https://phys.org/space-news/ en-us The latest science news on astronomy, astrobiology, and space exploration from Phys.org. From reaching for a cup of coffee to tying your shoelaces, gravity shapes nearly all human movement. So how do our bodies react when that familiar force begins to change? Texas A&M University researchers are exploring the answer through a multiphase project supported by NASA. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-gravity-people-simpler-movement-patterns.html Space Exploration Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:20:01 EDT news705377293 The origin of spin in spiral and elliptical galaxies has posed a long-standing puzzle for astronomers. One idea, known as tidal torque theory, proposes that galaxies' spins are an imprinted record of the early universe, imparted by gravity long before galaxies first formed and still detectable in galaxies today. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-galactic-fingerprints-primordial-universe.html Astronomy Fri, 07 Aug 2026 13:20:03 EDT news705314778 Within our solar system, Uranus is a geometric oddball. Its spin axis tilts more than 90° from its orbit, so it essentially rolls on its side through space. In contrast, Earth and other planets tilt only moderately or not at all. What's more, the ice giant's magnetic field is strangely offset and tilted another 60°. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-uranus-unusual-rotation-day.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:20:05 EDT news705316681 Researchers at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), part of The University of Alabama System, are developing plasma-based technology to help astronauts stay healthier during missions to the moon and Mars by sanitizing clothing, bedding and other fabrics without water or traditional cleaning chemicals. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-plasma-gun-technology-space-laundry.html Space Exploration Fri, 07 Aug 2026 11:20:03 EDT news705320164 On Mother's Day weekend in May 2024, Earth experienced its most powerful geomagnetic storm in two decades, spawning auroras—the ribbony bands of light in the nighttime skies in the Northern and Southern hemispheres—that may have been among the strongest displays on record in the past 500 years. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-physicists-solar-outbursts-historic-mother.html Astronomy Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:04 EDT news705227342 Astronomers have found evidence that one of the most massive white dwarfs known has an oxygen-neon core instead of the more common carbon-oxygen core. The finding is important because the composition of a white dwarf's core determines how it will evolve. A paper outlining this discovery was published in The Astrophysical Journal. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ultramassive-white-dwarf-earth-size.html Astronomy Fri, 07 Aug 2026 08:00:01 EDT news705228617 In the sweeping shadow of a satellite dish, staff at the Chilbolton Observatory in southern England track a growing number of objects in Earth's orbit, providing data that underpins Britain's space monitoring efforts. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-uk-observatory-nervously-space-junk.html Space Exploration Fri, 07 Aug 2026 04:40:02 EDT news705288801 A South Korean satellite has captured the first pictures of the moon's fresh crash scene caused by a stray SpaceX rocket. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-south-korean-satellite-captures-views.html Space Exploration Fri, 07 Aug 2026 02:31:07 EDT news705288638 The Sloan Digital Sky Survey V (SDSS-V) has announced its 20th public data release (DR20), delivering a dramatic expansion of the Milky Way Mapper (MWM) scientific survey—the most detailed spectroscopic map yet assembled of stars in and around our home galaxy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-galaxy-milky-mapper-survey-latest.html Astronomy Thu, 06 Aug 2026 18:30:01 EDT news705257521 A team of astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has captured a massive stream of gas—one trillion miles, or 0.2 light-years, long—feeding the young triple-star system GW Orionis. These new observations provide the clearest evidence yet for how such "streamers" can tilt and twist the disks where planets are born. The findings are published in The Astronomical Journal. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-trillion-mile-gas-streamer-tilt.html Astronomy Thu, 06 Aug 2026 17:00:07 EDT news705248521 Understanding the formation and evolution of the centers of galaxies is one of the most intriguing challenges in astrophysics. The new study aims to unveil the physical processes that led to the formation of two striking features surrounding the black holes at the centers of most galaxies: nuclear star clusters and nuclear stellar disks. Only in the last decade have such galactic structures been observed in the Milky Way and extragalactic systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-milky-simulation-reveals-central-galactic.html Astronomy Thu, 06 Aug 2026 16:40:01 EDT news705248221 Narrow jets of luminous matter may be emitted toward Earth from the nuclei of active galaxies billions of light-years away. The galaxy then appears as a point source and is called a blazar. A Polish-German team of scientists has, for the first time, analyzed the activity of one such blazar over an extended period and, instead of finding answers, encountered an ever-increasing number of intriguing questions. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-decades-blazar-mysteries-piling.html Astronomy Thu, 06 Aug 2026 16:00:05 EDT news705241262 Deep inside super-Earths—rocky planets with masses between 1 and 10 times that of Earth—high pressure can cause familiar minerals to take forms rarely seen on Earth. Understanding more about the temperature and pressure conditions in which these phases are reached could help researchers learn more about how planets evolve. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-super-earths-solid-deep-mantles.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:20:03 EDT news705240721 A new study analyzing the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) spectra of more than 1,400 galaxies suggests a surprisingly small group of "leaky" galaxies was responsible for cosmic reionization. The paper outlining this work was posted to the arXiv preprint server on July 24. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-jwst-leaky-galaxies-reionized-early.html Astronomy Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:40:04 EDT news705228602 The recent confirmation of an atmosphere around a rocky exoplanet called LHS 1140b has created a wave of interest within the astronomy community. The planet orbits within the habitable zone around its parent star—a red dwarf located some 48 light-years from Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-technology-star.html Space Exploration Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:20:01 EDT news705237481 Astronomers may have just confirmed one of the quirkiest aspects of quantum mechanics: that seemingly empty space can alter the behavior of light. This phenomenon, called "vacuum birefringence," was first predicted nearly 90 years ago by Werner Heisenberg, one of the founding fathers of quantum mechanics. He suggested that even a perfect vacuum should be teeming with "virtual particles" that rapidly pop in and out of existence. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-rare-ultra-magnetic-star-key.html Astronomy Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:20:06 EDT news705226981 Researchers from the University of Leicester and the University of Aberdeen have carried out a series of field demonstrations in Portsoy to test cutting-edge handheld analytical instruments. Designed for use by astronauts on the moon and, eventually, Mars, these instruments would support astronauts working as field scientists while exploring these worlds. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-space-kit-future-missions-scotland.html Space Exploration Thu, 06 Aug 2026 09:40:01 EDT news705220021 High-energy particles in Earth's radiation belt can appear to spread out randomly, even when they are moving in a "predictable" way. This is because spacecraft observations naturally blur the fine-scale structure of the particle population, a new study reveals. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-spacecraft-conceal-particles-earth-space.html Astronomy Thu, 06 Aug 2026 09:20:06 EDT news705226201 This composite of seven images from the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA's Perseverance Mars rover shows Earth, visible as a small bright dot moving from upper left to lower right, passing behind the Martian moon Phobos on July 2, 2026, the 1,907th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nasa-perseverance-captures-phobos-earth.html Astronomy Thu, 06 Aug 2026 09:20:05 EDT news705219842 A new study led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) provides evidence that liquid nitrogen is rising to Pluto's surface through cracks at the northern edge of Sputnik Planitia, part of the massive heart-shaped glacier on the dwarf planet's surface. This is the first evidence of liquid flow occurring recently on Pluto. The study is based on data from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft and led by SwRI Associate Vice President Dr. Alan Stern, the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-liquid-nitrogen-pluto-heart-glacier.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 06 Aug 2026 09:00:05 EDT news705225241 A SpaceX rocket that launched a pair of lunar landers slammed into the moon as predicted on Wednesday after drifting off course for the past year, scientists reported. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scientists-wayward-spacex-rocket-slammed.html Space Exploration Thu, 06 Aug 2026 03:04:29 EDT news705204228 Researchers from Kyushu University have discovered that diffuse gas surrounding dense filaments in a nearby stellar nursery plays a much larger role in star formation than previously recognized. By tracking the movement of gas in the Monoceros R2 hub–filament system, the team found that low-density gas contributes to hub growth both through direct inflow and by replenishing nearby dense filaments. Their findings show that overlooking this diffuse gas could substantially underestimate the amount of material available to build massive stars. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-diffuse-inter-filament-gas-key.html Astronomy Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:20:04 EDT news705159122 Black holes are fascinating regions in space where gravity is so strong that nothing, even light, can escape them. The largest known black holes, called supermassive black holes, contain millions to billions of times the mass of the sun and are typically located at the centers of galaxies. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-runaway-supermassive-black-hole-rbh.html Astronomy Wed, 05 Aug 2026 15:20:03 EDT news705145331 Astronomers have speculated about the mysterious "little red dots" seen through the James Webb Space Telescope's images of the early universe: They could be galaxies, black holes, quasi-stars, starbursts ... or something else entirely. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-red-dots-pulsating-monster-stars.html Astronomy Wed, 05 Aug 2026 14:40:01 EDT news705151083 Using observations from multiple powerful telescopes, a team of astronomers studied a red quasar nicknamed "the Hatchling" at redshift 3.7. They may have identified one of the clearest examples yet of a quasar caught in transition between a heavily obscured and fully exposed phase. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-astronomers-hatchling-quasar-dusty-cocoon.html Astronomy Wed, 05 Aug 2026 14:20:04 EDT news705154659 You might think of rockets as powerful vehicles that blast astronaut crews and robotic missions into space. But what if they could be used to send cargo from one side of Earth to the other in a fraction of the time it would take a plane? The company SpaceX recently announced a project that aims to use its rockets to do just that. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-spacex-aims-rockets-quickly-cargo.html Space Exploration Wed, 05 Aug 2026 13:00:01 EDT news705150364 In March 2026, the Einstein Probe detected a brief flash of soft X-rays emitted from a galaxy about 500 million light-years away. The flash, dubbed EP260321a, immediately triggered a worldwide observing campaign. Within an hour, ground-based telescopes began monitoring the source, revealing a rapidly brightening supernova, later designated SN 2026gzf. Two teams of scientists used several NSF NOIRLab facilities to observe the event and monitor its evolving light profile. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-astronomers-massive-star-death-explosive.html Astronomy Wed, 05 Aug 2026 11:40:01 EDT news705057700 A piece of a SpaceX rocket weighing four tonnes (4.4 tons) was believed to have unintentionally crashed into the moon on Wednesday, a collision that posed no danger to Earth but is expected to leave behind a lunar crater. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-spacex-rocket-stage-believed-slammed.html Space Exploration Wed, 05 Aug 2026 11:38:50 EDT news705148702 Venus may be overwhelmingly inhospitable today, but many planetary scientists believe that it wasn't always this way. Billions of years ago, some observational evidence suggested that our planetary neighbor may have looked far more like Earth, complete with oceans potentially capable of harboring life. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-venus-polygonal-plains-watery.html Astrobiology Wed, 05 Aug 2026 08:00:09 EDT news705070220 Scientists plan to use a total solar eclipse that will be visible in Spain next week as a rare chance to learn more about the stormy, unpredictable nature of our star. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-total-eclipse-scientists-chance-probe.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 05 Aug 2026 07:00:02 EDT news705116543