Saturday, October 10, 2026

Stratospheric Balloon Telescope Peeks Above The Clouds At The Sun

Depicition of som eof the magnetic field and reconnection points in the Sun's chromosphere. Credit - NAOJ / MPS / Sunrise-III/SCIP

There’s lots of things you can do with balloons. Children’s birthday parties come to mind, as do retirement parties. But you can also observe the Sun in unprecedented detail with one - or at least with a suite of equipment attached to a gondola floating beneath one. That’s what the SUNRISE III mission did back in 2024, and scientists have had time to compile a series of three scientific papers on the results from that mission, which have been published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.



Friday, October 9, 2026

The Most Distant FRB Tells The Story Of Its Origin

Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope were able to study the host galaxy of the most distant known fast radio burst (FRB). Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI); Science: Manisha Caleb (SIfA)

Astronomers use the Webb to study a distant fast radio burst and reveal clues as to the origin of these mysterious events.



Thursday, October 8, 2026

A Student Finds Three Galaxies and Possibly Solves a Mystery

A composite image of three possible "backsplash" dwarf galaxies,  created by Julian Shapiro using images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Hyper Suprime-Cam Legacy Archive / National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, and Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope / Coelum.

It's not too often that a high school student-turned undergraduate gets three galaxies named after him, especially ones that are breaking the rules of star formation. Julian Shapiro, an astrophysics student at the University of California, Berkeley, found strange dwarf galaxies in the vicinity of the large spiral M101 while doing research into their star formation rates as a high school student. They're now known as Shapiro I, II, and III. In the process, he's become an inspiration to other students who might be interested in astrophysical research.



Webb Observes "Extreme Debris Disks," Providing a Window into the Early Solar System

The types of collisions within young stellar systems known as extreme debris disks are relevant to scientists’ understanding of our own solar system, which is thought to have undergone similar impact events that created our Moon and shaped Earth’s initial state. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

In the early history of our solar system, scientists theorize that a Mars-sized object called Theia smashed into the infant Earth, creating the Earth-Moon system. Using Webb, astronomers are studying young star systems to learn more about the early Solar System's evolution.



To Win A Nobel Prize, Go To The Ends Of The Earth

Stylized illustration of a neutrino hitting a block of ice. Credit: Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Neutrinos are persnickety particles. We couldn't really detect neutrinos from deep space until Francis Halzen had a brilliant, Nobel Prize-winning idea.



Wednesday, October 7, 2026

NASA Selects GIMLI to Search the Marius Lunar Pit for a Potential Lunar Base Site

![Artist’s concept of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) exploring the lunar lava tube in Mare Tranquillitatis. Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech](/article_images/Screenshot_2026-10-07_at_16-08-10_The_surface_of_the_moon_is_hostile._A_newly_found_cave_could_be_a_lifesaver._National_Geographic_20261008_000927.png) *Artist’s concept of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) exploring the lunar lava tube in Mare Tranquillitatis. Credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech*

NASA has selected a Planetary Science Institute-led proposal to investigate whether a potentially large underground cave extends beyond the opening of a lunar pit.



New Study Shows That Earth and Mars Had Different Origins

New research indicates that Earth and Mars formed through different processes, a finding that could help in the search for habitable exoplanets. Credits: NASA

A surprising discovery suggests that Mars and Earth formed through different processes, which could help scientists confirm whether exoplanets are habitable.