https://phys.org/space-news/ en-us The latest science news on astronomy, astrobiology, and space exploration from Phys.org. Using more than 15 years of observations from the Parkes radio telescope, astronomers detected three rotational glitches in the pulsar PSR J1637−4642—a young neutron star that had shown no signs of glitches since its discovery. The three glitches included one that changed its rotation rate by nearly 3 parts per million. Their paper was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Aug. 20. It has been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-quiet-pulsar-suddenly-reveals-glitches.html Astronomy Sun, 06 Sep 2026 08:40:03 EDT news707748985 Germany's Isar Aerospace launched a rocket into orbit from Norway on Saturday as Europe races to boost its ability to economically send satellites into space independently of the United States. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-germany-isar-aerospace-rocket-orbit.html Space Exploration Sun, 06 Sep 2026 04:00:01 EDT news707884608 Astronomers have found two clouds of hydrogen near the Whirlpool galaxy that appear to contain almost no stars. The clouds, discovered with China's FAST radio telescope, each contain roughly 3 million times the mass of the sun in hydrogen but have no detectable optical counterpart. Their properties are outlined in a new paper published in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal on Aug. 4. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-fast-mysterious-hydrogen-clouds-visible.html Astronomy Sat, 05 Sep 2026 14:40:02 EDT news707748935 In 1974, Stephen Hawking made a prediction that transformed our understanding of black holes. Black holes, he showed, are not truly black: They slowly lose energy through a quantum process now known as Hawking radiation. The lighter the black hole, the faster it evaporates. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-black-hole-tons-star-dark.html Astronomy Sat, 05 Sep 2026 13:00:01 EDT news707737356 After an eight-year journey, a spacecraft carrying European and Japanese probes began the monthslong, high-risk approach to Mercury on Thursday to study the sun-scorched planet. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-spacecraft-bound-mercury-tricky.html Planetary Sciences Sat, 05 Sep 2026 06:20:01 EDT news707723332 As the BepiColombo mission prepares to enter the final phase of its journey to Mercury, a series of studies conducted by researchers at the University of Liège and KU Leuven sheds new light on the early stages of the evolution of the planet closest to the sun. Using experimental petrology, the researchers are reconstructing in the laboratory the formation of Mercury's core, the crystallization of its magma ocean and the formation of its mantle. The studies are published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Nature Communications and Advances in Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-mercury-graphite-crust-core.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 04 Sep 2026 16:00:01 EDT news707746443 In a new Nature Communications study, researchers developed a universal scaling framework for the strength of granular asteroids, showing that their tensile strength can be predicted from the size and shape of their constituent particles. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-particle-size-asteroid-strength-revealing.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:20:06 EDT news707737328 Star formation in galaxies is closely linked to molecular gas. In the distant past, when galaxy interactions were more common, these encounters compressed molecular gas, causing dense clouds to collapse under their own gravity and form new stars. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-turbulent-star-formation-stephan-quintet.html Astronomy Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:40:04 EDT news707739181 For the first time since its dramatic dimming in 2020, a team of astronomers has observed the inner atmosphere of Betelgeuse using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). Led by Bill Dent at the University of Manchester, the team found that the giant star's inner atmosphere has become increasingly uneven and asymmetric, in a way that could be connected to a far smaller companion star. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-betelgeuse-atmosphere-spotty-asymmetric-nearby.html Astronomy Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:20:03 EDT news707734879 A private spacecraft that was supposed to provide a lifeline to NASA's Swift Observatory managed to get close to the sinking telescope and even snap photos two weeks after the rescue was abandoned. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-satellite-nasa-doomed-telescope.html Space Exploration Fri, 04 Sep 2026 10:52:33 EDT news707737920 There are myriad ways of "being a star," and scientists spend years trying to uncover and understand them. One unusual type is the so-called hot subdwarf—small stars that burn mysteriously hot for their size. Scientists from the Faculty of Physics and the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at Vilnius University (VU) are working to explain this strange phenomenon and recently made important breakthroughs. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-hot-subdwarfs-focus-ai-scans.html Astronomy Thu, 03 Sep 2026 16:40:05 EDT news707660641 Earth and the Martian moon Phobos dance together in a series of images recently acquired by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. Earth appears as a point of light in the Martian sky, disappearing behind the crescent of Phobos, the larger of Mars' two moons. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-perseverance-rover-earth-martian-moon.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 03 Sep 2026 16:40:03 EDT news707659861 This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a sprawling cosmic vista in the Large Magellanic Cloud, or LMC, the largest of the small galaxies that orbit our Milky Way galaxy. At just 160,000 light-years away, the LMC offers a close look at highly active star-forming sites like the one in this image. This photogenic nebula, named LHA 120-N44, or N44, is in the constellation Dorado. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-photo-nasa-hubble-spies-superbubble.html Astronomy Thu, 03 Sep 2026 15:40:03 EDT news707657665 A potentially history-altering finding by a University of Limerick researcher may provide the most detailed technical analysis of a telescope demonstrably made by the famous astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-newly-manuscript-lens-telescope-galileo.html Astronomy Thu, 03 Sep 2026 15:20:04 EDT news707659021 Venus is one of the solar system's most unusual planets. It may sometimes be called "Earth's twin" because of its similar size and density, but it rotates on its axis in the opposite direction of most planets, has surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead and lacks a moon. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-doesnt-venus-moon.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:10:02 EDT news707657547 Two Mercury-bound spacecraft left their mother ship behind on Thursday and headed down the home stretch of their nearly decade-long voyage to the solar system's smallest and closest-to-the-sun planet. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-pair-spacecraft-closer-mercury-decade.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:30:02 EDT news707656831 Gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime created when pairs of black holes spiral into each other and eventually merge. But if this ripple has been warped by another massive object on its way to Earth, a new analysis suggests that these black holes might appear far larger than they really are. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-biggest-black-hole-merger-massive.html Astronomy Thu, 03 Sep 2026 08:30:49 EDT news707643020 Recent observations with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have revealed a giant, evolving, 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling Saturn's south pole. This discovery marks the first time a large, regular-sided jet pattern has been observed in the planet's southern hemisphere. The feature appears remarkably similar to Saturn's famous hexagon at its north pole but is also distinctly different, suggesting scientists may be witnessing a new atmospheric phenomenon developing on the iconic gas giant. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-hubble-tracks-decagon-encircling-saturn.html Astronomy Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:40:07 EDT news707580122 The Cluster mission danced its final dance as Tango reentered the atmosphere Sept. 1 at 11:30:31 p.m. CEST. The end of the Cluster mission in 2024 marked the start of the reentry data-collection campaign. After four targeted reentries, this is now a proven method of safe end-of-life disposal. It also enabled repeated observation of the reentries by a plane full of scientists, creating a unique reentry data set that will improve our understanding of the destructive process and inform the design of safer, more sustainable satellites in the future. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-cluster-reentry-safer-sustainable-satellite.html Space Exploration Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:00:03 EDT news707579090 High above Earth, thin veils of metallic haze drift through the edge of space. Known as sporadic E layers, these high-altitude "clouds" form from the vaporized dust of burned-up meteors, earning their name from the unpredictable way they emerge and then dissipate. Now, new results from a NASA sounding rocket—a suborbital research rocket—that flew five detectors through one of these layers simultaneously reveal unexpected complexity in the layer for the first time. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nasa-rocket-multi-radio-disrupting.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 02 Sep 2026 14:20:10 EDT news707570942 Astronomers at Lund University in Sweden have found evidence of exocomets—comets in other solar systems—orbiting a young star similar to our sun. The observations point to a possible mechanism for how water might be transported from the cold outer regions of the planetary system to regions where planets form. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-young-sunlike-reveals-comets-planets.html Astrobiology Wed, 02 Sep 2026 12:20:01 EDT news707564222 Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola is the Hawaiian name given to NGC 7253—a pair of spiral galaxies caught in each other's gravity. Captured by the Gemini North telescope on Maunakea in Hawai'i, the image created a spectacular symbolic display for this year's interns participating in Project Hōkūlani. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-hawaii-high-school-students-image.html Astronomy Wed, 02 Sep 2026 10:12:22 EDT news707562714 A 13-meter (43-foot) Falcon 9 rocket stage struck the moon last month, leaving a crater about 20 meters (66 feet) wide. In the days before impact, University of Tasmania researchers from the School of Natural Sciences were the first in the world to detect the object by radar, helping refine predictions of where it would land. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-meter-rocket-moon-tasmanian-track.html Space Exploration Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:40:06 EDT news707550901 Astronomers have discovered a second interstellar cloud near the center of the Milky Way that is extraordinarily rich in complex molecules, including several molecules associated with prebiotic chemistry. The newly studied cloud, G+0.633-0.0604, or G+0.633, contains more than 120 identified molecular species and is the first confirmed chemical twin of another famous molecule-rich cloud. Their paper, posted to the arXiv preprint server on Aug. 14, outlines the chemistry of the newfound cloud. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-molecular-species-giant-cloud-milky.html Astronomy Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:30:02 EDT news706793113 When Blue Origin's New Glenn launch vehicle accidentally exploded during a static test fire in May 2026, the explosion generated low frequency soundwaves below the range of human hearing. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-blue-explosion-infrasound.html Space Exploration Wed, 02 Sep 2026 07:40:03 EDT news707543821 Microbes from space have fueled the plots of science fiction mainstays like "Project Hail Mary" and "The Andromeda Strain." But with more space missions launching each year, finding extraterrestrial life in a microbial form is becoming more plausible. What will the response be back here on Earth if—or when—scientists discover extraterrestrial microbes? Will the international policy and security communities be prepared for the fallout? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-space-missions-life-earth-fallout.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 01 Sep 2026 20:40:01 EDT news707483513 New Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) modeling, conducted in collaboration with scientists at the University of Arizona, shows fundamental differences in how the moon may have formed from the giant impact that created the Earth–moon system. The new results used state-of-the-art computational techniques that factor in the material strength of the two colliding planets. These impact simulations could change how researchers understand moon formation and may help constrain the timing of the event. The research is published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-giant-impact-intact-moon-hours.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 01 Sep 2026 18:20:06 EDT news707500981 More than 3 billion miles (4.8 billion kilometers) from Earth, an ancient icy object is slowly awakening. As it drifts inward through the solar system, the frozen body known as Centaur 450P/LONEOS has begun releasing gas and dust—behavior more commonly associated with comets than with centaurs, the small icy objects that typically orbit between Jupiter and Neptune. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-saturn-encounter-distant-centaur-path.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 01 Sep 2026 18:00:04 EDT news707499541 When the ESA Earth observation mission FLEX launches into space on September 15, 2026, as scheduled, it will carry high-precision optical components from Jena, Germany. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have developed and manufactured a silicon-based double-slit assembly as well as two high-precision mirrors for the spectrometer on board the satellite. The spectrometer is designed to detect the fluorescence of plants excited by sunlight from Earth's orbit. The data is expected to provide new insights into the photosynthetic activity, health, and stress levels of vegetation. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-precision-optics-health-visible-space.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:00:05 EDT news707487781 What's so special about spotting Phobos crossing in front of the sun? Sure. It's just another image of Phobos crossing the disk of the sun, as seen from the surface of Mars. Like so much of the modern space era, these images, once amazing, are now almost routine. But there's some real science behind tasking the Mars rovers to conduct a little "Martian astronomy." https://phys.org/news/2026-09-martian-astronomy-percy-phobos-eclipse.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 01 Sep 2026 15:20:06 EDT news707482202