• ESA researchers use neural network to identify hundreds of rare cosmic anomalies, including several dozen that defy classification

    ByTeo Blašković

    A neural network tool developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) analyzed nearly 100 million cutouts from the Hubble Legacy Archive in just two and a half days, identifying about 1 400 anomalous objects – more than 800 never previously catalogued. Several dozen of these defied classification altogether, showing the potential and the limits of AI in astronomical discovery.

  • Radar data reveal subsurface lava tube beneath Nyx Mons on Venus

    ByTeo Blašković

    Radar analysis of data collected by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft between 1990 and 1992 has identified an empty subsurface lava tube beneath the Nyx Mons region on Venus. The structure was detected using Synthetic Aperture Radar imaging techniques and reported on February 9, 2026, in a peer-reviewed study published in Nature Communications.

  • SOLAR-1 reaches Lagrange point 1, beginning NOAA’s new operational era in space-weather observation

    ByTeo Blašković

    A new operational space-weather satellite, named SOLAR-1, took position between Earth and the Sun on January 23, 2026, about 1.6 million km (1 million miles) from Earth. The observatory begins the transition of U.S. space-weather monitoring from research missions to continuous hazard surveillance, enabling earlier detection of solar storms that can affect satellites, communications, and power systems.

  • Interstellar object 3I/ATLAS becomes a fully active comet after perihelion

    ByReet Kaur

    NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope re-observed the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS in December 2025 and detected a dramatic increase in activity after perihelion, including strong water outgassing, multiple new gas species, and a transition from icy grains to refractory dust in its coma.

  • Solar Orbiter observations reveal avalanche-like reconnection powering a solar flare

    ByReet Kaur

    Solar Orbiter has provided direct observational evidence that avalanche-like magnetic reconnection can power a solar flare. The mechanism was observed during a close approach to the Sun on September 30, 2024, as an M7.7-class flare evolved over roughly 40 minutes before reaching peak intensity. The results, published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics, confirm long-standing avalanche models previously supported mainly by statistical flare studies.

  • Polar storms at Jupiter and Saturn reveal hidden differences deep inside the planets

    ByReet Kaur

    Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology report that the radically different polar vortex patterns on Jupiter and Saturn are controlled by how energy flows through their atmospheres and how strongly their deep interiors are stratified, according to research published on January 20, 2026, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

  • Hidden magma oceans shielding rocky exoplanets from harmful radiation

    ByReet Kaur

    A study published in Nature Astronomy on January 15, 2026, reports that deep layers of molten rock inside rocky exoplanets known as super-earths could generate powerful magnetic fields, potentially shielding these worlds from harmful cosmic radiation and high-energy particles.

  • Dead star drives a shock wave astronomers cannot explain

    ByReet Kaur

    Astronomers have confirmed the first known case of a diskless, synchronized polar-type white dwarf system hosting a persistent bow shock. The structure surrounding RXJ0528+2838 challenges existing models of energy loss in magnetic binaries and appears to be powered by an unknown long-term mechanism. The findings were published in Nature Astronomy on January 12, 2026.

  • The longest continuous observation of a solar active region reveals how prolonged magnetic evolution drives extreme space weather

    ByReet Kaur

    An international research team led by ETH Zurich tracked an exceptionally active solar region for 94 consecutive days using two spacecraft, documenting its full evolution and linking it directly to the strongest geomagnetic storm in twenty years during May 2024.