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    Category Astronomy/Space

    Dying stars are devouring giant planets, astronomers discover

    April 6, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    This artist’s impression depicts a dying Sun-like star engulfing an exoplanet. New research published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society suggests that ageing stars may be destroying the giant planets orbiting closest to them.
    This artist’s impression depicts a dying Sun-like star engulfing an exoplanet. New research published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society suggests that ageing stars may be destroying the giant planets orbiting closest to them.
    Credit
    International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Garlick/M. Zamani
    Licence type
    Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

    A new study suggests that aging stars may be wiping out the giant planets that orbit closest to them. The research, led by astronomers at UCL (University College London) and the University of Warwick, provides fresh evidence that these planets can be pulled inward and destroyed as their host stars evolve.

    Stars like our Sun eventually run out of hydrogen fuel...

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    Protostars ‘sneeze’ and produce rings of gas and magnetic flux as they grow

    April 4, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Star light, star bright, baby stars blow rings alight
    An artist’s rendering of the molecular cloud core of MC 27 based on observations from the ALMA telescope. The protostar and the disk surrounding it are shown in the lower right, with warm gas extending outward in a ring-like structure, with magnetic field lines penetrating the interior of the ring. Credit:The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2026). DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ae47ec

    Researchers have uncovered new insights into the early development of baby stars...

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    High nickel concentrations in Martian bedrock point to potential biosignatures

    April 2, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    High nickel concentrations in Martian bedrock point to potential biosignatures
    In Beaver Falls, Ni was detected in both the primary mudstone and within cross-cutting Ca-sulfate veins. Credit: Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-70081-3

    In 2024, NASA’s Perseverance rover found surprising levels of Nickel in the Martian bedrock of an ancient river channel, called Neretva Vallis, which flowed into the Jezero crater. A new study, published in Nature Communications, has taken a closer look at the data collected from the region and researchers are seeing what could be remnants of ancient Martian life.

    Nickel as a biosignature
    Although nickel is not typically thought of as a major component of human life, it is important in many microbial metabolism functions...

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    NASA probe data suggests a more complex sun’s magnetic engine

    April 1, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    NASA's Parker Solar Probe spacecraft in front of the orange Sun
    NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft to fly through the corona, the Sun’s upper atmosphere, and offers a unique perspective on solar processes. Using Parker Solar Probe data, SwRI-led research has revealed a complex system of magnetic forces and kinetic energy associated with protons and heavy ions accelerated by magnetic reconnection. Courtesy of NASA

    A Southwest Research Institute-led study found that protons and heavy ions react differently to solar magnetic reconnection events, revealing a more complex magnetic engine powering the solar wind. Magnetic reconnection converts magnetic energy into explosive kinetic energy, powering solar events and causing space weather that impacts Earth...

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