obituaries. Though crystal balls supposedly reveal the future, the Crystal Ball Nebula tells us more about the past. It shows us how a binary pair of stars met their end. And since NGC 1514 is 1,500 light years away, we're seeing what it looked like 1,500 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-beautiful-death-dying-star-crystal.html Astronomy Mon, 25 May 2026 09:00:01 EDT news698918342 The 8.1-meter Gemini North telescope, located on the summit of Maunakea in Hawai'i, has captured NGC 1514, nicknamed the Crystal Ball Nebula, in awe-inspiring detail. This nebula, with its mesmerizing glow of gas, harbors hints of a past stellar death, and its asymmetrical shell is now being shaped by the pair of binary stars that lie at its center. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-crystal-ball-nebula-emitted-dying.html Astronomy Thu, 21 May 2026 18:00:05 EDT news698601721 Dinosaurs are among the most majestic and iconic animals to have ever walked on our planet. While they are now extinct, they are estimated to have inhabited Earth for over 165 million years. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-dinosaurs-million-years-earlier-fossils.html Evolution Fri, 01 May 2026 08:00:01 EDT news696675541 A rare dataset collected by instruments at the point where Antarctica's largest ice shelf begins to float reveals ocean processes that drive melting at this critical part of the continent. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-antarctica-ice-shelves-vulnerable-ocean.html Earth Sciences Tue, 28 Apr 2026 07:27:39 EDT news696579811 The search for life beyond Earth has traditionally focused on exoplanets orbiting sun-like stars, which is a G-type star. However, low-mass stars, which are designated as K-type and M-type stars, have rapidly become a target for astrobiology, primarily due to their much longer lifetimes. This also means the habitable zone (HZ), which is the distance from a star where liquid water could exist, is much smaller than our solar system's HZ, and is referred to as the liquid water habitable zone (LW-HZ). In contrast, another type of HZ that involves a star's ultraviolet (UV) radiation potentially enabling life-harboring conditions is known as UV-HZ. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-stellar-flares-habitable-zones-small.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 22 Apr 2026 19:00:05 EDT news696065137 It is tempting to view the Artemis II splashdown as the exclamation point on a successful lunar mission. And from launch to completion, it was indeed a textbook voyage of discovery for four astronauts, shared with enthralled millions watching across the globe. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-boots-moon-artemis-ii-mission.html Space Exploration Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:40:13 EDT news695557262 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 In Dante's "Divine Comedy," Hell is described as an "inferno" with nine concentric circles, the entrance of which has a sign that reads "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." For the planets of the solar system, Venus is about as close to this description as one can get. On the surface, temperatures are hot enough to melt lead (464°C; 872°F), while the atmosphere is dense enough to crush a human skull (more than 90 times Earth's atmospheric density). However, above the cloud deck, roughly 47–70 km (29–43 mi) above the surface, temperatures are stable, and the atmospheric pressure is roughly equivalent to Earth's. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-aerobot-isru-capabilities-explore-venus.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 06 Apr 2026 07:20:46 EDT news694678815 Here's a thought experiment. Imagine looking at Earth from a distant star system, armed with a powerful telescope capable of capturing its reflected light. Could you tell the planet was alive? The answer, remarkably, might be yes and the clue would come from the color of the plants. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-betray-galaxy.html Astrobiology Mon, 30 Mar 2026 18:00:01 EDT news694085439 Greek mythology has given a name to a great many objects in our solar system. But perhaps one of the least well understood are the Trojans, named after the people of Troy featured in "The Iliad." When astronomers refer to them, they are normally talking about a group of more than 10,000 confirmed asteroids orbiting at the Lagrange points both in front of and behind Jupiter on its orbit around the sun. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-astronomers-exotrojans-extreme-pulsar.html Astronomy Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:10:06 EDT news693054241 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 The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has started releasing its first discoveries: including supernovae, variable stars and asteroids, which will from now on be discovered at an astonishing rate as it begins its Legacy Survey of Space and Time, a ten-year survey probing the deepest reaches of the universe. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-world-biggest-astronomy-camera-universe.html Astronomy Tue, 03 Mar 2026 16:00:07 EST news691775101 Imagine someone has chronic pain. One doctor focuses on the body part that hurts and keeps trying to fix that single symptom. Another uses a more comprehensive brain-body approach and tries to understand what's keeping the nervous system stuck in alarm mode—perhaps stress, fear of symptoms or learned triggers. Because they're looking at the problem differently, they'll resort to completely different treatments. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-economists-environmental-scientists-world-differently.html Environment Tue, 17 Feb 2026 22:40:03 EST news690550221 One of the longest stellar dimming events ever observed was likely caused by the gigantic saucer-like rings of either an unseen brown dwarf or "super-Jupiter" blocking its host star's light, astronomers say. For decades, the star—which sits 3,200 light-years from Earth and is about twice as big as our sun—had been observed as stable, but at the end of 2024 it faded dramatically. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-unseen-planet-brown-dwarf-hidden.html Astronomy Wed, 11 Feb 2026 19:00:04 EST news690041401 Dangerous concentrations of algae such as "red tides" have been consistently emerging in locations around the world. A region in Southern Australia is experiencing a nine-month toxic algae bloom that spans thousands of miles and has caused thousands of deaths across marine species. Such harmful algal blooms (HABs) produce toxins that can force municipalities to close beaches and lakes due to public health risks. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-plastic-pollution-hazardous-conditions.html Environment Sun, 01 Feb 2026 11:10:01 EST news688925028