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Universe Today — Natural Sciences
Universe Today

Space and Astronomy News from Universe Today

Copyright: © Copyright Cosmoquest

Latest Episodes:

This artist's illustration shows the giant exoplanet WD 1856 b orbiting its much smaller white dwarf star. Somehow, this planet survived the star's transition from main sequence star, to red giant, to white dwarf. How did that happen? What does it mean for potential habitability on planets like this? Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) — This Giant Planet Survived the Death of its Star Jul 02, 2026
Some planets can survive when their main sequence stars "die" and evolve into red giants. Astronomers have found several of them. One of them in particular is orbiting extremely close to its star, providing an opportunity to study it with the JWST to determine how it got there.

This artist's illustration shows Earth being bombarded by asteroids during the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB). The LHB was caused by the migration of the Solar System's giant planets, which unlodged asteroids from their stable position and sent many careening into the inner planets. New research says the heat from the continual impacts slowed the formation of thick continental crust, explaining why we have almost no rock samples from the Hadean eon. Image Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab — An Extended Barrage of Asteroid Impacts Made Earth Too Hot to Form Continents Jul 02, 2026
New research shows that repeated impacts on Earth during the Hadean eon prevented thick and stable crustal material from forming. The heat from these impacts penetrated deep into the planet, and along with radiogenic heating, delayed the formation of a solid crust.

The accretion disk of NGC 4151 is shown in blue, immediately surrounding the galaxy’s central black hole. Scientists, including University of Michigan astronomers, are showing how winds or outflows from the accretion disk reshape its host galaxy. The winds are shown as wispy light blue lines blowing across the more orange clouds surrounding the black hole. Image credit: JAXA (Used under a CC BY 4.0 INT license) — A Supermassive Black Hole Gets Blamed for Quenching Star Formation Jul 01, 2026
Some of the most massive galaxies in the Universe appear to be missing a lot of stars. That seems unusual, since birthing stars is one of a galaxy's main tasks as it grows. According to Xin "Cindy" Xiang of the University of Michigan, something is suppressing or quenching the births of stars in these and she thinks that black holes might be the culprit.

NASA astronaut Nicole Stott works out on a treadmill on the International Space Station in 2009. Astronauts are held to the treadmill with a bungee harness to help reduce muscle wastage in the weightless environment of space (Credit: NASA) — The Quiet Conversation Between Muscle and Gravity, and What Happens When It Stops Jul 01, 2026
Every muscle in the human body is, in a sense, in constant conversation with gravity, sensing load and responding accordingly to stay strong. Remove that conversation, as happens to astronauts in orbit, and the consequences unfold at a molecular level long before they become visible. New NASA-supported research is tracing exactly how that breakdown happens, using a purpose-built model that mimics weightlessness here on Earth. The surprising twist is where else this knowledge might apply

Hubble captures the planetary nebula NGC 2440, the gas cast off by a dying star in exactly the kind of lopsided, uneven ejections that give it a recoil kick. The star itself, now a white dwarf, is the white dot at the centre (Credit : NASA, ESA, and K. Noll (STScI)) — A Star’s Death Throes Involves a Lot of Kicking Jul 01, 2026
When stars like the Sun reach the end of their lives, the textbook story has them puffing up and quietly shedding their outer layers to leave a white dwarf behind. A new model suggests it is far less serene than that. As dying stars eject mass asymmetrically, each burst delivers a tiny recoil, and over hundreds of thousands of years roughly ten thousand of these kicks add up to send the star drifting through space at a respectable speed. The idea neatly explains why wide binary star systems tend to fall apart once one star becomes a white dwarf, and it hints at something more dramatic still waiting to be confirmed

This image shows the dark matter distribution in the universe at the present time revealing a cosmic web (Credit : Volker Springel / Max Planck Institute For Astrophysics) — Galaxy Groups Hiding in the Universe’s Emptiest Places Jul 01, 2026
Even the universe’s emptiest regions, the vast voids that make up most of the volume of space, are not entirely empty. A new study using the CAVITY survey hunts for galaxy groups hiding within these voids, applying a friends of friends technique to chart how nearby galaxies cluster together despite the surrounding emptiness. The results paint a striking picture that most void galaxies actually live entirely solitary lives, yet where groups do form, they are small, loose and curiously indifferent to just how empty their void actually is. It raises a deceptively simple question that turns out to be anything but: in the universe’s quietest neighbourhoods, what makes some galaxies choose company while most remain alone?

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute — ESA Outlines High-Tech Lander Instruments for 2050 Enceladus Jul 01, 2026
Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, has become a prime solar system target for astrobiologists. This is because the small moon, which is just over 10 percent the diameter of Earth’s Moon, harbors a vast subsurface ocean beneath its icy crust. This subsurface ocean combined with the geysers at Enceladus’ south pole that discharges bits of this ocean into the void provides scientists with a treasure trove of opportunities for scientific research into whether Enceladus could harbor ingredients for life as we know it, or even direct evidence for life.

Artist's rendition of the planned Habitable Worlds Observatory. (Credit: NASA) — Habitable Worlds Targets in New Star Activity Catalog Jul 01, 2026
Searching for habitable worlds beyond our solar system consists of more than just having it orbit within its star’s habitable zone, which is the region where temperatures could be just right for liquid water to exist on the surface. On Earth, where water comprises approximately 75 percent of the planet’s surface, life is absurdly abundant. But what about the exoplanet’s star, specifically its activity and rotation? How could this influence how exoplanets are identified for current and future missions?

![The full trail of galaxies, with an inset image of DF9 taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: Keim et al. (2026)/DECaLS/HST](/article_images/YN_DF9-drak-galaxy_20260630_213201.jpg) *The full trail of galaxies, with an inset image of DF9 taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: Keim et al. (2026)/DECaLS/HST* — Astronomers Discover Another Galaxy With No Dark Matter Jul 01, 2026
Astronomers using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, have discovered the third known galaxy apparently lacking dark matter, part of a strange linear structure that may have formed during a violent collision between galaxies.

Illustration depicting the Nautilus Space Observatory constellation, which is a mission concept that could enhance the study of exoplanet atmospheres. (Credit: Nautilus team) — Nautilus Array to Track Missing Exoplanet Atmospheres Jul 01, 2026
Exoplanet atmospheres have become prima targets for astrobiologists in the search for life beyond Earth. This is because exoplanet surfaces can’t be directly imaged yet, so astronomers must get creative with how to search for signs of life, also called biosignatures. Presently, powerful ground- and space-based telescopes like the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are improving in their ability to observe and analyze exoplanet atmospheres. But did these atmospheres form and evolve, and what could this mean for the search for life beyond Earth?

This is a 1.7 gigapixel image of stars in the constellation Lupus from the VRO and its LSST Camera. This is the largest digital camera in the world, and with it, the VRO can capture wide images of the sky in extreme detail. The VRO's long-awaited 10-year survey of the sky has now begun. Image Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA — It's Finally Begun! The Vera Rubin Observatory Creating What Will Be the Greatest Movie Ever Made Jun 30, 2026
The Vera Rubin Observatory's long-awaited Legacy Survey of Space and Time has begun. This decade-long movie of the cosmos will capture anything that changes brightness, position, or both in the southern night sky. It will study grand subjects like dark energy and dark matter, and important things closer to home like near-Earth objects.

An artist's illustration of a supermassive black hole (SMBH). New research shows that dark matter gathers around SMBH just like normal matter does. They detected with a novel method called reverberation mapping, that's based on light echoes. Image Credit: ESA/Hubble, ESO, M. Kornmesser — Echoing Light Shows That Dark Matter May Gather Around Supermassive Black Holes Jun 30, 2026
The way that dark matter is distributed may need a rethink. New research shows that dark matter could gather near supermassive black holes. The evidence is based on a new detection method, and is only moderately convincing so far. But if true, it also turns SMBH into 'dark matter labs' and could change how we understand SMBH growth.

Artist's concept of the first humans on Mars. Credit - NASA — Earth Microbes Can Survive Individual Martian Hazards—and Evade Astronaut Immune Systems Jun 30, 2026
Hopefully, we’re about to travel back to the Moon relatively soon. And while the original “giant leap for mankind” was taken by a human, Neil Armstrong brought a plethora of other forms of life along with him. Humans themselves are essentially walking ecosystems, and understanding how our microbial companions survive in the harsh environments of space will be critical to ensure the health and safety of future astronauts, no matter where their giant leaps might be. A new PhD thesis from Tommaso Zaccaria at Radboud University showcases just how well-suited to some of these harsh environments terrestrial pathogens actually are.

Images of the Hard Upper Torso component of spacesuits. Credit - S. Yarlagadda et al, “Exploration Extra-Vehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU): Composite Hard Upper Torso (CHUT) Development” — Weaving the Future of Space Suits Jun 30, 2026
The famous opening scene of the Martian has Mark Watney stabbed in the torso with a communications antenna. While this accident sets up the plot for what is widely regarded as a modern classic of sci-fi storytelling, what if he was wearing a space suit that would have stopped the impact altogether? That’s the idea behind a recent NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I program run by researchers from Materials Research & Design, Fiber Materials, Inc, and NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Their work, which was recently presented at the National Space & Missile Materials Symposium, showcased a type of advanced 3D-reinforced fabric that could have saved Watney and his compatriots a whole lot of trouble.

A combined HST/JWST study of Terzan 5 reveals that it has different populations of stars and may not be a globular cluster. Instead, it could be a so-called "bulge fossil fragment." Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, G. Zullo (University of Bologna), F. R. Ferraro (University of Bologna). Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI) — Astronomers Discover Terzan 5's True Nature Jun 30, 2026
Observations of a distant cluster of stars in our galaxy have resulted in a new class of objects that turn out to be galactic building blocks. Researchers used Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study the stars that make up Terzan 5, long though to be a globular cluster. What they found puts that cluster into a very rare class of objects called "bulge fossil fragments."

The Pinwheel Galaxy, otherwise known as M83 is home to stars refusing to die (Credit : CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA) — The Dead Stars That Won't Fade Quietly Jun 30, 2026
The wreckage of an exploded star is meant to fade quietly, cooling over thousands of years like the embers of a fire. So astronomers were stunned when NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory caught dozens of these supernova remnants in a nearby galaxy doing the opposite, flaring and flickering in X-rays as though refusing to die. In each case a star appears to have survived its partner's explosion, only to be slowly devoured by the black hole or neutron star its companion left behind. It’s a discovery that turns the calm graveyards of dead stars into something far stranger and more alive.

The Mars rover, Perseverance, uses a tool on its robotic arm called SHERLOC to examine a rock named Cheyava Falls. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) — Ancient Martian River Channel Yields Complex Organics Jun 30, 2026
Jezero Crater on Mars is a 45-kilometer-wide (28-mile) crater that once hosted a lake billions of years ago fed by two distinct river valleys with Jezero eventually forming an exit channel over time. One of Jezero’s most prominent features is the massive river delta that consists of sediments that were deposited as the inflow slowed down. Researchers hypothesize that the delta and lake were formed under freshwater conditions, indicating the potential for life as we know it, also called biosignatures.

A magnet for the High-Luminosity LHC is readied at CERN's Large Magnet Facility. (Credit: © 2026 CERN / Florence Thompson) — World's Most Powerful Collider Shuts Down for a Smashing Upgrade Jun 29, 2026
Europe's CERN physics research center bids 'Farewell' to the Large Hadron Collider, but it's actually more like 'See You Later, Accelerator!' The new, improved High-Luminosity LHC is due to make its debut in 2030.

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this selfie on May 12, 2019. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. — ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Has Yet to Detect Methane On Mars Jun 29, 2026
After more than eight years of searching and with instruments designed to detect it, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Trace Gas Orbiter has yet to find methane in the red planet’s atmosphere.

A conceptual view of the neutrino accelerator in the starburst galaxy “Shadow Blaster”. It lies in the same direction as the high-energy neutrino event IC 210922A. Actual radio observations by ALMA are shown in the zoom-in inset. Due to gravitational lensing, the ALMA observations show four distorted images of Shadow Blaster, which has been identified as the source of the neutrinos (indicated by the Greek letter nu). An artist’s conception of Shadow Blaster’s true appearance is shown in the circle. Credit: MITOS — The "Shadow Blaster" Galaxy's Role in High-energy Cosmic Neutrinos Jun 29, 2026
On September 22, 2021, the IceCube Neutrino Detector in Antarctica caught a blast of neutrinos as it passed through the solar system. These neutrinos were remarkably high-energy and came from a galaxy 11 billion light-years away. That's a period of the Universe's history known as "Cosmic Noon". It's when star formation in galaxies was at its most active and that provided an interesting clue to their origin. The source of the neutrinos was nicknamed "Shadow Blaster" because the event that created the neutrinos was hidden by a dense cloud of dust, which made it invisible to optical observations.

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