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Space & Planetary

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Oct-2026 22:15 ET (23-Oct-2026 02:15 GMT/UTC)

Researchers trace solar outbursts that led to historic Mother’s Day storms

University of Iowa
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Physicists led by the University of Iowa have traced the solar activity that caused the 2024 Mother’s Day storms, which spawned auroras that may have been the strongest on record in 500 years. The researchers say 10 solar outbursts combined to form a gigantic magnetic cloud that created an intense geomagnetic storm on Earth. Results appear in The Astrophysical Journal.

Journal: The Astrophysical Journal
Funder: European Union

Charting the galaxy: SDSS-V releases latest all-sky spectra including first optical spectra from the Southern Hemisphere

Carnegie Institution for Science
Reports and Proceedings

Data Release 20 (DR20) delivers more than two million spectra from twin observatories, revealing the chemical origins, stellar collisions, and ancient structure of the Milky Way

Cosmic mayhem in high definition: the local volume mapper unveils hyperspectral maps of galactic nurseries

Carnegie Institution for Science
Reports and Proceedings

As part of Data Release 20 (DR20) of the fifth phase of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-V), astronomers are releasing a public preview of the Local Volume Mapper (LVM).

Cosmic river of gas may have tilted a young planetary system in Orion constellation

University of Florida
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Astronomers found evidence that a giant stream of gas flowing into a young triple-star system may have tilted its planet-forming disk, offering a new explanation for why some planetary systems are misaligned.

Journal: The Astronomical Journal

These scientists are lowering barriers to big data from space

Michigan State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

By combining satellite data captured from space with measurements of plants and animals taken on the ground, researchers hope to better predict where species are likely to thrive in the years to come.

Journal: Scientific Data

Roger and Helen Krone give $1M to UT Arlington

University of Texas at Arlington
Grant and Award Announcement

A $1 million gift from University of Texas at Arlington alumnus Roger Krone and his wife, Helen, will accelerate hands on learning and applied research for students in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering’s Space Systems Program.

COSMOLOGY: an unusual death

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A Faint X-ray Flash Exposes a Dying Star's Missing Jet —a surprising discovery for the international team, which includes researchers from LMU

Journal: The Astrophysical Journal Letters

Dark and quiet skies at the 46th COSPAR Scientific Assembly

International Science Council Committee on Space Research
Meeting Announcement

The 46th COSPAR Scientific Assembly brought together experts from astronomy, the satellite industry, policy and law to examine one of the most important challenges arising from the rapid growth of activities in space: how to preserve dark and quiet skies while enabling satellite systems to continue delivering valuable services to society. The meeting was chaired by Marco Tavani.

Two decades of blazar observations, and the mysteries keep piling up

The Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Narrow jets of luminous matter may be emitted towards Earth from the nuclei of active galaxies, billions of light-years away. The galaxy then appears as a point source and is called a blazar. A Polish-German team of scientists has, for the first time, analysed the activity of one such blazar over a long period of time and instead of finding answers, they have been faced with an ever-increasing number of intriguing questions.

Journal: Journal of High Energy Astrophysics

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