Astronomy and Planetary Science Thread

Galaxy mergers
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-galaxy-cluster-merging.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2025-12-astronomers-explore-nucleus-galaxy-ngc.html
Improved imaging
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-image-sensor-optical-limits.html
Life?

Astronomy news
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-astronomers-mass-distance-rogue-planet.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-interstellar-comet-secrets.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-stars.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-trappist-worlds-host-moons.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2025-12-battered-observatory-shield-historic-telescope.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2025-12-scientific-breakthroughs-survive-hype.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2025-12-sculpted-landscapes-martian-megaripple-hazyview.html
Black hole winds
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-flaring-black-hole-ultra-fast.html
GMB
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-gemini-blanco-telescopes-clues-longest.html
Supernova
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-supernova-dawn-universe-captured-james.html
Super stupid

a more recent video

thankfully, there is some good news:

For my next trick, I am going to convince Vought that tractor trailers aren't real. If he had any real faith, he shouldn't just take up serpents, but play kickball on the interstate.

If he can dodge a truck--he can dodge a ball.

Signed, dumbassahedron

The sky at night...
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-star-bethlehem-comet-ancient-chinese.html
Dark matters

You are here

Black Holes as art:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/12/embark-on-a-visual-voyage-of-art-inspired-by-black-holes/
 
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Fireball
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/27/world/video/fireball-japan-hiatsuka-museum-vrtc
Coming threat?
https://academic.oup.com/gji/article/153/3/F6/2122672
Planet eaters
https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/planet-eating-stars-hint-at-earths-ultimate-fate
Lava worlds with thick atmospheres
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-ultra-hot-lava-world-thick.html
Outflow
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-alma-datasets-elucidate-nearby-galaxy.html
Dusty
https://www.spacedaily.com/m/report...w_charged_grains_stick_to_spacecraft_999.html

Pluto
https://twitter.com/x/status/1578070981947658241
View: https://x.com/konstructivizm/status/1578070981947658241


Origami-space
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=64066.0
The year in review
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/our-favorite-space-com-stories-of-2025
 
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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oXstcTnPVE


This is a lecture by a Gaia consortium member to a colloquium on October 30 2025. The lecturer, she mentions what is expected in DR4, whose release date has more firmly been place in December 2026 since that lecture. 2.5 billion objects, definitely becoming the largest astronomical catalog, thousands of exoplanets, 360,000 solar system objects, including shape models for 57,000 of them, 4,5 million quasars, and that’s just the start.
 
Interesting choice of name for this proposed spacecraft.

Concept of the MONSTER onboard the HiZ-GUNDAM satellite [July 14]

The High-z Gamma-ray Bursts for Unraveling the Dark Ages Mission (HiZ-GUNDAM), a Japanese satellite mission,1–3 seeks to detect high-energy transients and enable rapid follow-up observations in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) bands, contributing to advancements in time-domain and multi-messenger astronomy (Fig. 1). The mission concept of HiZ-GUNDAM was selected as a candidate for a competitively chosen medium-class mission by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2018, and conceptual studies are underway as of 2025. A mission selection review is planned for 2026 or later, and if selected, development will begin with the aim of launching as an official JAXA mission in the 2030s.
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https://twitter.com/x/status/2001001205418594749
View: https://twitter.com/NASAMars/status/2001001205418594749?s=20
[Dec. 16]

And you thought it was hard to scroll through all the photos on your phone...

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has snapped its 100,000th image of the surface with its HiRISE camera. More on this milestone image: https://go.nasa.gov/4oXJQpu
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One of NASA’s Key Cameras Orbiting Mars Takes 100,000th Image

After nearly 20 years at the Red Planet, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has snapped its 100,000th image of the surface with its HiRISE camera. Short for High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE is the instrument the mission relies on for high-resolution images of features ranging from impact craters, sand dunes, and ice deposits to potential landing sites. Those images, in turn, help improve our understanding of Mars and prepare for NASA’s future human missions there.

Captured Oct. 7, this milestone image from the spacecraft shows mesas and dunes within Syrtis Major, a region about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Jezero Crater, which NASA’s Perseverance rover is exploring. Scientists are analyzing the image to better understand the source of windblown sand that gets trapped in the region’s landscape, eventually forming dunes.

“HiRISE hasn’t just discovered how different the Martian surface is from Earth, it’s also shown us how that surface changes over time,” said MRO’s project scientist, Leslie Tamppari of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “We’ve seen dune fields marching along with the wind and avalanches careening down steep slopes.”

The subject of the 100,000th image was recommended by a high school student through the HiWish site, where anyone can suggest parts of the planet to study. Team members at University of Arizona in Tucson, which operates the camera, also make 3D models of HiRISE imagery so that viewers can experience virtual flyover videos.

“Rapid data releases, as well as imaging targets suggested by the broader science community and public, have been a hallmark of HiRISE,” said the camera’s principal investigator, Shane Byrne of the University of Arizona in Tucson. “One hundred thousand images just like this one have made Mars more familiar and accessible for everyone.”
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Gamma ray emitter
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-veritas-explores-nature-mysterious-gamma.html
New instrument
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-dark-axions-quantum-powered-haloscope.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2025-12-venus-cloud-highlights-combining-polarization.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2025-12-dark-tracking-quantum-sensors.html
Not ET
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-sensitive-radio-date-evidence-technosignature.html
For Moonbase construction too?
View: https://m.youtube.com/shorts/x0VAemAnaZg


Sneak peek at 2026
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-moon-sun-figure-big-year.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2025-12-year-meteor-shower-supermoon-clash.html
History
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-christmas-star-astronomy.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2025-12-martians-intriguing-idea-life-earth.html
Fly
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-video-fly-webb-cosmic-vistas.html
Nice fireworks for the year's end--thanks SpaceX
https://www.space.com/space-explora...ets-and-spacecraft-crashed-and-burned-in-2025
New looks
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-nasa-chandra-year-champagne-cluster.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2025-12-rethinking-satellite-mission.html
 
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A Twist Between Hidden Dimensions May Explain Mass

The masses of fundamental particles such as the Z and W bosons could have arisen from the twisted geometry of hidden dimensions, a new theoretical paper has demonstrated.

The work has outlined a way to bypass the Higgs field as the source of particle masses, offering a new tool for understanding how the Higgs field itself might have emerged, as well as a possible means of addressing some of the persistent gaps in the Standard Model of particle physics.
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…

The results also tentatively suggest that the accelerating expansion of the Universe may be linked to curvature imparted by the kind of torsion of a G2 manifold could impart. And, if this torsion behaves as a field, it should manifest particles, the way the Higgs field gives rise to the Higgs boson.
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https://www.sciencealert.com/a-twist-between-hidden-dimensions-may-explain-mass
 
That is going to be one big black hole when they eventually all merge Flyaway, though I do wonder how massive will the final black hole be? I had thought that black holes only grew to be a certain size but then this collision came on course. :confused:
 
Possible "Superkilonova" Exploded Not Once But Twice

When the most massive stars reach the ends of their lives, they blow up in spectacular supernova explosions, which seed the universe with heavy elements such as carbon and iron. Another type of explosion—the kilonova—occurs when a pair of dense dead stars, called neutron stars, smash together, forging even heavier elements such as gold and uranium. Such heavy elements are among the basic building blocks of stars and planets.
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https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/possible-superkilonova-exploded-not-once-but-twice
View: https://youtu.be/YyBjrmXNNmQ
 
I think the source behind that explosion was also behind Chelyabinsk, as seen in these historical documents:

https://imgur.com/a/galick
View: https://imgur.com/gallery/galick-gun-dWtac

Bil Nye

News
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-earliest-hottest-galaxy-cluster-gas.htmlhttps://www.universetoday.com/articles/earth-like-planets-need-a-cosmic-ray-bathhttps://www.universetoday.com/articles/solar-flares-and-stellar-flares-hit-differenthttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-solar-region-days.htmlhttps://www.universetoday.com/articles/when-stars-fail-to-explodehttps://www.universetoday.com/articles/scientists-race-to-film-black-holes-in-3dhttps://www.universetoday.com/articles/why-astronomy-needs-a-giant-in-the-canary-islandstidal forces
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-galactic-globular-cluster-stars-tidal.html
Apollo thrust meter
https://hackaday.com/2026/01/03/apollo-lunar-module-thrust-meter-lives-again/
 
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This is the first ever image of two black holes circling each other. We're witnessing science history being made

Scientists have captured the first-ever visual proof of two supermassive black holes locked in a death spiral.

It has long been suspected that black holes can come in pairs, but this is the first time the phenomenon has been imaged.

The international team behind the capture used data from the now-defunct RadioAstron radio satellite.
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https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/first-image-of-two-black-holes-circling-each-other
 
The Large Hadron Collider Is Being Shut Down

The Large Hadron Collider is going to be shut down — not permanently, but for a pretty long time — and the famous atom smasher’s eventual final retirement is also something that top scientists are now considering.
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…

The LHC will be offline during almost all of Thomson’s term, which started on New Year’s Day. In fact, CERN doesn’t expect the high-luminosity LHC to be operational again until mid-2030. But while it may sound like Thomson is taking the reins at a less exciting period in the device’s history, he says he’s thrilled to be giving it a makeover.
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…

The FCC’s fate, though, is anything but certain. Its slated cost of nearly $19 billion is too much for CERN to pay on its own, according to The Guardian, and there’s also questions swirling over whether huge particle accelerators represent the best way to probe some of the biggest questions in science, such as the nature of dark matter and dark energy.
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https://futurism.com/science-energy/large-hadron-collider-shut-down
I suspect they were hoping originally that the US would help pay for the FCC. Well I suspect that’s not going to happen now, and therefore I doubt the FCC will go ahead.
 
Earliest, hottest galaxy cluster gas on record could change our cosmological models

The scorching cloud of gas threaded between clusters of galaxies is five times hotter than current models predict, highlighting gaps in our models of galaxy cluster formation.
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https://news.ubc.ca/2026/01/earliest-hottest-galaxy-cluster/
Related paper:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09901-3
NASA’s Hubble Examines Cloud-9, First of New Type of Object [Jan 5]

A team using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a new type of astronomical object — a starless, gas-rich, dark-matter cloud considered a “relic” or remnant of early galaxy formation. Nicknamed “Cloud-9,” this is the first confirmed detection of such an object in the universe — a finding that furthers the understanding of galaxy formation, the early universe, and the nature of dark matter itself.
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[/quote]
 
SAM.gov: DRAFT Announcement of Opportunity (AO) -- 2025 Astrophysics Small Explorer (SMEX) [Jan 5]

The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) has released a third Community Announcement (CA) via www.SAM.gov that updates the special notice entitled DRAFT Announcement of Opportunity (AO) -- 2025 Astrophysics Small Explorer (SMEX) Notice ID NNH25ZDA008J stating NASA’s intention to solicit investigations for the Astrophysics Explorers Program in the second quarter of calendar year (CY) 2026.

[...]

The time frame for the solicitation is intended to be:
Release of final AO ....................................... 2nd Quarter CY 2026 (NET April)
Pre-proposal conference ................................ ~3 weeks after final AO release
Notice of Intent due ....................................... NET 45 days after AO release
Proposals due ................................................. NET 90 days after AO release
Selection announced ...................................... 1st Quarter CY 2027 (target)
SMEX launch readiness date ......................... NLT 3rd Quarter CY 2031
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The Ambitious Plan to Spot Habitable Moons Around Giant Planets

https://www.universetoday.com/artic...-to-spot-habitable-moons-around-giant-planets
 
The stuff of stars...leaking
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-stars-die-beaten-path.html
Europa life unlikely?
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-jupiter-moon-europa-lacks-undersea.html
Other worlds
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-census-sun-neighbors-reveals-potential.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-baby-planets-super-earths-neptunes.html
Andromeda map
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-astronomers-molecular-cloud-atlas-nearby.html
Kingfish nuclear test and astronomy
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-rare-firework-morphology-supernova-remnant.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-blazar-ton-complex-variability-term.html
Other topics
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-webb-telescope-ancient-monster-stars.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-platypus-early-universe-stars-galaxies.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-fast-j01394328-surface-brightness-galaxy.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-young-galaxies-fast-reveals-unexpected.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-advanced-quantum-detectors-reinventing-dark.html
Making the invisible, visible
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-invisible-visible-space-particles-handheld.html
Asteroid findings
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-vera-rubin-observatory-asteroid-pre.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-ammonites-survived-asteroid-impact-dinosaurs.html
Windswept Mars
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-sandblasting-mars-camera-reveals-prevailing.html
And how to you study the Moon without a tailpipe?
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-lunar-spacecraft-exhaust-obscure-clues.html
 
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NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory spots record-breaking asteroid in pre-survey observations

As part of the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory First Look event in June 2025, Rubin announced that it had observed thousands of asteroids cruising about our Solar System, about 1900 of which have been confirmed as never-before-seen. Within the flurry, a team of astronomers has discovered 19 super- and ultra-fast-rotating asteroids. One of these is the fastest-spinning asteroid larger than 500 meters (0.3 miles) ever found.
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https://www.spacedaily.com/m/report..._asteroid_in_pre_survey_observations_999.html
Related paper:

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae2a30
 
NASA Webb Finds Early-Universe Analog’s Unexpected Talent for Making Dust

Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have spotted two rare kinds of dust in the dwarf galaxy Sextans A, one of the most chemically primitive galaxies near the Milky Way. The finding of metallic iron dust and silicon carbide (SiC) produced by aging stars, along with tiny clumps of carbon-based molecules, shows that even when the universe had only a fraction of today’s heavy elements, stars and the interstellar medium could still forge solid dust grains. This research with Webb is reshaping ideas about how early galaxies evolved and developed the building blocks for planets, as NASA explores the secrets of the universe and our place in it.
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https://science.nasa.gov/missions/w...se-analogs-unexpected-talent-for-making-dust/
 
On gravity
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-solution-gravitational-mystery.html
Inbound particles
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-astrophysicists-ghost-particles-milky-stars.html
Magnetars
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-fast-radio-diverse-hints-magnetar.html
Ice giants
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-simultaneous-superionic-ice-giant-magnetic.html
The future
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-cosmic-lens-reveals-hyperactive-cradle.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-dark-stars-puzzles-high-redshift.html
Galaxies
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-earliest-barred-spiral-galaxy-billion.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-galaxy-wide-black-hole-jet.htmlhttps://phys.org/news/2026-01-cold-neutral-gas-early-universe.html
Mars dust
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-electrifying-science-martian.html
Asteroid strength
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-asteroid-impact-simulation-reveals-hidden.html
 
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Scientists Identify ‘Astronomy’s Platypus’ with NASA’s Webb Telescope

After combing through NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s archive of sweeping extragalactic cosmic fields, a small team of astronomers at the University of Missouri says they have identified a sample of galaxies that have a previously unseen combination of features. Principal investigator Haojing Yan compares the discovery to an infamous oddball in another branch of science: biology’s taxonomy-defying platypus.

“It seems that we’ve identified a population of galaxies that we can’t categorize, they are so odd. On the one hand they are extremely tiny and compact, like a point source, yet we do not see the characteristics of a quasar, an active supermassive black hole, which is what most distant point sources are,” said Yan.
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https://science.nasa.gov/missions/w...stronomys-platypus-with-nasas-webb-telescope/
A young progenitor for the most common planetary systems in the Galaxy

The Galaxy’s most common known planetary systems have several Earth-to-Neptune-size planets in compact orbits1. At small orbital separations, larger planets are less common than their smaller counterparts by an order of magnitude. The young star V1298 Tau hosts one such compact planetary system, albeit with four planets that are uncommonly large (5 to 10 Earth radii)2,3. The planets form a chain of near-resonances that result in transit-timing variations of several hours. Here we present a multi-year campaign to characterize this system with transit-timing variations, a method insensitive to the intense magnetic activity of the star. Through targeted observations, we first resolved the previously unknown orbital period of the outermost planet. The full 9-year baseline from these and archival data then enabled robust determination of the masses and orbital parameters for all four planets. We find the planets have low, sub-Neptune masses and nearly circular orbits, implying a dynamically tranquil history. Their low masses and large radii indicate that the inner planets underwent a period of rapid cooling immediately after dispersal of the protoplanetary disk. Still, they are much less dense than mature planets of comparable size. We predict the planets will contract to 1.5–4.0 Earth radii and join the population of super-Earths and sub-Neptunes that nature produces in abundance.
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https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09840-z
 
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