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Scientists now argue that the principles of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle must apply to the final frontier before it becomes a graveyard
Every launch leaves a mark. Scientists now argue that the principles of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle must apply to the final frontier before it becomes a graveyard.
Transitioning to a circular economy requires more than just better rockets. It requires data. The authors highlight the need for AI systems to track spacecraft health and predict failures before they happen.
Dec 4, 20251 min read


Why Haven't We Found an Exomoon?
Searching for moons light-years away is incredibly difficult. To have a fighting chance, David Kipping and his team targeted Kepler-167e.
It is one of the closest Jupiter analogues ever found: 0.91x Jupiter's mass, orbiting at 1.88 AU. Since our Jupiter has nearly 100 moons, this planet seemed like the perfect hiding spot for an exo-Ganymede.
Dec 4, 20251 min read


Astronomers have detected massive streams of helium escaping from the exoplanet WASP-107b.
Astronomers have detected massive streams of helium escaping from the "super-puff" exoplanet WASP-107b. Discovered in 2017, WASP-107b is an anomaly. It is roughly the same size as Jupiter, but has only one-tenth of the mass.
This extremely low density gives it a "fluffy" atmosphere that extends far out into space, making it much easier for the host star's radiation to strip away gas.
Dec 4, 20251 min read


Astronomers confirm a Planetary Nebula caught lingering inside a bustling star cluster
Astronomers confirm a rare cosmic pairing: a dying star's ghost (Planetary Nebula) caught lingering inside a bustling star cluster. Planetary nebulae in open clusters are incredibly rare. To verify the membership, the team led by Vasiliki Fragkou analyzed motion and light data.
Dec 4, 20251 min read


4.5 million years ago, two massive stars brushed past our solar system
4.5 million years ago, two massive stars brushed past our solar system. Today, we can still see their "fingerprints" in the clouds of gas surrounding Earth. Earth sits in a "Local Interstellar Cloud"—a wispy clump of hydrogen and helium about 30 light-years across. Beyond that lies the "Local Hot Bubble," a void likely cleared out by ancient supernovas.
Dec 4, 20251 min read


How high can volcanoes erupt on a planet with 90x Earth's pressure?
How high can volcanoes erupt on a planet with 90x Earth's pressure? A new study uses the FPLUME model to decode the secrets of the runaway planet. The study adapted the FPLUME model (typically used for Earth) to account for Venus's punishing environment: 91% of Earth's gravity, but a crushing atmosphere 90 times denser and 465°C hot.
Dec 4, 20251 min read


A new international study suggests prebiotic gels may have been the cradle of life
Did life begin not with a spark, but in a sticky gel? A new international study suggests prebiotic gels may have been the cradle of life, organizing the chaos of the primordial soup long before the first cells evolved.
Dec 4, 20251 min read


Astronomers unveil a new tool to find “stellar bycatch”
For decades, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has focused on known stars—especially those with exoplanets. But what if alien transmitters are beaming from stars we’ve never even cataloged? A new study on arXiv reveals that radio telescopes may be sweeping past thousands of “hidden” stars—unseen by missions like Kepler or Gaia but still within their field of view.
Dec 4, 20251 min read


Did Earth’s Sky Help Spark Life?
For decades, scientists believed that complex organic molecules like amino acids could only form after life emerged. But a groundbreaking study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences flips that idea on its head. Researchers from CU Boulder and NASA have shown that Earth’s early atmosphere—bathed in sunlight and rich in volcanic gases—could have produced sulfur-containing biomolecules essential for life’s origin.
Dec 2, 20251 min read


The last of 2025’s three supermoon rises this Thursday
This Thursday night, skywatchers will be treated to the final supermoon of 2025—a celestial finale that caps a rare trio of extra-close full moons. When the Moon reaches perigee (its closest point to Earth) while fully illuminated, it becomes a supermoon: up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than a micromoon (the year’s most distant full moon).
Dec 2, 20251 min read


New study finds stellar variability may not be the dealbreaker for exoplanet habitability we once feared
Red dwarf stars flicker, flare, and spin wildly—leading many to assume their planets would be stripped of atmospheres and sterilized by radiation. But a new study accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal and posted on arXiv offers surprising hope: even around highly variable stars, exoplanets in the habitable zone may retain water and remain potentially livable.
Dec 2, 20251 min read


A 10-million-year-old supernova left radioactive traces in Pacific sediments
Deep in the mud of the Pacific Ocean lies evidence of a stellar cataclysm that occurred millions of years ago. A new study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics shows that an ancient supernova—exploding just 100 light-years from Earth—bombarded our planet with cosmic rays, leaving behind a radioactive fingerprint.
Dec 2, 20251 min read
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