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    Category Astronomy/Space

    Nearby rocky may be replenishing helium from atmosphere, study finds

    July 17, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Nearly a decade after the discovery of LHS 1140b, a rocky exoplanet in the habitable zone of a nearby low-mass star, a new study reveals that the object may have its own atmosphere.

    University of Florida Assistant Professor of Astronomy Jason Dittmann first discovered the planet in 2016. Now, he is a co-author of the new study, published in Science, that uses helium escape to explain a potential atmosphere.

    “The exciting part about this paper, and why I think it was accepted into Science, was that this is the first time that we’re seeing a rocky, Earth-like planet that could still have an atmosphere,” Dittmann said.

    How the planet was found
    The Magellan Clay telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile showed evidence of helium escaping from the planet...

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    Risks of solar storms may be underestimated, warn researchers

    July 16, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Illustration of solar wind streaming from a fuming sun drives auroras bright enough to be seen far from the poles, a dazzling signature of an extreme geomagnetic storm. Credit: Nithin Sivadas NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

    The effects of extreme space weather may be larger than previously thought, research in the journal Nature reveals. The paper, titled “Regression to the mean can explain saturation of geomagnetic storms,” is led by Dr. Nithin Sivadas of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and co-authored by Dr. Maria Walach from Lancaster University.

    Space weather—caused by fluctuating electric fields in Earth’s magnetic field and upper atmosphere—can affect technologies on and around Earth in several ways...

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    Magnetic fingerprint of a cosmic explosion detected for the first time

    July 15, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    This illustration depicts Faraday rotation in the afterglow of a gamma-ray burst. A powerful jet (upper left) sends polarized radio waves outward through the thin wall of a surrounding bubble of magnetized gas called an HII region. As the light passes through this material, its polarization angle is twisted by the magnetic field. Because the effect is stronger at longer wavelengths, the red and blue waves, which represent different radio wavelengths, exit the bubble oscillating in different directions. By measuring this difference, astronomers were able to map the magnetic environment surrounding GRB 260310A for the first time.
    Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/M.Weiss

    Astronomers have made a series of landmark observations of one of the universe’s most violent events. Using the U.S...

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    Could permanent magnets protect astronauts from solar storms?

    July 14, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Could permanent magnets protect astronauts from solar storms?
    The Orion capsule, which could have a protective magnetic field around it. Credit: NASA

    Shielding astronauts from the deadly radiation they face is a central challenge for any designer of a deep-space crewed mission. Even relatively low levels of exposure over long periods can lead to everything from central nervous system damage to cancer. But current solutions, such as passive water shells or active superconducting magnets, have their own limitations. To get around those, a new paper, available in preprint on arXiv by Valerio Parisi and a team of researchers from Italy and Germany, looks at the feasibility of using a permanent magnet (and its associated permanent magnetic field) to potentially block some of that radiation without the costs of competing technologies.

    First, let’s l...

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