NEWS

SOURCE: SCIENCE DAILY
Here is an RSS feed from Science Daily’s Space and Time section to keep you up to date on current events in the space community.
  • Hidden 5-mile wide asteroid crater beneath the Atlantic revealed in stunning 3D

    A massive crater hidden beneath the Atlantic seafloor has been confirmed as the result of an asteroid strike from 66 million years ago. The new 3D seismic data reveals astonishing details about the violent minutes following impact—towering tsunamis, liquefied rock, and shifting seabeds. Researchers call it a once-in-a-lifetime look at how oceanic impacts unfold.
  • AI restores James Webb telescope’s crystal-clear vision

    Two Sydney PhD students have pulled off a remarkable space science feat from Earth—using AI-driven software to correct image blurring in NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Their innovation, called AMIGO, fixed distortions in the telescope’s infrared camera, restoring its ultra-sharp vision without the need for a space mission.
  • Scientists finally spot hidden waves powering the Sun’s corona

    Researchers have directly observed torsional Alfvén waves twisting through the Sun’s corona — magnetic waves first predicted over 80 years ago. Captured using the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, these motions could explain why the corona is millions of degrees hotter than the Sun’s surface. The finding helps validate decades of solar physics theories and opens new paths to studying solar energy transfer.
  • Astronomers just captured the sharpest view of a distant star ever seen

    A UCLA-led team has achieved the sharpest-ever view of a distant star’s disk using a groundbreaking photonic lantern device on a single telescope—no multi-telescope array required. This technology splits incoming starlight into multiple channels, revealing previously hidden details of space objects.
  • The Universe’s first radio waves could reveal dark matter

    Researchers propose that hydrogen gas from the early Universe emitted detectable radio waves influenced by dark matter. Studying these signals, especially from the Moon’s radio-quiet environment, could reveal how dark matter clumped together before the first stars formed. This approach opens a new window into the mysterious cosmic era just 100 million years after the Big Bang.
  • Dark matter might not be invisible after all. It could leave a hidden glow

    Researchers suggest that dark matter might subtly color light red or blue as it passes through, revealing traces of its existence. Using a network-like model of particle connections, they argue that light could be influenced indirectly by Dark Matter through intermediaries. Detecting these tints could unlock a whole new way to explore the hidden 85% of the Universe. The finding could reshape how telescopes search for cosmic mysteries.
  • A giant wave is rippling through the Milky Way, and scientists don’t know why

    Our Milky Way is far from calm — it ripples with a colossal wave spanning tens of thousands of light-years, revealed by ESA’s Gaia telescope. This wave, moving through the galaxy’s disc like ripples in water, shifts stars up and down in a mesmerizing pattern. Astronomers, studying young giant and Cepheid stars, think even the galactic gas joins the motion. The origin remains mysterious, possibly from an ancient collision, but upcoming Gaia data could soon unveil the secrets of our galaxy’s undulating heart.
  • Einstein’s overlooked idea could explain how the Universe really began

    Researchers have unveiled a new model for the universe’s birth that replaces cosmic inflation with gravitational waves as the driving force behind creation. Their simulations show that gravity and quantum mechanics may alone explain the structure of the cosmos. This elegant approach challenges traditional Big Bang interpretations and revives a century-old idea rooted in Einstein’s work.
  • Astronomers discover a gigantic bridge of gas connecting two galaxies

    Researchers from The University of Western Australia node at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) have uncovered a colossal bridge of neutral hydrogen gas linking two dwarf galaxies, which spans an astonishing 185,000 light-years between galaxies NGC 4532 and DDO 137, located 53 million light-years from Earth.
  • A clue to ancient life? What scientists found inside Mars’ frozen vortex

    Mars’ north polar vortex locks its atmosphere in extreme cold and darkness, freezing out water vapor and triggering a dramatic rise in ozone. Scientists found that the lack of sunlight and moisture lets ozone build up unchecked. This discovery, made with data from ESA’s and NASA’s orbiters, could reveal clues about Mars’ past atmospheric chemistry and potential for life.
  • Something mysterious is lighting up the Milky Way. Could it be dark matter?

    Scientists at Johns Hopkins may be closing in on dark matter’s elusive trail, uncovering a mysterious gamma ray glow at the heart of our galaxy that could signal unseen matter colliding — or perhaps the frantic spin of dying stars. Using advanced simulations that account for the Milky Way’s ancient formation, researchers found a near-perfect match between theoretical and observed gamma ray maps, tightening the link between dark matter and this puzzling energy. Yet the mystery remains: could these signals come from millisecond pulsars instead?
  • MIT finds traces of a lost world deep within planet Earth

    Researchers have discovered chemical fingerprints of Earth's earliest incarnation, preserved in ancient mantle rocks. A unique imbalance in potassium isotopes points to remnants of “proto Earth” material that survived the planet’s violent formation. The study suggests the original building blocks of Earth remain hidden beneath its surface, offering a direct glimpse into our planet’s ancient origins.
  • Saturn's moon Titan just broke one of chemistry’s oldest rules

    Scientists from NASA and Chalmers University have discovered that incompatible substances can mix on Titan’s icy surface, breaking the “like dissolves like” rule of chemistry. Under ultra-cold conditions, hydrogen cyanide can form stable crystals with methane and ethane. This surprising reaction could help explain Titan’s mysterious landscapes and offer clues to how life’s building blocks formed.
  • Rogue black hole shocks astronomers with record radio blast

    For the first time, scientists observed a black hole tearing apart a star far from its galaxy’s center, producing the fastest-changing radio signals ever recorded. The event, AT 2024tvd, revealed delayed bursts of energy months after the initial destruction, hinting at mysterious, episodic black hole activity. This rare find reshapes understanding of where supermassive black holes reside and how they evolve.
  • A giant asteroid hit Earth, but its crater is missing

    Researchers discovered a new field of ancient tektites in South Australia, revealing a long-forgotten asteroid impact. These 11-million-year-old glass fragments differ chemically and geographically from other known tektites. Although the crater remains missing, the find exposes a massive event once thought unrecorded, offering clues to Earth’s tumultuous past and planetary defense.
  • Asteroid Ryugu’s hidden waters could explain how Earth got its oceans

    Ryugu’s samples reveal that water activity on asteroids lasted far longer than scientists thought, possibly reshaping theories of how Earth gained its oceans. A billion-year-old impact may have melted ancient ice, keeping asteroids wet and influential far into solar system history.
  • Who or what dug Mars’ mysterious gullies? The answer is explosive

    CO₂ ice blocks on Mars may dig gullies as they slide and sublimate in the thin atmosphere. In lab experiments, scientists recreated these eerie, worm-like movements under Martian conditions. The findings help explain unusual dune formations and deepen our understanding of how alien landscapes evolve.
  • It actually rains on the Sun. Here’s the stunning reason

    Scientists at the University of Hawaiʻi have discovered why it rains on the Sun. Solar rain, made of cooling plasma, forms rapidly during solar flares, a mystery now solved by modeling time-varying elements like iron. The finding upends long-held assumptions about the Sun’s atmosphere and could improve predictions of space weather events. It’s a breakthrough that forces a rewrite of how we understand the Sun’s outer layers.
  • Physicists discover mysterious new type of time crystal

    Scientists at TU Wien have uncovered that quantum correlations can stabilize time crystals—structures that oscillate in time without an external driver. Contrary to previous assumptions, quantum fluctuations enhance rather than hinder their formation. Using a laser-trapped lattice, the team demonstrated self-organizing rhythmic behavior arising purely from particle interactions. The finding could revolutionize quantum technology design.
  • These giant planets shouldn’t exist. But they do

    Astronomers are investigating a strange class of exoplanets known as eccentric warm Jupiters — massive gas giants that orbit their stars in unexpected, elongated paths. Unlike their close-orbiting “hot Jupiter” cousins, these planets seem to follow mysterious rules, aligning neatly with their stars despite their bizarre trajectories. Theories suggest that companion planets, surrounding nebulas, or even stellar waves could be shaping these odd orbits in ways never seen before.
  • Astronomers detect a cosmic “heartbeat” in pulsar signals

    Researchers analyzing pulsar data have found tantalizing hints of ultra-slow gravitational waves. A team from Hirosaki University suggests these signals might carry “beats” — patterns formed by overlapping waves from supermassive black holes. This subtle modulation could help scientists tell whether the waves stem from ancient cosmic inflation or nearby black hole binaries, potentially identifying the true source of spacetime’s gentle vibrations.
  • The Sun’s hidden poles could finally reveal its greatest secrets

    High above the Sun’s blazing equator lie its mysterious poles, the birthplace of fast solar winds and the heart of its magnetic heartbeat. For decades, scientists have struggled to see these regions, hidden from Earth’s orbit. With the upcoming Solar Polar-orbit Observatory (SPO) mission, humanity will finally gain a direct view of the poles, unlocking secrets about the Sun’s magnetic cycles, space weather, and the forces that shape the heliosphere.
  • A telescope larger than Earth just revealed the hidden heart of a mysterious galaxy

    Scientists imaged the heart of the OJ 287 galaxy, uncovering a curved plasma jet around what appears to be two merging supermassive black holes. The structure reveals unimaginable energy levels and shockwaves in the jet. This achievement, using a virtual telescope the size of multiple Earths, sheds new light on how black holes shape galactic jets and gravitational waves.
  • JWST may have found the Universe’s first stars powered by dark matter

    New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope hint that the universe’s first stars might not have been ordinary fusion-powered suns, but enormous “supermassive dark stars” powered by dark matter annihilation. These colossal, luminous hydrogen-and-helium spheres may explain both the existence of unexpectedly bright early galaxies and the origin of the first supermassive black holes.
  • An interstellar visitor lights up the Red Planet’s sky

    ESA’s Mars orbiters have observed comet 3I/ATLAS, only the third interstellar comet ever discovered. The faint, distant object revealed a glowing coma as it was heated by the Sun. Researchers are still studying the data to understand its makeup and origins. This rare event also foreshadows future missions like the Comet Interceptor, designed to chase such elusive visitors.