❌

Reading view

Inouye Solar Telescope Discovers Hidden Plasma Vortices on Sun

7 August 2026 at 17:13

The highest-resolution image of the Sun’s surface (photosphere) ever captured, taken at 416 nm by the Inouye Solar Telescope; it reveals deformed boundaries of magnetic elements and ultra-fine scale stripes, both associated with Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. Image credit: NSF / NSO / AURA / MPS.

Astronomers using the 4-m Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii have detected tiny plasma vortices on the Sun’s surface (photosphere) for the first time, revealing a long-suspected process that could transport energy into the million-degree corona.

The post Inouye Solar Telescope Discovers Hidden Plasma Vortices on Sun appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Curiosity Finds Massive Field of Honeycomb-Shaped Fractures on Mars

5 August 2026 at 19:02

$The polygon fractures discovered by Curiosity in Gale crater, Mars. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.$

NASA’s Curiosity rover has stumbled on the largest patch of polygon-shaped ground fractures it has ever seen on Mars, a discovery that could reveal more about the planet’s watery past.

The post Curiosity Finds Massive Field of Honeycomb-Shaped Fractures on Mars appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Astronomers Discover First-Ever Three-Lobed Asteroid

4 August 2026 at 22:17

This image of the Nysa system was captured on February 15, 2026. Image credit: Minker et al., arXiv: 2607.25786.

High-resolution images from ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the Large Binocular Telescope reveal that the E-type asteroid (44) Nysa may be unlike any other world in the Solar System, with three connected lobes and a newly discovered satellite that could help explain how the bizarre object formed.

The post Astronomers Discover First-Ever Three-Lobed Asteroid appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Moths Can Smell With Their Wings, Researchers Say

30 July 2026 at 21:46

Reda Ismaieel et al. examined the olfactory capabilities of the wings of the tobacco hawkmoth (Manduca sexta). Image credit: Reda Ismaieel et al., doi: 10.1242/jeb.252047.

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology have found that moth wings are equipped with odor-detecting receptors, suggesting the insects use their wings -- not just their antennae -- to sense chemical cues in the air while flying.

The post Moths Can Smell With Their Wings, Researchers Say appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Didn’t Just Strike Earth, Its Dust Cloud Cooked It

29 July 2026 at 22:33

Ankylosaurus magniventris, a large armored dinosaur species, witnesses the impact of an asteroid, falling on the Yucatan peninsula 66 million years ago. Image credit: Fabio Manucci.

The Chicxulub impact not only plunged Earth into an impact winter but also produced a dust blanket that later overheated the planet, according to new research from Purdue University and the University of Colorado, Boulder.

The post Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Didn’t Just Strike Earth, Its Dust Cloud Cooked It appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Astronomers Spot Wandering Supermassive Black Hole Far From Its Galaxy’s Heart

29 July 2026 at 14:36

TDE 2025abcr. Image credit: Stein et al., doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ae77f3.

Astronomers have discovered a dormant supermassive black hole 30,000 light-years from the center of WISEA J014656.04-152214.7 -- a massive galaxy located about 750 million light-years away in the constellation of Cetus -- after it briefly lit up by tearing apart a star.

The post Astronomers Spot Wandering Supermassive Black Hole Far From Its Galaxy’s Heart appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Europa’s Ice Shell May Be Tougher Barrier than Planetary Scientists Hoped

27 July 2026 at 12:03

Artist’s concept of ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Europa’s subsurface ocean has long topped astrobiologists’ wish lists as a place to search for life beyond Earth.

The post Europa’s Ice Shell May Be Tougher Barrier than Planetary Scientists Hoped appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Giant Rift Valleys Hint Venus is Still Tectonically Active

24 July 2026 at 18:22

This hemispheric view of Venus was created using radar observations, including images from NASA’s Magellan spacecraft. Magellan imaged more than 98% of Venus. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar. The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Magellan launched on May 4, 1989, and was deployed from the cargo bay of Space Shuttle Atlantis on May 5, 1989. The spacecraft orbited Venus from August 10, 1990, until October 13, 1994 when the spacecraft was commanded to plunge into the atmosphere of Venus. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / USGS.

New 3D computer simulations from ETH Zurich show that young rift flanks on Venus stay tall and steep, while older ones flatten out over time.

The post Giant Rift Valleys Hint Venus is Still Tectonically Active appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Fern-Fueled Wildfires Raged across Europe for Millennia during End-Triassic Mass Extinction

23 July 2026 at 17:43

An artist’s impression of the end-Triassic fern spike interval. Image credit: Mark Garlick.

A 201-million-year-old climate catastrophe turned Europe into a landscape of fern savannahs that repeatedly caught fire, according to new research published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The post Fern-Fueled Wildfires Raged across Europe for Millennia during End-Triassic Mass Extinction appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Space Weather May Warp Martian Weather during Dust Storms, Planetary Scientists Suggest

22 July 2026 at 22:03

These images from Mars Color Imager (MARCI) aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) show Mars before (left) and during (right) the June 2018 dust storm. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona.

Planetary researchers have found the first evidence that bursts of energetic particles from the Sun could warm the lower atmosphere of Mars during massive dust storms, hinting at an unexpected link between space weather and Martian climate.

The post Space Weather May Warp Martian Weather during Dust Storms, Planetary Scientists Suggest appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Hugs May Be an Ancient Peacekeeping Tool, Ape Study Suggests

22 July 2026 at 20:01

Examples of bonobo and chimpanzee reassurance behaviors. Image credit: Z. Clay / J.S. Brooker.

In a new study of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus), scientists found that embraces, touches and other reassuring gestures before competition for food were linked to more peaceful sharing, suggesting the roots of human social touch stretch back at least six million years.

The post Hugs May Be an Ancient Peacekeeping Tool, Ape Study Suggests appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Our Milky Way Galaxy Likely Underwent Disk Flip after Ancient Galactic Collision: Study

22 July 2026 at 16:57

Using supercomputer simulations of galaxies like the Milky Way, Batrakov et al. found that galaxies with slowly rotating stellar haloes are more likely to have experienced a major ‘disk flip,’ where our Galaxy’s disk changed its orientation by more than 90 degrees. Image credit: Batrakov et al.

A head-on collision with another galaxy billions of years ago may have dramatically reoriented the Milky Way’s disk, according to new supercomputer simulations that reveal how violent mergers can leave spiral galaxies looking surprisingly normal today.

The post Our Milky Way Galaxy Likely Underwent Disk Flip after Ancient Galactic Collision: Study appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Puzzling Near-Earth Asteroid Turns Out to Be Comet with Weak Tail

21 July 2026 at 20:21

This artist’s concept depicts a near-Earth asteroid with an elongated orbit; a few objects such as these can exhibit significant perturbations in their motion around the Sun and, like 1998 SH2, could turn out to be regular comets with a weak tail and coma. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

The near-Earth object (875163) 1998 SH2, which is currently classified as an asteroid, has revealed a hidden identity: it’s actually a comet in disguise, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

The post Puzzling Near-Earth Asteroid Turns Out to Be Comet with Weak Tail appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

CERN Physicists Take New Look at Why Matter Beat Antimatter

20 July 2026 at 20:27

Neutral beauty mesons can turn into their own antimatter opposite and back again. Image credit: Ansar Iqbal / CMS.

Using the largest sample yet of particles called beauty mesons, physicists with the CMS Collaboration at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) refined a decades-old test of the subtle imbalance that let our Universe exist at all.

The post CERN Physicists Take New Look at Why Matter Beat Antimatter appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Moderate Coffee and Caffeine Intake Poses Little Heart Risk, and May Even Help

20 July 2026 at 18:47

Marcus et al. conclude that moderate caffeine or coffee consumption is safe for most adults and is linked to a lower risk of several cardiovascular conditions, including coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure and atrial fibrillation, as well as hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Image credit: Sci.News.

In a new review paper, Dr. Gregory Marcus from the University of California, San Francisco and colleagues analyzed decades of research on how caffeine -- most often consumed as coffee -- affects the heart and its risk factors.

The post Moderate Coffee and Caffeine Intake Poses Little Heart Risk, and May Even Help appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Astronomers Find Omega Centauri’s First Stellar-Mass Black Hole

20 July 2026 at 16:56

Whitaker et al. found Omega Centauri’s first stellar-mass black hole, which has a visible star companion that is shown in greater detail. Image credit: ESA / NASA / Maximilian Häberle, MPIA / Joseph DePasquale, STScI.

After decades of searching, astronomers have pinpointed the first of an estimated 10,000 stellar-mass black holes thought to lurk in Omega Centauri, the most massive stellar system in the Milky Way found so far, with a stellar mass of 3.6 million solar masses.

The post Astronomers Find Omega Centauri’s First Stellar-Mass Black Hole appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Researchers Challenge Long-Held Beliefs about Water, Spicy Food and Digestion

20 July 2026 at 15:16

New research makes a case that runs against two different strands of popular nutrition advice at once: that water at meals is a simple ally in eating less, and that spicy food is something to approach with caution if you're watching what you eat; the research showed the opposite might be true: water tracked with eating more, and spice tracked with eating less. Image credit: Yukuaikuai.

A new review of previous studies in the journal Appetite undercuts the popular belief that water fills you up at the table.

The post Researchers Challenge Long-Held Beliefs about Water, Spicy Food and Digestion appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Barnard’s Star Planetary System May Be Filled with Water-Poor Rocky Worlds

16 July 2026 at 22:28

An artist’s illustration of exoplanets orbiting Barnard’s star. Image credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / P. Marenfeld.

A new analysis suggests the four sub-Earth exoplanets orbiting Barnard’s star -- the Sun’s nearest single-star neighbor -- are likely packed with the deep-Earth mineral periclase, stripped of their atmospheres and far too hostile to support life.

The post Barnard’s Star Planetary System May Be Filled with Water-Poor Rocky Worlds appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Astronomers Detect Gamma-Ray Burst’s Magnetic Fingerprint

15 July 2026 at 23:42

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. Image credit: NSF / AUI / NRAO / M. Weiss

Using NSF’s Very Large Array (VLA), astronomers made the first radio detection of polarized light and Faraday rotation from a gamma-ray burst afterglow, offering an unprecedented glimpse of the magnetic fields surrounding one of the Universe’s most powerful explosions.

The post Astronomers Detect Gamma-Ray Burst’s Magnetic Fingerprint appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Astronomers Discover and Directly Image Third Planet in Beta Pictoris System

15 July 2026 at 22:33

This artist’s concept shows the Beta Pictoris system with the discovered giant exoplanet Beta Pictoris d at the right. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / Ralf Crawford, STScI.

Named Beta Pictoris d, the newly-discovered world is 100 times fainter than Beta Pictoris b -- the first planet discovered around the A5-type star Beta Pictoris -- and is among the lightest exoplanets ever to be imaged from the ground.

The post Astronomers Discover and Directly Image Third Planet in Beta Pictoris System appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.