Astronaut Microbes Might Survive at Moon's Pole, NASA Warns

One of the primary objectives of space exploration that often gets overlooked is the intense effort that goes into ensuring Earth microbes don’t contaminate planetary objects, also called forward contamination. This is done to prevent contaminating any potential life that might be present could get killed off my Earth microbes and scientists don’t want to make false discoveries. While space radiation and extreme temperatures often kill off any pesky microbes that hitch a ride on spacecraft, there remains a longstanding knowledge gap regarding whether microbes could survive the lunar polar regions due to its deep craters and varying topography.

Some Comets are Naked, and One Just Got Caught Photo-Bombing

Japanese researchers got lucky when a comet they wanted to study was found photo-bombing archival images from Japan's Subaru Telescope. The Subaru, with its 8.2 meter mirror, happened to image comet 28P/Neujmin from just the right angle to accurately characterize its surface. Their work is part of the ongoing effort to understand comets and asteroids, why some of them share properties, and what that means for their formation and evolution as Solar System objects.

Why Astronauts' Lower Eyelids "Let Go" in Space

A new study identifies possible mechanisms behind changes in astronauts' lower eyelids, a symptom associated with long periods in space that can affect their eyesight.

Theory-Defying Exoplanet Atmospheres Force a Rethink of Theories

The discovery of lava worlds with atmospheres is challenging our theories of how atmospheres escape, and calling into question the idea of the cosmic shoreline. Stanford researchers have developed a model that explains how lava-covered worlds close to their stars can retain their atmospheres. The new theory could inform the search for life beyond our Solar System.

NASA’s Webb Telescope Rules Out Two New Dyson Sphere Candidates

Recent searches for the technosignatures of hypothetical Dyson Spheres again turn up empty.

AI Spots Hidden Solar Storm Signs 9 Hours Early

When we think of weather forecasts, we instinctively think of weather on Earth like rain or shine. However, we rarely consider weather forecasts from outside of the Earth, also called space weather. While space weather often results in the awe-inspiring aurora located at the northern and southern latitudes, we often forget the negative impacts of space weather on our everyday lives. This includes potential disruption of communication satellites or ground stations. The primary conundrum that has eluded researchers is being able to forecast incoming space weather so we can better prepare for its impact.

Scientists Melted A Diamond and Cracked a Secret of Ice Giants

Some of the strangest weather in the solar system doesn’t happen on Earth, or even Jupiter’s Great Red Spot - it happens in the interior of the Ice Giants like Neptune and Uranus. Specifically, scientists have long believed that, at certain pressure and temperatures, it literally rains diamonds inside of these planets. And for the first time, scientists have mimicked the process they believe creates that. A new paper by physicists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), published in Nature Physics, resolves a 20 year old scientific mystery, and shows how the same physics that makes it rain diamonds inside Neptune could also help us triple our fusion energy output.