Phys.org Astronomy and Space

• What cold-water geysers on Earth reveal about the habitability of ocean worlds

  In the eastern Utah desert, carbon-dioxide-saturated water bubbles, sprays and foams from the ground. These cold-water geysers, sometimes called soda pop geysers, are a new and reliable Earth-based analog for scientists studying plume eruptions of ocean worlds in the outer solar system, according to new research led by Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Morgan Cable and published in Astrobiology.

• New tool could reduce collision risk for Earth-observation satellites

  Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed a new way to design Earth-observation satellite missions that could help protect the space environment while continuing to deliver vital data for tackling global challenges, such as climate change, food production, supply chain vulnerabilities and environmental degradation.

• If alien signals have already reached Earth, why haven't we seen them?

  For decades, scientists have searched the skies for signs of extraterrestrial technology. A study from EPFL asks a sharp question: if alien signals have already reached Earth without us noticing, what should we realistically expect to detect today?

• Early Mars was warm and wet not icy, suggests latest research

  A recent study showed that Mars was warm and wet billions of years ago. The finding contrasts with another theory that this era was mainly cold and icy. The result has implications for the idea that life could have developed on the planet at this time.

• Long-term radio observations probe a relativistic binary pulsar system

  Astronomers have analyzed the data from long-term radio observations of a binary pulsar known as PSR J1906+0746. Results of the new study, published February 5 on the arXiv pre-print server, deliver important information regarding the nature of this system.

• A new concept for catching up with 3I/ATLAS

  The arrival of 3I/ATLAS in our solar system spawned multiple proposals for a rendezvous mission to study it up close. As the third interstellar object (ISO) ever detected, the wealth of information direct studies could provide would be groundbreaking in many respects. However, the mission architecture for intercepting an interstellar comet poses numerous significant challenges for mission designers and planners. Chief among them is the technological readiness level (TRL) of the proposed propulsion systems, ranging from conventional rockets to directed-energy propulsion (DEP).

• Southern California sky is lit up by Valentine's Day SpaceX launch

  Southern Californians out on Saturday night for Valentine's Day took a break from staring longingly into each other's eyes to gaze at something else: a SpaceX rocket blazing across the early evening Southern California sky.

• NASA to let private company Vast visit space station for private mission in 2027

  NASA has let Axiom Space make four visits to the International Space Station and in January 2026 awarded it the right for the fifth visit next year, but on Feb. 12, the agency announced a new company would be allowed a private mission as well.

• The balloon mission raising the bar for exoplanet science

  The atmospheres of exoplanets have been a focal point of the field lately, with the James Webb Space Telescope taking a look at as many as it can manage. But time on the world's most powerful space telescope is valuable, and getting a complete picture of any such atmosphere is difficult without that significant time commitment. So a multidisciplinary team of researchers have come up with an alternative mission that is very specialized at capturing as much information as they can about exoplanet atmospheres, but also with a fraction of the budget of flagship missions like JWST. The mission, known as the EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope (EXCITE), has one feature the JWST doesn't though—a gondola.

• Study outlines how JWST and Ariel could team up on exoplanet atmospheres

  Astronomers want to collect as much data as possible using as many systems as possible. Sometimes that requires coordination between instruments. The teams that run the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the upcoming Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey (Ariel) missions will have plenty of opportunity for that once both telescopes are online in the early 2030s. A new paper, available in pre-print on arXiv, from the Ariel-JWST Synergy Working Group details just how exactly the two systems can work together to better analyze exoplanets.

• How a certain form of dark matter may lead to the generation of cosmological magnetic fields

  Tiny highly uniform magnetic fields are known to pervade the universe, influencing various cosmological processes. To date, however, the physical mechanisms underpinning the generation of these fields remain poorly understood. Recently, researchers at McGill University and ETH Zurich have described a novel mechanism that may lead to the generation of cosmological magnetic fields. This mechanism, outlined in a paper published in Physical Review Letters, involves a (pseudo-scalar) quantum field that may give rise to the existence of ultralight dark matter consisting of particles with extremely low mass that interact with ordinary matter only very weakly.

• The Hubble tension: How magnetic fields could help solve one of the universe's biggest mysteries

  It's well established that the universe is expanding, but there's serious disagreement among scientists over how fast it's happening.

• Four new astronauts arrive at the International Space Station to replace NASA's evacuated crew

  The International Space Station returned to full strength with Saturday's arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns.

• Astronomers trace a star's three-year infrared glow to black hole birth

  In 2014, a NASA telescope observed that the infrared light emitted by a massive star in the Andromeda galaxy gradually grew brighter. The star glowed more intensely with infrared light for around three years before fading dramatically and disappearing, leaving behind a shell of dust. Although a telescope captured the phenomenon at the time, it took years for scientists to notice it.

• Living in space can change where your brain sits in your skull: New research

  Going to space is harsh on the human body, and as a new study from our research team finds, the brain shifts upward and backward and deforms inside the skull after spaceflight.

• Decoding China's new space philosophy

  A major theme in communist governments is the idea of central planning. Every five years, the central authorities in communist countries lay out their goals for the country over the course of the next five years, which can range from limiting infant mortality to increasing agricultural yield. China, the largest current polity ruled by communists, recently released its fifteenth five-year plan, which lays out its priorities for 2026–2030. This one, accompanied by a press release of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the country's state-owned giant aerospace corporation, has plenty of ambitious goals for its space sector.

• Sophie Adenot, the second French woman to fly to space

  When she was growing up, Sophie Adenot plastered her childhood bedroom with posters of rockets launching from Cape Canaveral.

• NASA moon mission spacesuit nears milestone

  The next-generation spacesuit for NASA's Artemis III mission continues to advance by passing a contractor-led technical review, as the agency prepares to send humans to the moon's South Pole for the first time. Testing is also underway for the new suits, built by Axiom Space, with NASA astronauts and spacesuit engineers recently simulating surface operations and tasks underwater to demonstrate safety and mobility.

• Hunting dark matter 'stars' that mimic black holes

  Hypothetical dark matter stars known as "boson stars" could leave telltale ripples across the cosmos, offering researchers a new way to probe the invisible forces shaping the universe. In 2019, a strange event was observed in the depths of space. Called GW190521, the event sent out gravitational waves—invisible ripples in the universe—that were picked up on Earth. These waves appeared to mark the moment when two massive black holes, dozens of times the mass of our sun, collided and merged. Or at least, that was the initial theory.

• New astronauts launch to the International Space Station after medical evacuation

  A new crew rocketed toward the International Space Station on Friday to replace the astronauts who returned to Earth early in NASA's first medical evacuation.

• A 'ring of fire' solar eclipse will dazzle people and penguins in Antarctica

  The first solar eclipse of the year will grace Antarctica, and only a lucky few will get to bask—or waddle—in its glow.

• Sunlight extracts oxygen from regolith using solar chemistry

  NASA's Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD) project has completed an important step toward using local resources to support human exploration on the moon. The CaRD team performed integrated prototype testing that used concentrated solar energy to extract oxygen from simulated lunar soil, while confirming the production of carbon monoxide through a solar-driven chemical reaction.

• Recently discovered SN 2024abfl is a low-luminosity Type IIP supernova, astronomers find

  An international team of astronomers has conducted photometric and spectroscopic observations of a recently discovered supernova designated SN 2024abfl. Results of the observational campaign, presented February 4 on the preprint server arXiv, yield important insights into the properties of this stellar explosion.

• NASA, SpaceX shoot for predawn Crew-12 launch with sonic boom possible

  The Space Coast's first human spaceflight of the year is on tap for early Friday morning as NASA and SpaceX aim to send up a mission to the International Space Station, and also bring back the rocket's booster that could bring with it a sonic boom across Central Florida.

• NASA crew set for flight to ISS

  NASA is set to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station on Friday, replacing a crew that was evacuated early due to a medical issue.

• Europe's most powerful rocket carries 32 satellites for Amazon Leo network into space

  The most powerful version of Europe's Ariane 6 rocket Thursday carried 32 satellites into space for the Amazon Leo network, which aims to rival Elon Musk's Starlink.

• Vulcan rocket launch suffers fiery booster issue but makes it to space, company says

  United Launch Alliance suffered yet another fiery burn-through on one of its solid rocket boosters during a national security mission Thursday.

• UK space firm Skyrora explores buying assets of struggling rival Orbex

  British company Skyrora, which designs and builds rockets to carry small satellites into space, announced Thursday it could acquire "select" assets from its stricken rival Orbex, including its spaceport in Scotland.

• Temporal evolution of GRB 240825A afterglow provides insight into origins of optically dark gamma-ray bursts

  Researchers from the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have conducted a new study on the temporal evolution of the afterglow from gamma-ray burst GRB 240825A. The study offers new evidence to better understand the physical environment surrounding gamma-ray bursts and provides insights into the mechanisms that govern their afterglow emission. The findings were recently published in The Astrophysical Journal.

• Gravitational lensing technique unveils supermassive black hole pairs

  Supermassive black hole binaries form naturally when galaxies merge, but scientists have only confidently observed a very few of these systems that are widely separated. Black hole binaries that closely orbit each other have not yet been measured. In a paper published today in Physical Review Letters, the researchers suggest hunting down the hidden systems by searching for repeating flashes of light from individual stars lying behind the black holes as they are temporarily magnified by gravitational lensing as the binary orbits.