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SpaceX on Saturday successfully caught its Starship spacecraft using giant mechanical arms at its launch tower in Texas, marking the first successful midair recovery of the spacecraft after an orbital flight lasting more than 22 hours. The achievement is a significant step in Elon Musk’s efforts to develop a fully reusable rocket system, although the company failed to recover the rocket's Super Heavy booster.Starship returned to SpaceX’s Starbase facility a day after its launch, descending through clouds before reigniting its engines to position itself upright. The spacecraft was then secured by the launch tower's giant mechanical arms, known as Mechazilla. Its engines shut down following the catch, leaving it suspended above the ground.SpaceX shared footage of the recovery on social media, writing: “Mechazilla catches Starship! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on this incredible achievement!”“Can you believe it?” SpaceX commentator Dan Huot said during the broadcast. “Look at her! Baby, she’s back!”NASA administrator Jared Isaacman also welcomed the development, describing it as “almost magic” and saying the achievement was making “more believers by the day”.<h2>Starship completes 14 orbits, deploys 26 satellites</h2>The 407-foot (124-metre) rocket lifted off from Starbase in Texas on Friday afternoon. Following successful separation of its two stages, the upper-stage spacecraft continued into orbit and deployed 26 advanced Starlink satellites.Starship subsequently completed 14 orbits at an altitude of approximately 260-265 kilometres, spending more than 22 hours in space. This was a significant improvement over its previous mission, during which it completed only one to two laps around Earth.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Mechazilla catches Starship! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on this incredible achievement! https://t.co/YJzmGUZb2B&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2121715216597827756?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
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However, the Super Heavy booster failed to complete its return manoeuvre. SpaceX official Kate Tice said its engines stopped firing earlier than expected. The booster’s guidance system detected that it was out of position and diverted it towards the Gulf of Mexico, where it was destroyed. Engineers are investigating the failure.

<h2>Full rocket reusability remains a challenge</h2>Saturday’s recovery demonstrated that Starship can return from orbit and be caught at its launch tower. However, SpaceX has yet to recover both stages during a single mission. The spacecraft’s heat shield, consisting of black hexagonal tiles designed to withstand extreme temperatures during atmospheric re-entry, also requires further development.Musk wants Starship to operate like a commercial aircraft, completing repeated journeys with minimal refurbishment. The rocket is central to SpaceX’s plans for expanding its Starlink satellite network, developing orbital data centres and eventually sending humans to Mars.NASA is also relying on Starship as a lunar lander for its Artemis programme, with the spacecraft expected to transport astronauts to the Moon later this decade. SpaceX is also preparing to begin Starship launches from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre in the coming months.&nbsp;

SpaceX makes history as giant mechanical arms catch Starship after a 22-hour orbital flight. However, the Super Heavy booster explodes during its failed recovery attempt.

SpaceX on Saturday successfully caught its Starship spacecraft using giant mechanical arms at its launch tower in Texas, marking the first successful midair recovery of the spacecraft after an orbital flight lasting more than 22 hours. The achievement is a significant step in Elon Musk’s efforts to develop a fully reusable rocket system, although the company failed to recover the rocket's Super Heavy booster. Starship returned to SpaceX’s Starbase facility a day after its launch, descending through clouds before reigniting its engines to position itself upright. The spacecraft was then secured by the launch tower's giant mechanical arms, known as Mechazilla. Its engines shut down following the catch, leaving it suspended above the ground. SpaceX shared footage of the recovery on social media, writing: “Mechazilla catches Starship! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on this incredible achievement!” “Can you believe it?” SpaceX commentator Dan Huot said during the broadcast. “Look at her! Baby, she’s back!” NASA administrator Jared Isaacman also welcomed the development, describing it as “almost magic” and saying the achievement was making “more believers by the day”. Starship completes 14 orbits, deploys 26 satellites The 407-foot (124-metre) rocket lifted off from Starbase in Texas on Friday afternoon. Following successful separation of its two stages, the upper-stage spacecraft continued into orbit and deployed 26 advanced Starlink satellites. Starship subsequently completed 14 orbits at an altitude of approximately 260-265 kilometres, spending more than 22 hours in space. This was a significant improvement over its previous mission, during which it completed only one to two laps around Earth.

SpaceX makes history as giant mechanical arms catch Starship after a 22-hour orbital flight. However, the Super Heavy booster explodes during its failed recovery attempt.

WATCH | SpaceX catches Starship spacecraft midair for first time after 22-hour orbital flight

The light from a molecule known to be behind the creation of the universe has finally been revealed for the first time. Trihydrogen cation (H3+) has been detected in interstellar clouds thousands of light-years away. It is partly what lends Jupiter its auroral glow. But as the planet rotates, this molecule should emit a light. It was first predicted in 1986 but has eluded scientists till now. The 40-year search has finally borne fruit, and this light has now been seen. However, it is coming from deep interstellar space and not Jupiter. A team of astronomers led by David Neufeld of Johns Hopkins University detected the light using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).&nbsp;The discovery is important because of the unique shape of this molecule. H3+ consists of three hydrogen nuclei fused, with just two electrons, causing it to be shaped like an equilateral triangle. This means the molecule has no permanent dipole moment. As the molecule spins, electrical charge remains evenly distributed. There is no shifting imbalance which can generate the electromagnetic radiation that molecules ordinarily emit as they rotate.&nbsp;Astrophysicists Fu-Shih Pan and Takeshi Oka of the University of Chicago said in 1986 that the molecule should emit a faint light. When it rotates, centrifugal forces slightly distort its perfectly symmetrical shape, creating a tiny electric dipole moment which causes it to emit radiation. The transitions are extremely weak and considered "forbidden" because they should not exist as per the usual rules governing molecular radiation.<h2>JWST peered through a stellar nursery</h2>&nbsp;The signal has eluded detection even in the laboratory all these years. But JWST seems to have done the trick when it looked at a region making new stars - HH 168. It can penetrate through the dust and see what is happening inside turbulent stellar nurseries, or Herbig-Haro objects. It is feeding on material around it, but powerful magnetic fields are flinging some of it back into space. These jets are travelling at speeds of hundreds of kilometers per second. As they slam into the molecular cloud around it, shock waves heat the gas to thousands of degrees, triggering a blaze.&nbsp;When the researchers started looking at HH 168, they saw extraordinarily faint spectral lines inside the infrared emissions. The wavelengths were similar to what Pan and Oka had calculated for the forbidden rotational transitions of the trihydrogen cation. There were a total of 26 distinct lines, with one of those registering a staggering 72 sigma. Scientists were now sure that they were looking at a light that had never been seen before in the universe.&nbsp;Another surprise came from archival data from JWST, which showed another Herbig-Haro object, HH 211, with the same emissions. This means the universe does it relatively commonly and that Pan and Oka were right all along. The study will be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The James Webb Space Telescope has detected a light in the universe that has existed only in theory for 40 years. The infrared telescope saw H3+ inside a stellar nursery thousands of light-years away. The “forbidden” light is also present on Jupiter, but we have never been able to see it.

The light from a molecule known to be behind the creation of the universe has finally been revealed for the first time. Trihydrogen cation (H3+) has been detected in interstellar clouds thousands of light-years away. It is partly what lends Jupiter its auroral glow. But as the planet rotates, this molecule should emit a light. It was first predicted in 1986 but has eluded scientists till now. The 40-year search has finally borne fruit, and this light has now been seen. However, it is coming from deep interstellar space and not Jupiter. A team of astronomers led by David Neufeld of Johns Hopkins University detected the light using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The discovery is important because of the unique shape of this molecule. H3+ consists of three hydrogen nuclei fused, with just two electrons, causing it to be shaped like an equilateral triangle. This means the molecule has no permanent dipole moment. As the molecule spins, electrical charge remains evenly distributed. There is no shifting imbalance which can generate the electromagnetic radiation that molecules ordinarily emit as they rotate. Astrophysicists Fu-Shih Pan and Takeshi Oka of the University of Chicago said in 1986 that the molecule should emit a faint light. When it rotates, centrifugal forces slightly distort its perfectly symmetrical shape, creating a tiny electric dipole moment which causes it to emit radiation. The transitions are extremely weak and considered "forbidden" because they should not exist as per the usual rules governing molecular radiation. JWST peered through a stellar nursery The signal has eluded detection even in the laboratory all these years. But JWST seems to have done the trick when it looked at a region making new stars - HH 168. It can penetrate through the dust and see what is happening inside turbulent stellar nurseries, or Herbig-Haro objects. It is feeding on material around it, but powerful magnetic fields are flinging some of it back into space. These jets are travelling at speeds of hundreds of kilometers per second. As they slam into the molecular cloud around it, shock waves heat the gas to thousands of degrees, triggering a blaze. When the researchers started looking at HH 168, they saw extraordinarily faint spectral lines inside the infrared emissions. The wavelengths were similar to what Pan and Oka had calculated for the forbidden rotational transitions of the trihydrogen cation. There were a total of 26 distinct lines, with one of those registering a staggering 72 sigma. Scientists were now sure that they were looking at a light that had never been seen before in the universe. Another surprise came from archival data from JWST, which showed another Herbig-Haro object, HH 211, with the same emissions. This means the universe does it relatively commonly and that Pan and Oka were right all along. The study will be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The James Webb Space Telescope has detected a light in the universe that has existed only in theory for 40 years. The infrared telescope saw H3+ inside a stellar nursery thousands of light-years away. The “forbidden” light is also present on Jupiter, but we have never been able to see it.

A study has flagged a catastrophic risk if even one nuclear weapon is detonated in space. Countries are vying to place weapons in space, and some experts fear that a nuclear weapon might have already reached there. An explosion at a high enough altitude will knock out almost every satellite in low-Earth orbit. This has already happened in the past. The preprint paper is available on arXiv.&nbsp;Researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW) and Princeton University have said that even a less powerful detonation today will wreak havoc in low-Earth orbit. As part of the study, the researchers simulated a 1-megaton nuclear explosion 500 kilometres above the South Atlantic, where Earth's magnetic field is quite weak, leading to the South Atlantic Anomaly, where the effects of a blast are amplified. Radioactive particles are trapped in pockets of space and satellites move through this region.&nbsp;"Electrons from radioactive fission-product decay became trapped in Earth's magnetic field, creating an artificial radiation belt that damaged satellites," first author Zach Petersen said. "Unlike the prompt burst, a trapped belt repeatedly exposes spacecraft as they pass through it. A comparable event today would occur in a much more densely populated orbital environment."&nbsp;In the simulation, researchers found that 25 per cent of all satellites today (13,300) would be disabled one day after a nuclear blast in the region of the South Atlantic Anomaly. Seventy-eight per cent of satellites would be disabled by day three. The figure would rise to 98 per cent after a week, and 99.4 per cent by day 15.&nbsp;Even if the satellites were given strengthened radiation protection, 99.3 per cent of all satellites would be disabled within 30 days. If a weaker 100-kiloton warhead were detonated, 99 per cent of satellites would be disabled within a year.&nbsp;The detonations would also increase space debris after approximately 20 resulting collisions within the first two years. In 10 years, &nbsp;3,900 new fragments of space junk will be formed orbiting Earth. "Continued collisions among long-lived objects are expected to sustain debris production beyond the simulated decade, with the possibility of a slow buildup and eventual runaway growth on century timescales," the study states. &nbsp;

Detonating a nuclear weapon in space will disrupt almost everything on Earth, not directly, but because of the grave impact it would have on satellites. A study has found that even a small detonation would kill off every satellite we have today.

A study has flagged a catastrophic risk if even one nuclear weapon is detonated in space. Countries are vying to place weapons in space, and some experts fear that a nuclear weapon might have already reached there. An explosion at a high enough altitude will knock out almost every satellite in low-Earth orbit. This has already happened in the past. The preprint paper is available on arXiv. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW) and Princeton University have said that even a less powerful detonation today will wreak havoc in low-Earth orbit. As part of the study, the researchers simulated a 1-megaton nuclear explosion 500 kilometres above the South Atlantic, where Earth's magnetic field is quite weak, leading to the South Atlantic Anomaly, where the effects of a blast are amplified. Radioactive particles are trapped in pockets of space and satellites move through this region. "Electrons from radioactive fission-product decay became trapped in Earth's magnetic field, creating an artificial radiation belt that damaged satellites," first author Zach Petersen said. "Unlike the prompt burst, a trapped belt repeatedly exposes spacecraft as they pass through it. A comparable event today would occur in a much more densely populated orbital environment." In the simulation, researchers found that 25 per cent of all satellites today (13,300) would be disabled one day after a nuclear blast in the region of the South Atlantic Anomaly. Seventy-eight per cent of satellites would be disabled by day three. The figure would rise to 98 per cent after a week, and 99.4 per cent by day 15. Even if the satellites were given strengthened radiation protection, 99.3 per cent of all satellites would be disabled within 30 days. If a weaker 100-kiloton warhead were detonated, 99 per cent of satellites would be disabled within a year. The detonations would also increase space debris after approximately 20 resulting collisions within the first two years. In 10 years, 3,900 new fragments of space junk will be formed orbiting Earth. "Continued collisions among long-lived objects are expected to sustain debris production beyond the simulated decade, with the possibility of a slow buildup and eventual runaway growth on century timescales," the study states.

Detonating a nuclear weapon in space will disrupt almost everything on Earth, not directly, but because of the grave impact it would have on satellites. A study has found that even a small detonation would kill off every satellite we have today.

Nuclear blast in space won't hit Earth directly. But what comes next will spell doom

Scientists have discovered a coral colony 1.5 kilometres long in the middle of the Indian Ocean, which is believed to be one thousand years old. It is sitting on the edge of an atoll, near the remote Cocos Islands and is a rose coral, belonging to the genus Pachyseris. For context, the colony is equal to 100 buses parked one behind the other. The coral colony is unlike anything scientists have seen in the past.&nbsp;Pachyseris colonies normally span about 6.4 feet in diameter. So to find one that is 4,921 feet wide is truly shocking and mesmerising at the same time. It also goes as deep as 45 to 213 feet in different places. Despite the coral colony being first seen about 30 years ago, it was only recently studied in great detail by marine biologist and SCUBA diver JP Hobbs.&nbsp;Dieter Gerhard, a dive operator based at the Cocos Islands, was the first one to come across the mammoth coral. Hobbs told ScienceAlert that he explored the first dive site, and then went back two more times. But the colony kept going. "I was just waiting for the end, and the end never came," he said. It took Hobbs a total of 12 dives to map out the entire coral colony.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/scie">Why are scientists carrying ultrasound scans on 'pregnant' corals?</a>&nbsp;Hobbs believes that the coral colony could have stretched up to two kilometres in the past. He saw the Pachyseris continuing on the other side of a 10-metre gap, which shows that it was actually even bigger at one time and the reef presumably crumbled where it ends today. Hobbs collected coral specimens from 50 different points, which have been sent to the Queensland Museum where marine geneticist Peter Cowman will study them.<h2>One larva or individual colonies?</h2>&nbsp;&nbsp;Through the analysis, scientists will try to determine whether it belongs to a known Pachyseris species or if it is an entirely new group. Cowman added that another mystery they will try to solve is whether this entire colony comes from one genetically identical organism, "a tiny larva that settled there and grew into this monstrosity that we've now mapped," or whether they are "individual colonies that could be closely related" and fused over time.&nbsp;Both of them are exceptionally rare occurrences, meaning this finding is incredible either way. If what we have is many clones of one organism, the colony could be hundreds or thousands of years old. "I think if it is one single individual, it might be one of the largest corals that has been found," Cowman said.&nbsp;The reason this colony grew to be so large is because of the rows of concentric plate-like structures. "If a fragment falls down the slope a bit, and then begins to grow from that fragment, and then it merges with the main colony, that's still the same individual, but it's expanding its range," Cowman said. Scientists are now looking forward to see if the colony's size can help it survive the changing climate.

The Indian Ocean has been housing a massive coral colony for thousands of years, which has only now been fully discovered and mapped. Scientists think it could have grown from one tiny larva into this giant. More analysis will be carried out on the specimen.

Scientists have discovered a coral colony 1.5 kilometres long in the middle of the Indian Ocean, which is believed to be one thousand years old. It is sitting on the edge of an atoll, near the remote Cocos Islands and is a rose coral, belonging to the genus Pachyseris. For context, the colony is equal to 100 buses parked one behind the other. The coral colony is unlike anything scientists have seen in the past. Pachyseris colonies normally span about 6.4 feet in diameter. So to find one that is 4,921 feet wide is truly shocking and mesmerising at the same time. It also goes as deep as 45 to 213 feet in different places. Despite the coral colony being first seen about 30 years ago, it was only recently studied in great detail by marine biologist and SCUBA diver JP Hobbs. Dieter Gerhard, a dive operator based at the Cocos Islands, was the first one to come across the mammoth coral. Hobbs told ScienceAlert that he explored the first dive site, and then went back two more times. But the colony kept going. "I was just waiting for the end, and the end never came," he said. It took Hobbs a total of 12 dives to map out the entire coral colony. Also Read: Why are scientists carrying ultrasound scans on 'pregnant' corals? Hobbs believes that the coral colony could have stretched up to two kilometres in the past. He saw the Pachyseris continuing on the other side of a 10-metre gap, which shows that it was actually even bigger at one time and the reef presumably crumbled where it ends today. Hobbs collected coral specimens from 50 different points, which have been sent to the Queensland Museum where marine geneticist Peter Cowman will study them. One larva or individual colonies? Through the analysis, scientists will try to determine whether it belongs to a known Pachyseris species or if it is an entirely new group. Cowman added that another mystery they will try to solve is whether this entire colony comes from one genetically identical organism, "a tiny larva that settled there and grew into this monstrosity that we've now mapped," or whether they are "individual colonies that could be closely related" and fused over time. Both of them are exceptionally rare occurrences, meaning this finding is incredible either way. If what we have is many clones of one organism, the colony could be hundreds or thousands of years old. "I think if it is one single individual, it might be one of the largest corals that has been found," Cowman said. The reason this colony grew to be so large is because of the rows of concentric plate-like structures. "If a fragment falls down the slope a bit, and then begins to grow from that fragment, and then it merges with the main colony, that's still the same individual, but it's expanding its range," Cowman said. Scientists are now looking forward to see if the colony's size can help it survive the changing climate.

The Indian Ocean has been housing a massive coral colony for thousands of years, which has only now been fully discovered and mapped. Scientists think it could have grown from one tiny larva into this giant. More analysis will be carried out on the specimen.

1,000-year-old monstrosity in Indian Ocean: Scientists map 100-buses-long giant coral

Delhi-NCR’s annual battle with toxic winter air is intensifying, with stubble burning in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana once again under scrutiny as a source of pollution. But the scale of farm fires this season may be significantly higher than official figures indicate. While government agencies have recorded 4,459 incidents in Punjab, satellite-based calculations by a scientist associated with NASA suggest that as many as 34,000 fires may have occurred across Punjab and Haryana between October 1 and November 9.Dr Hiren Jethva, an aerosol remote sensing scientist associated with Morgan State University and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, made the estimate using satellite observations.<h2>Why are satellite figures different?</h2>Jethva believes the gap is partly linked to changes in the timing of stubble burning. Farmers have increasingly shifted the hours at which they set fire to crop residue, making some fires harder for satellites traditionally used by government agencies to detect.Speaking to NDTV on November 5, he said his assessment had identified 27,000 fires in Punjab between October 1 and November 5.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">23. Fire summary (Oct. 1–Nov 9) Punjab+Haryana

🛰️ NOAA-20 VIIRS (375 m): 4,089 fires near 1:30 p.m. LT
🛰️ Aqua MODIS (1 km): 4,196 fires near 4 p.m. LT

🔥 After empirical adjustment to VIIRS 375 m fire-count baseline, the total reaches to ~34,000 fires--a conservative estimate&mdash; Hiren Jethva (@hjethva05) <a href="https://x.com/hjethva05/status/2119800284612354378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Explaining the methodology, Jethva said the Aqua MODIS satellite now passes over Punjab and north India at around 4 pm, instead of its earlier 1.30 pm schedule. Its observations are then converted into the higher-resolution VIIRS fire dataset.Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/delhi-chokes-toxic-smog-persists-as-aqi-hits-400-after-diwali-check-rain-forecast-1794278873067">Delhi chokes: Toxic smog persists as AQI hits 400 after Diwali – Check rain forecast</a><h2>What do official records show?</h2>The CAQM recorded 4,459 incidents in Punjab up to November 8. Inspections at 2,998 locations confirmed stubble burning at 1,310 sites.Authorities imposed environmental compensation of Rs 62.55 lakh in 1,228 cases, recovering Rs 32.60 lakh so far. Tarn Taran reported the highest number of incidents at 654, followed by Ferozepur with 592, Sangrur with 488 and Bathinda with 406.The difference between the official count and Jethva’s estimate highlights a challenge in measuring farm fires. If a significant number go undetected, the reported figures may not reflect the full scale of seasonal crop-residue burning.

A NASA scientist estimates 34,000 farm fires in Punjab and Haryana this season, far above Punjab’s official count of 4,459, raising questions over satellite detection and stubble-burning data.

Delhi-NCR’s annual battle with toxic winter air is intensifying, with stubble burning in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana once again under scrutiny as a source of pollution. But the scale of farm fires this season may be significantly higher than official figures indicate. While government agencies have recorded 4,459 incidents in Punjab, satellite-based calculations by a scientist associated with NASA suggest that as many as 34,000 fires may have occurred across Punjab and Haryana between October 1 and November 9. Dr Hiren Jethva, an aerosol remote sensing scientist associated with Morgan State University and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, made the estimate using satellite observations. Why are satellite figures different? Jethva believes the gap is partly linked to changes in the timing of stubble burning. Farmers have increasingly shifted the hours at which they set fire to crop residue, making some fires harder for satellites traditionally used by government agencies to detect. Speaking to NDTV on November 5, he said his assessment had identified 27,000 fires in Punjab between October 1 and November 5.

A NASA scientist estimates 34,000 farm fires in Punjab and Haryana this season, far above Punjab’s official count of 4,459, raising questions over satellite detection and stubble-burning data.

NASA scientist estimates 34,000 Punjab-Haryana farm fires, nearly 8 times official count

Researchers at the University of Zurich have identified a new way of detecting the date-rape drug GHB in urine for up to 72 hours after ingestion, a finding that could give investigators far more time to build sexual assault cases. The university said in a statement published Tuesday (Nov 10) that the newly discovered biomarker could "indicate earlier GHB intake even when the drug is no longer detectable using conventional analysis". It added: "Every hour is critical when it comes to detecting the use of drugs used to render victims unconscious."Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hindu-boy-barred-from-wearing-sacred-mark-at-london-school-family-seeks-25-000-in-damages-no-child-should-choose-between-faith-and-education-1794072617858">9YO Hindu boy forced to leave UK school after being barred from wearing tilak: 'No child should choose between faith and education'</a><h2>The usual window lets perpetrators get away; that's about to change</h2>GHB is commonly used to render victims unconscious, often by being slipped into the drinks of unsuspecting victims. The so-called date rape drug is excreted rapidly from blood and urine, leaving little time to test for it before all traces vanish. The university pointed out that "the usual detection window is around six hours in the blood and 12 in the urine."A team led by Andrea Steuer at the university's Institute of Forensic Medicine had in 2021 helped discover a "promising biomarker" for the drug, a compound of GHB and a sugar thought to be ribose, known as GHB-pentose. "Unlike GHB itself, this biomarker remains detectable in the urine for longer after intake," the statement said.Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/delhi-kia-showroom-fire-woman-falls-trying-to-escape-shocking-viral-video-raise-fire-safety-concerns-watch-1794050054122">Delhi Kia showroom fire: Woman falls trying to escape, shocking viral videos raise fire safety concerns | WATCH</a><h2>What the study found</h2>The study indicated the compound "remained detectable for up to three days after GHB intake, representing the longest detection window reported for a direct GHB-related biomarker to date."For the research, published last week in the peer-reviewed journal Drug Testing and Analysis, the team analysed 2,414 anonymised urine samples from genuine forensic cases since 2024. Highlighting 14 samples, the researchers found that "although GHB levels measured were below the threshold set for the test, GHB-pentose was still detected."In eight of those 14 cases, the case details supported the suspicion that GHB had been taken or administered previously. Those cases included three suspected criminal offences, two robberies and one alleged sexual assault, in which urine samples were only gathered 13 to 16 hours after the incident."The findings offer the first indication from forensic practice that GHB-pentose remains detectable beyond the usual detection window for GHB," Steuer said in the statement.While promising, the researchers said the findings did not yet allow them to determine the diagnostic reliability or the maximum detection period for any individual case using the method.

Swiss researchers have found a biomarker that can detect the date-rape drug GHB in urine for up to 72 hours after ingestion, against the usual 12-hour window. The finding could aid sexual assault investigations. Read the full story here.

Researchers at the University of Zurich have identified a new way of detecting the date-rape drug GHB in urine for up to 72 hours after ingestion, a finding that could give investigators far more time to build sexual assault cases. The university said in a statement published Tuesday (Nov 10) that the newly discovered biomarker could "indicate earlier GHB intake even when the drug is no longer detectable using conventional analysis". It added: "Every hour is critical when it comes to detecting the use of drugs used to render victims unconscious." Also read | 9YO Hindu boy forced to leave UK school after being barred from wearing tilak: 'No child should choose between faith and education' The usual window lets perpetrators get away; that's about to change GHB is commonly used to render victims unconscious, often by being slipped into the drinks of unsuspecting victims. The so-called date rape drug is excreted rapidly from blood and urine, leaving little time to test for it before all traces vanish. The university pointed out that "the usual detection window is around six hours in the blood and 12 in the urine." A team led by Andrea Steuer at the university's Institute of Forensic Medicine had in 2021 helped discover a "promising biomarker" for the drug, a compound of GHB and a sugar thought to be ribose, known as GHB-pentose. "Unlike GHB itself, this biomarker remains detectable in the urine for longer after intake," the statement said. Also read | Delhi Kia showroom fire: Woman falls trying to escape, shocking viral videos raise fire safety concerns | WATCH What the study found The study indicated the compound "remained detectable for up to three days after GHB intake, representing the longest detection window reported for a direct GHB-related biomarker to date." For the research, published last week in the peer-reviewed journal Drug Testing and Analysis, the team analysed 2,414 anonymised urine samples from genuine forensic cases since 2024. Highlighting 14 samples, the researchers found that "although GHB levels measured were below the threshold set for the test, GHB-pentose was still detected." In eight of those 14 cases, the case details supported the suspicion that GHB had been taken or administered previously. Those cases included three suspected criminal offences, two robberies and one alleged sexual assault, in which urine samples were only gathered 13 to 16 hours after the incident. "The findings offer the first indication from forensic practice that GHB-pentose remains detectable beyond the usual detection window for GHB," Steuer said in the statement. While promising, the researchers said the findings did not yet allow them to determine the diagnostic reliability or the maximum detection period for any individual case using the method.

Swiss researchers have found a biomarker that can detect the date-rape drug GHB in urine for up to 72 hours after ingestion, against the usual 12-hour window. The finding could aid sexual assault investigations. Read the full story here.

Swiss researchers find new way to detect date rape drug GHB for up to 72 hours. Here's how it works

A planet that was observed many times passing in front of its star has mysteriously vanished from sight. Astronomers have a theory for what could be going on, although they cannot be sure about it either. Located 1,000 light-years away from Earth is TOI-2535 b, which has become the first known "disappearing planet." Researchers from UCLA announced on Monday that telescopes captured the planet quite a few times in the past before it disappeared right in front of their eyes. Where did it go?&nbsp;Scientists believe that the planet has not actually gone anywhere and something tugging on it has altered its orbit. So it is no longer visible where it was seen all this time. Another planet in the system could be exerting an extremely powerful gravitational force on TOI-2535 b, causing it to seemingly vanish from our view. The finding was detailed in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.&nbsp;TOI-2535 b is a "hot Jupiter", meaning it is large and it is hot. It orbits extremely close to its star, completing one orbit in just 8.25 days. In comparison, it takes Mercury 88 days to orbit the Sun once.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/asteroid-ky26-baffles-astronomers-as-it-is-found-too-warm-to-be-a-comet-1794221632708">Asteroid KY26 baffles astronomers as it is found too warm to be a comet</a><h2>A planet that shied away from our view</h2>Scientists at UCLA observed the planet using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, between April 2019 and March 2026. It was seen passing in front of its Sun for a long time. Gradually, its movements became erratic. Sometimes it didn't appear for several hours from its scheduled time, and at times it made an early entry.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/dead-star-is-killing-its-jupiter-sized-phoenix-planet-that-rose-from-its-remains-1794309462062">Dead star is killing its Jupiter-sized 'Phoenix' planet that rose from its remains</a>&nbsp;The crossings became fainter, and this year, they completely vanished. &nbsp;Samuel Yee, a UCLA postdoctoral fellow and the study’s corresponding author, says it is possible for "multiple planets in a system" to "affect each other’s orbit", and this seems to be the case with TOI-2535 b. There is likely another planet there which has never been seen, and its gravitational pull is causing TOI-2535 b’s orbit to wobble. The tilted orbit means that the planet no longer passes between its star and Earth, and this explains the disappearance.&nbsp;"This is the most extreme example we’ve seen because the two planets are interacting so strongly," Yee said. "The planet’s orbit is tilting so quickly that its transit disappeared while we were watching."&nbsp;TOI-2535 b's orbit will continue to shift in the coming years, and slowly it will once again return to view. However, this will not happen for approximately 30 to 50 years. On the contrary, its partner planet that is pulling on it might become visible soon.&nbsp;Scientists are planning to use the findings to explain why some giant planets orbit so close to their stars. They are trying to decipher whether that happens from violent gravitational encounters or is a gradual movement. “Because TOI-2535 b has a close neighbour, it probably migrated by slowly spiralling in instead of getting flung in,” Yee said.

Astronomers have discovered a planet that has pulled a disappearing act after being visible for seven years. TOI-2535 b was there all along, orbiting close to its star, but has now seemingly vanished. This is the first time such a planet has been observed.

A planet that was observed many times passing in front of its star has mysteriously vanished from sight. Astronomers have a theory for what could be going on, although they cannot be sure about it either. Located 1,000 light-years away from Earth is TOI-2535 b, which has become the first known "disappearing planet." Researchers from UCLA announced on Monday that telescopes captured the planet quite a few times in the past before it disappeared right in front of their eyes. Where did it go? Scientists believe that the planet has not actually gone anywhere and something tugging on it has altered its orbit. So it is no longer visible where it was seen all this time. Another planet in the system could be exerting an extremely powerful gravitational force on TOI-2535 b, causing it to seemingly vanish from our view. The finding was detailed in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. TOI-2535 b is a "hot Jupiter", meaning it is large and it is hot. It orbits extremely close to its star, completing one orbit in just 8.25 days. In comparison, it takes Mercury 88 days to orbit the Sun once. Also Read: Asteroid KY26 baffles astronomers as it is found too warm to be a comet A planet that shied away from our view Scientists at UCLA observed the planet using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, between April 2019 and March 2026. It was seen passing in front of its Sun for a long time. Gradually, its movements became erratic. Sometimes it didn't appear for several hours from its scheduled time, and at times it made an early entry. Also Read: Dead star is killing its Jupiter-sized 'Phoenix' planet that rose from its remains The crossings became fainter, and this year, they completely vanished. Samuel Yee, a UCLA postdoctoral fellow and the study’s corresponding author, says it is possible for "multiple planets in a system" to "affect each other’s orbit", and this seems to be the case with TOI-2535 b. There is likely another planet there which has never been seen, and its gravitational pull is causing TOI-2535 b’s orbit to wobble. The tilted orbit means that the planet no longer passes between its star and Earth, and this explains the disappearance. "This is the most extreme example we’ve seen because the two planets are interacting so strongly," Yee said. "The planet’s orbit is tilting so quickly that its transit disappeared while we were watching." TOI-2535 b's orbit will continue to shift in the coming years, and slowly it will once again return to view. However, this will not happen for approximately 30 to 50 years. On the contrary, its partner planet that is pulling on it might become visible soon. Scientists are planning to use the findings to explain why some giant planets orbit so close to their stars. They are trying to decipher whether that happens from violent gravitational encounters or is a gradual movement. “Because TOI-2535 b has a close neighbour, it probably migrated by slowly spiralling in instead of getting flung in,” Yee said.

Astronomers have discovered a planet that has pulled a disappearing act after being visible for seven years. TOI-2535 b was there all along, orbiting close to its star, but has now seemingly vanished. This is the first time such a planet has been observed.

Cosmic tug of war: Planet 1,000 light-years from Earth has suddenly vanished

A large, dark object, with what appeared to be several tentacles hanging beneath it was seen hovering near a US military base in Alaska. Sara Jane Osborn was trying to photograph a rainbow in Anchorage when the dark object emerged from the trees near what she believed was Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER).In the video, which has gone viral on social media, a jellyfish-like Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) was seen hovering above a line of trees. Osborn called her husband, Pete, to take a look. The couple then recorded a video of it.The sighting happened on June 15 at around 10:13 pm, while the sky was still bright. The object appeared to hover and turn from side to side, with its dangling extensions seemingly moving independently. It was gone roughly three minutes later.“It disappeared almost as quickly as it came,” Osborn told the Daily Mail.Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of photos and videos shared on social media.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Ok I found the person who filmed this ‘Jellyfish UFO’…Sara Osborn… She said: “I was taking pictures of the rainbow. It was the most vibrant rainbow I have ever seen in my WHOLE LIFE. And it was there... and then IT WAS. And we watched a plane fly by afterwards... whatever this thing was it was MASSIVE. I knew it wasn't a kite. Kites have colors. And they fly those at the park strip... I was parked at the old Northway Mall when I filmed it. And we drove over to the park over there off of Muldoon - NOTHING. It was there. And then it wasn't.”&mdash; Jordan Crowder (@digijordan) <a href="https://x.com/digijordan/status/2120302658275656091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<h2>Couple ruled out a kite after searching nearby park</h2>The couple’s first thought was that it might be a kite. But Osborn, who had lived in Anchorage for years, said its appearance and movement did not match the colourful kites she had seen flying in the city’s parks.“It was very clearly not a kite in its movements,” she said.She also questioned whether the small park nearby could have accommodated something of that size.The couple drove around looking for someone who might have been flying or packing away a kite. They searched for around 30 minutes, including towards Arctic Valley, but found nobody who could explain what they had seen.Osborn said she had several photographs taken within milliseconds of each other, apart from the video recording. She described the object as black and silver, with extensions that did not appear to move like the tails of a conventional kite.<h2>Was it connected to an Alaska military base?</h2>The object appeared to be in the direction of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), which houses F-22 Raptor fighter jets and supports US air defence, surveillance and military airlift operations.Pete estimated that it could have been around three miles away, although the distance was never confirmed.The couple also remembered seeing a small aircraft near the mountains. Its apparent size, compared with the unidentified object, added to their impression that whatever they had spotted was unusually large.Osborn did not rule out a drone as a possible explanation.“You know, maybe it’s a drone-type thing,” she said.There is no independent confirmation of the sighting, however, and its apparent location does not establish any connection with the military installation. Its size and identity also remain unknown.For Osborn, the fact that her husband witnessed it too was significant.“Because it was there, and then it wasn’t,” she said. “I can’t deny that it happened.”

A woman photographing a rainbow in Alaska spotted a giant jellyfish-like object near a US military base. The strange sighting lasted three minutes before the object suddenly disappeared.

A large, dark object, with what appeared to be several tentacles hanging beneath it was seen hovering near a US military base in Alaska. Sara Jane Osborn was trying to photograph a rainbow in Anchorage when the dark object emerged from the trees near what she believed was Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER). In the video, which has gone viral on social media, a jellyfish-like Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) was seen hovering above a line of trees. Osborn called her husband, Pete, to take a look. The couple then recorded a video of it. The sighting happened on June 15 at around 10:13 pm, while the sky was still bright. The object appeared to hover and turn from side to side, with its dangling extensions seemingly moving independently. It was gone roughly three minutes later. “It disappeared almost as quickly as it came,” Osborn told the Daily Mail. Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of photos and videos shared on social media.

A woman photographing a rainbow in Alaska spotted a giant jellyfish-like object near a US military base. The strange sighting lasted three minutes before the object suddenly disappeared.

Scientists have discovered a planet that was likely born after its host star died. This is unlike anything that has been theorised till now about the death of a star and what happens to its planets. When the Sun dies, every planet in our solar system will meet its end in some way, as some will be swallowed by the growing Sun and others might turn into rogue planets. But in this case, the death of a star actually led to the birth of a planet.&nbsp;Researchers at the University of Warwick state in a study published in Nature Astronomy that they may have found what is a "second-generation" planet orbiting a white dwarf. The finding shows that the death of a star might not be the end-all for planets, and they may get a second lease of life using their material.<h2>A star that spawned a planet after its death</h2>The star in question is HS 0209+0832, a white dwarf that is roughly the size of Earth. It is around 36,000 degrees Celsius and has been cooling for about five million years. Scientists studied data gathered by the Hubble Telescope in 1999, which observed roughly 100 unidentified absorption features in its ultraviolet spectrum. Researchers at the time couldn't match these chemical fingerprints to any known elements.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/first-handshake-space-signal-with-all-hallmarks-of-alien-technology-detected-in-china-1793775972618">First handshake? Radio signal with all hallmarks of alien technology detected in China</a>&nbsp;To see them around the dead star created a puzzle since the extreme gravity of a white dwarf pulls in heavy elements, most of which sink under the surface. Their presence in such huge amounts around the star indicated that material was falling onto the star from somewhere else. They were sure that it wasn't from asteroids or planets that had been torn apart.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/10-year-cosmic-visitor-earth-has-a-new-lilliputian-mini-moon-1793852868371">10-year cosmic visitor: Earth has a new 'Lilliputian' mini-moon</a><h2>Revisiting Hubble data</h2>This time, when Jamie Williams, a doctoral researcher, studied the Hubble data, he found that a lot of the unidentified spectral lines were niobium, not seen as commonly in space. Others were copper and zinc, nickel and other elements. There was no iron and only a little silicon. This was very different from what is seen coming from a rocky planet. Observations from NASA’s retired Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer also revealed niobium.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/scientists-tap-zeptoverse-at-lhc-to-unlock-dark-matter-mysteries-1793713504776">Scientists detect signal from beauty particle 100bn times smaller than atom. It could lead us to dark matter</a>&nbsp;When stars die, they manufacture elements. Our Sun turns hydrogen into helium during its life, and later helium fusion produces carbon and oxygen. In the final giant phase, the star releases all this material into space, which can contain a lot more than just gas and dust.<h2>Presence of niobium</h2>The slow neutron-capture process, or s-process, acts as a stellar forge where ageing asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars capture neutrons onto atomic nuclei to synthesise heavier elements. Elements like niobium serve as distinct chemical signatures of this advanced stellar evolution. In the case of white dwarf HS 0209+0832, the accreted material shows a staggering niobium abundance exceeding solar levels by a factor of over 1,000.&nbsp;Observations of the star's brightness taken by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) revealed a subtle signal repeating every 4.399 days. The star’s brightness varied by only about 0.12 per cent. This hinted towards a giant "Phoenix" planet orbiting around six million kilometres from the white dwarf.&nbsp;The star is still hot, and the radiation is stripping gas from the planet’s atmosphere. In other words, it is feeding on the star that was born from its remains. This evaporation explains the bizarre chemical fingerprints observed in the white dwarf's light. &nbsp;

A star's death triggered the birth of its planet in an observation that has left astronomers surprised. HS 0209+0832 is a white dwarf and has a large planet orbiting it. The dead star created a new planet and now the star is killing the planet again.

Scientists have discovered a planet that was likely born after its host star died. This is unlike anything that has been theorised till now about the death of a star and what happens to its planets. When the Sun dies, every planet in our solar system will meet its end in some way, as some will be swallowed by the growing Sun and others might turn into rogue planets. But in this case, the death of a star actually led to the birth of a planet. Researchers at the University of Warwick state in a study published in Nature Astronomy that they may have found what is a "second-generation" planet orbiting a white dwarf. The finding shows that the death of a star might not be the end-all for planets, and they may get a second lease of life using their material. A star that spawned a planet after its death The star in question is HS 0209+0832, a white dwarf that is roughly the size of Earth. It is around 36,000 degrees Celsius and has been cooling for about five million years. Scientists studied data gathered by the Hubble Telescope in 1999, which observed roughly 100 unidentified absorption features in its ultraviolet spectrum. Researchers at the time couldn't match these chemical fingerprints to any known elements. Also Read: First handshake? Radio signal with all hallmarks of alien technology detected in China To see them around the dead star created a puzzle since the extreme gravity of a white dwarf pulls in heavy elements, most of which sink under the surface. Their presence in such huge amounts around the star indicated that material was falling onto the star from somewhere else. They were sure that it wasn't from asteroids or planets that had been torn apart. Also Read: 10-year cosmic visitor: Earth has a new 'Lilliputian' mini-moon Revisiting Hubble data This time, when Jamie Williams, a doctoral researcher, studied the Hubble data, he found that a lot of the unidentified spectral lines were niobium, not seen as commonly in space. Others were copper and zinc, nickel and other elements. There was no iron and only a little silicon. This was very different from what is seen coming from a rocky planet. Observations from NASA’s retired Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer also revealed niobium. Also Read: Scientists detect signal from beauty particle 100bn times smaller than atom. It could lead us to dark matter When stars die, they manufacture elements. Our Sun turns hydrogen into helium during its life, and later helium fusion produces carbon and oxygen. In the final giant phase, the star releases all this material into space, which can contain a lot more than just gas and dust. Presence of niobium The slow neutron-capture process, or s-process, acts as a stellar forge where ageing asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars capture neutrons onto atomic nuclei to synthesise heavier elements. Elements like niobium serve as distinct chemical signatures of this advanced stellar evolution. In the case of white dwarf HS 0209+0832, the accreted material shows a staggering niobium abundance exceeding solar levels by a factor of over 1,000. Observations of the star's brightness taken by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) revealed a subtle signal repeating every 4.399 days. The star’s brightness varied by only about 0.12 per cent. This hinted towards a giant "Phoenix" planet orbiting around six million kilometres from the white dwarf. The star is still hot, and the radiation is stripping gas from the planet’s atmosphere. In other words, it is feeding on the star that was born from its remains. This evaporation explains the bizarre chemical fingerprints observed in the white dwarf's light.

A star's death triggered the birth of its planet in an observation that has left astronomers surprised. HS 0209+0832 is a white dwarf and has a large planet orbiting it. The dead star created a new planet and now the star is killing the planet again.

Dead star is killing its Jupiter-sized 'Phoenix' planet that rose from its remains

Scientists are using ultrasound to scan living coral submerged underwater for eggs developing inside them in their quest to save the endangered reefs. This is a breakthrough because till now, checking corals for eggs required them to be cut open. But using the device, the corals can now be checked for eggs using a non-invasive method. This can help them assess coral reproduction and gather crucial information about its reproductive health.&nbsp;This process is important as scientists race to save the world's coral reefs that are facing severe threats from both global climate change and local human activities. The ultrasound platform has been made by Canon in collaboration with the United Kingdom-based conservation organisation Coral Spawning International (CSI), Popular Science reported. &nbsp;Aplio i700 is an advanced medical ultrasound system that is usually used on humans.<h2>Scanning corals for eggs</h2>In the experiment, six species of large polyp stony coral were scanned using the device. They were able to successfully see the coral’s skeletons and internal structures because of the powerful mixture of high- and ultra-high-frequency probes. To confirm that they were getting the right picture, scientists cut open one coral species, Trachyphyllia geoffroyi. They took high-powered images of its interior and then cross-referenced them with the ultrasound scans, which confirmed that what they saw were eggs.&nbsp;Canon EMEA Sustainability and Government Affairs Director Peter Bragg said that their experiment "demonstrates that imaging innovation has the power to show us what was previously unseen, creating a deeper understanding of the world around us."&nbsp;Coral reefs across the world are at risk of collapsing because of climate change and the warming oceans. Last month, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned that nearly all of the Earth’s coral reef ecosystems could collapse in the next 50 years. This will trigger a bigger problem for the oceans. The reefs are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet and support a quarter of marine life. Their collapse will lead to algae and sponges taking their place that cannot support such diverse marine life.&nbsp;Knowing when corals are holding eggs can help scientists gain critical data for breeding and work on protecting them. Ultrasound scans can reveal a pregnant coral without having to cut it open, thus making it easier to protect them.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Coral reefs across the world are in danger of collapsing in the next 50 years, and for better conservation efforts, scientists have come up with an innovative method. They are checking for eggs in corals using ultrasound to gather critical data.

Scientists are using ultrasound to scan living coral submerged underwater for eggs developing inside them in their quest to save the endangered reefs. This is a breakthrough because till now, checking corals for eggs required them to be cut open. But using the device, the corals can now be checked for eggs using a non-invasive method. This can help them assess coral reproduction and gather crucial information about its reproductive health. This process is important as scientists race to save the world's coral reefs that are facing severe threats from both global climate change and local human activities. The ultrasound platform has been made by Canon in collaboration with the United Kingdom-based conservation organisation Coral Spawning International (CSI), Popular Science reported. Aplio i700 is an advanced medical ultrasound system that is usually used on humans. Scanning corals for eggs In the experiment, six species of large polyp stony coral were scanned using the device. They were able to successfully see the coral’s skeletons and internal structures because of the powerful mixture of high- and ultra-high-frequency probes. To confirm that they were getting the right picture, scientists cut open one coral species, Trachyphyllia geoffroyi. They took high-powered images of its interior and then cross-referenced them with the ultrasound scans, which confirmed that what they saw were eggs. Canon EMEA Sustainability and Government Affairs Director Peter Bragg said that their experiment "demonstrates that imaging innovation has the power to show us what was previously unseen, creating a deeper understanding of the world around us." Coral reefs across the world are at risk of collapsing because of climate change and the warming oceans. Last month, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned that nearly all of the Earth’s coral reef ecosystems could collapse in the next 50 years. This will trigger a bigger problem for the oceans. The reefs are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet and support a quarter of marine life. Their collapse will lead to algae and sponges taking their place that cannot support such diverse marine life. Knowing when corals are holding eggs can help scientists gain critical data for breeding and work on protecting them. Ultrasound scans can reveal a pregnant coral without having to cut it open, thus making it easier to protect them.

Coral reefs across the world are in danger of collapsing in the next 50 years, and for better conservation efforts, scientists have come up with an innovative method. They are checking for eggs in corals using ultrasound to gather critical data.

Why are scientists carrying ultrasound scans on 'pregnant' corals?

A new paper published in the journal Icarus details an asteroid that may or may not even be an asteroid. When an alternate possibility is considered- that of 1998 KY26 being a comet- more problems arise. The space rock defies standard gravitational expectations. While most asteroids move predictably based purely on gravity and solar radiation pressure, 1998 KY26 is accelerating perpendicular to its orbital plane. It is also rotating once every 5.35 minutes. Scientists have failed to explain this anomalous activity.&nbsp;The bizarre movement has led astronomers to theorise that 1998 KY26 could be a comet. The path it has taken could well be because of the invisible outgassing of ice associated with dark comets. Such comets do not have a visible tail, hence the name. However, Korbin Hansen and Masatoshi Hirabayashi state in the new study that 1998 KY26 is too warm to be a comet and holds ice that can throttle it.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/doomsday-asteroid-collision-in-india-sowed-seeds-of-life-on-earth-1776090249437">Doomsday asteroid collisions, including the one in India, sowed seeds of life on Earth</a><h2>Too warm to hold onto ice</h2>For water ice to survive buried inside an asteroid, temperatures need to stay below minus 128 degrees Celsius. But the "temperature model results indicate that the water outgassing rate on 1998 KY26 would be too high to maintain buried ice, refining the understanding of the asteroid's composition." Even the coldest regions of KY26 have an average temperature of at least minus 61 degrees Celsius as it orbits around the Sun.&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">An 11-metre asteroid is speeding up &amp;amp; physics can't explain why.
No ice. No gas. No known force. Just acceleration, out of plane, spinning every 5.35 minutes.

I write for @WIONews https://t.co/ln3SRkcUrW #Gravitas @MollyGambhir&mdash; Manoj Gupta (@PassionForNews) <a href="https://x.com/PassionForNews/status/2120426914653655173?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

&nbsp;That is too warm for cometary ice to survive. The researchers calculated that at this temperature, even if water ice made up 1 per cent of KY26's mass, it would vanish in around 2,000 years. If the ice were sublimating and causing the asteroid's unusual acceleration, it would stay for just 62 years. It is not known for how long it has been on this orbit, meaning it could still have this ice left. But an earlier paper proposed that it originated in the asteroid belt, and if this is true, that ice might no longer be there. Another possibility for its unusual movement is that it is happening because of radiation pressure from the Sun.&nbsp;The mystery of this rock will be solved by Japan's &nbsp;Hayabusa2 spacecraft, which will reach asteroid KY26 in 2031. The original Hayabusa mission sent samples from Ryugu and recently performed a high-speed flyby of the 450-meter asteroid (98943) Torifune.&nbsp;

Asteroid 1998 KY26 is moving in a bizarre manner, which is not typical of asteroids. It could be a comet, except it is too warm to hold onto its ice. A new study has found that there is little chance that it is a dark comet. So, what is it?

A new paper published in the journal Icarus details an asteroid that may or may not even be an asteroid. When an alternate possibility is considered- that of 1998 KY26 being a comet- more problems arise. The space rock defies standard gravitational expectations. While most asteroids move predictably based purely on gravity and solar radiation pressure, 1998 KY26 is accelerating perpendicular to its orbital plane. It is also rotating once every 5.35 minutes. Scientists have failed to explain this anomalous activity. The bizarre movement has led astronomers to theorise that 1998 KY26 could be a comet. The path it has taken could well be because of the invisible outgassing of ice associated with dark comets. Such comets do not have a visible tail, hence the name. However, Korbin Hansen and Masatoshi Hirabayashi state in the new study that 1998 KY26 is too warm to be a comet and holds ice that can throttle it. Also Read: Doomsday asteroid collisions, including the one in India, sowed seeds of life on Earth Too warm to hold onto ice For water ice to survive buried inside an asteroid, temperatures need to stay below minus 128 degrees Celsius. But the "temperature model results indicate that the water outgassing rate on 1998 KY26 would be too high to maintain buried ice, refining the understanding of the asteroid's composition." Even the coldest regions of KY26 have an average temperature of at least minus 61 degrees Celsius as it orbits around the Sun.

Asteroid 1998 KY26 is moving in a bizarre manner, which is not typical of asteroids. It could be a comet, except it is too warm to hold onto its ice. A new study has found that there is little chance that it is a dark comet. So, what is it?

Asteroid KY26 baffles astronomers as it is found too warm to be a comet

Scientists have identified a previously unknown species of prehistoric bird, several times heavier than its modern relatives, the chicken, from a single fragment of leg bone found in a cave on the Indonesian island of Flores, the same cave that produced the ancient human relative nicknamed the "hobbit."The extinct bird, named Megapodius rokusi, was identified from a fossilised right leg bone recovered inside Liang Bua cave. The findings, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2026.2741158#abstract">published </a>in October 2026 in the journal Alcheringa, describe a bird that weighed an estimated 8.6 pounds (3.9 kilograms), making it significantly larger than the related species still found on the island today.Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/florida-s-own-jaws-moment-bull-shark-spotted-swimming-flooded-neighbourhood-video-goes-viral-watch-1793874472651">Florida's own 'Jaws' moment? Bull Shark spotted swimming flooded neighbourhood, video goes viral | WATCH</a><h2>What kind of bird was it?</h2>The species belongs to the megapodes, also known as incubator birds or mound-builders, a group of medium-sized to large ground-dwelling relatives of the chicken with powerful legs, large feet and sharp claws. Unlike most birds, which keep their eggs warm by sitting on them, megapodes bury their eggs and rely on heat from the surrounding environment to incubate them.Scientists named the species in honour of Indonesian zooarchaeologist Rokus Due Awe, who played an important role in studying animal remains from Liang Bua and helped identify early fossils belonging to Homo floresiensis.Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/one-little-banana-heist-up-police-shares-elephant-mom-calf-clip-to-teach-honesty-internet-teaches-it-a-lesson-instead-viral-video-1793435939741">'One little banana heist': UP Police shares elephant mom-calf clip to teach honesty, internet teaches it a lesson instead | Viral video</a><h2>How big was it?</h2>The fossil was discovered in 2009 but has only now been identified as belonging to a new species. It consists of the lower portion of a right leg bone, recovered from cave sediments dating back roughly 190,000 to 120,000 years.Despite having only one fragment, scientists determined the bone was larger than the equivalent bone in any other known living or extinct species of the genus Megapodius. They estimated the bird's weight at approximately 3.9 kilograms, or 8.6 pounds. By comparison, the orange-footed megapode, the only living member of the group on Flores today, weighs between about 1.1 and 2.6 pounds.The fossil also marks the first described megapode fossil from Wallacea, the island region between mainland Asia and Australia, giving researchers new information about the birds that once lived there.<h2>Could the large bird fly?</h2>Because no wing or shoulder bones were recovered, researchers cannot determine whether Megapodius rokusi was capable of flying. They also do not know exactly when the species disappeared, or whether it ever shared the island with the smaller megapodes that live there today. One possibility is that the modern species arrived on Flores only after its larger relative had already gone extinct. &nbsp;

Scientists identify Megapodius rokusi, a giant prehistoric chicken relative weighing an estimated 8.6 pounds, from a fossil found in the same Flores cave that yielded Homo floresiensis.

Scientists have identified a previously unknown species of prehistoric bird, several times heavier than its modern relatives, the chicken, from a single fragment of leg bone found in a cave on the Indonesian island of Flores, the same cave that produced the ancient human relative nicknamed the "hobbit." The extinct bird, named Megapodius rokusi, was identified from a fossilised right leg bone recovered inside Liang Bua cave. The findings, published in October 2026 in the journal Alcheringa, describe a bird that weighed an estimated 8.6 pounds (3.9 kilograms), making it significantly larger than the related species still found on the island today. Also read | Florida's own 'Jaws' moment? Bull Shark spotted swimming flooded neighbourhood, video goes viral | WATCH What kind of bird was it? The species belongs to the megapodes, also known as incubator birds or mound-builders, a group of medium-sized to large ground-dwelling relatives of the chicken with powerful legs, large feet and sharp claws. Unlike most birds, which keep their eggs warm by sitting on them, megapodes bury their eggs and rely on heat from the surrounding environment to incubate them. Scientists named the species in honour of Indonesian zooarchaeologist Rokus Due Awe, who played an important role in studying animal remains from Liang Bua and helped identify early fossils belonging to Homo floresiensis. Also read | 'One little banana heist': UP Police shares elephant mom-calf clip to teach honesty, internet teaches it a lesson instead | Viral video How big was it? The fossil was discovered in 2009 but has only now been identified as belonging to a new species. It consists of the lower portion of a right leg bone, recovered from cave sediments dating back roughly 190,000 to 120,000 years. Despite having only one fragment, scientists determined the bone was larger than the equivalent bone in any other known living or extinct species of the genus Megapodius. They estimated the bird's weight at approximately 3.9 kilograms, or 8.6 pounds. By comparison, the orange-footed megapode, the only living member of the group on Flores today, weighs between about 1.1 and 2.6 pounds. The fossil also marks the first described megapode fossil from Wallacea, the island region between mainland Asia and Australia, giving researchers new information about the birds that once lived there. Could the large bird fly? Because no wing or shoulder bones were recovered, researchers cannot determine whether Megapodius rokusi was capable of flying. They also do not know exactly when the species disappeared, or whether it ever shared the island with the smaller megapodes that live there today. One possibility is that the modern species arrived on Flores only after its larger relative had already gone extinct.

Scientists have identified a new species of extinct megapode bird from a single leg bone found in Liang Bua cave on Flores, the same site that yielded the 'hobbit.' The bird weighed an estimated 8.6 pounds, several times more than its living relative. Read the full story here.

A giant chicken from the age of the hobbit? Scientists unveil strange prehistoric discovery from Indonesia

China has laid out a detailed plan for how the country would go about landing humans in the Moon in 2030. Wang Xiang, chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program, presented a plan of the missions that will be undertaken before a crewed landing ultimately happens. Speaking during the 7th Manned Space Symposium in Beijing, he shared that the country's space agency will first have a full-scale landing rehearsal without a crew. China will also send a spacecraft into lunar orbit.&nbsp;Global Times reported that China will start with testing in Earth orbit with its Long March 10A. The rocket has no side boosters and will be used to launch the Mengzhou spacecraft with cargo to China’s Tiangong space station in early 2027. This will provide data on its workings and will demonstrate its reliability.&nbsp;Then in 2028, an uncrewed test flight will be carried out using the larger, three-stage Long March 10 rocket and the Lanyue lunar lander. The aim of the mission is to land an uncrewed lander on the Moon and lift off again. The next steps will see the lander and Mengzhou take off on two separate Long March rockets for a full-scale mission in 2029. The two will attempt to dock in lunar orbit in the final tests.<h2>Successful rehearsal will open doors to a human landing</h2>&nbsp;A successful docking of Lanyue and Mengzhou will be crucial in China's ambition to land humans on the Moon. For the ultimate mission, three taikonauts will be chosen and sent to the Moon. Two of them will land on the lunar surface, while one will remain in the module. They will remain there for three Earth days and carry out extravehicular activities.&nbsp;Soon after the comprehensive plan was announced, Chinese social media was flooded with videos showing preparations for the upcoming test flights at Wenchang spaceport. According to SpaceNews, videos showing large containers for the upcoming rehearsal were shared on the internet.&nbsp;Meanwhile, NASA has talked about its ambitious Artemis 4 mission, as part of which it wants to land astronauts on the lunar surface in early 2028. But while China now has a clear plan, NASA still seems to be hunting for the perfect plan.&nbsp;

China has announced a detailed plan for its mission to land humans on the Moon in 2030. There are clear missions that would be undertaken before the ultimate landing, revealing that China might be way ahead of NASA at the moment.

China has laid out a detailed plan for how the country would go about landing humans in the Moon in 2030. Wang Xiang, chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program, presented a plan of the missions that will be undertaken before a crewed landing ultimately happens. Speaking during the 7th Manned Space Symposium in Beijing, he shared that the country's space agency will first have a full-scale landing rehearsal without a crew. China will also send a spacecraft into lunar orbit. Global Times reported that China will start with testing in Earth orbit with its Long March 10A. The rocket has no side boosters and will be used to launch the Mengzhou spacecraft with cargo to China’s Tiangong space station in early 2027. This will provide data on its workings and will demonstrate its reliability. Then in 2028, an uncrewed test flight will be carried out using the larger, three-stage Long March 10 rocket and the Lanyue lunar lander. The aim of the mission is to land an uncrewed lander on the Moon and lift off again. The next steps will see the lander and Mengzhou take off on two separate Long March rockets for a full-scale mission in 2029. The two will attempt to dock in lunar orbit in the final tests. Successful rehearsal will open doors to a human landing A successful docking of Lanyue and Mengzhou will be crucial in China's ambition to land humans on the Moon. For the ultimate mission, three taikonauts will be chosen and sent to the Moon. Two of them will land on the lunar surface, while one will remain in the module. They will remain there for three Earth days and carry out extravehicular activities. Soon after the comprehensive plan was announced, Chinese social media was flooded with videos showing preparations for the upcoming test flights at Wenchang spaceport. According to SpaceNews, videos showing large containers for the upcoming rehearsal were shared on the internet. Meanwhile, NASA has talked about its ambitious Artemis 4 mission, as part of which it wants to land astronauts on the lunar surface in early 2028. But while China now has a clear plan, NASA still seems to be hunting for the perfect plan.

China has announced a detailed plan for its mission to land humans on the Moon in 2030. There are clear missions that will be undertaken before the ultimate landing, revealing that China might be way ahead of NASA at the moment.

China announces clear 4-year plan to land humans on the Moon in 2030

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory crashed on Wednesday (Nov 4) after its orbit weakened and a mission failed to save it. The nearly 1,500-kilogram telescope re-entered Earth's atmosphere at 7:39 am EST (6:09 pm IST) over northern Sumatra, satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell said, citing Space Force data. Most of the spacecraft burned up, with no news yet of any debris that may have survived. NASA had said that the crash would not be hazardous, with only a 1 in 2,100 chance of causing any damage.&nbsp;Swift was being dragged after its orbit started weakening due to solar storms and other reasons. The spacecraft was launched in 2004 and studied some of the most powerful gamma rays in the universe for 22 years. But then it started falling in the past few years. NASA did not want to let go of it this easily. It awarded Katalyst Space the contract to build a spacecraft that could catch Swift, carry it upwards and place it in a more stable orbit.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/neil-gehrels-swift-observatory-crashes-time-of-entry-and-risk-to-humans-1793764190199">Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory crashes today: Time of entry and where debris could fall</a><h2>Robotic arms launched to save Swift failed</h2>&nbsp;The LINK mission was launched in July this year. It was supposed to align with Swift, and then its three robotic arms were supposed to carry it to a more stable orbit. It was even captured near the observatory a few weeks later. However, it went into an uncontrollable spin which could not be fixed. Meanwhile, Swift had dropped from 600 km above Earth's surface to around 360 km. By 300 km, it became impossible to save it, and NASA announced that the observatory would tumble down by November.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/swift-telescope-to-crash-on-earth-this-month-does-it-pose-a-danger-1793628236563">Swift telescope to crash on Earth this month - What to expect, and does it pose a danger?</a>&nbsp;LINK crashed back on Earth on September 25. "From the beginning, this was a high-risk, high-reward mission," Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA's Astrophysics Division, said in a statement. He added that even though the mission failed, "this boost effort would be worthwhile either way — advancing U.S. spacecraft servicing technology, challenging us to meet unprecedented mission timelines, and testing how we operate satellites to extend their time in low Earth orbit."&nbsp;Praising the Swift's achievements, Domagal-Goldman said, "Swift delivered an incredible, lasting return on investment for the nation, designed for a two-year primary mission but productive for more than 10 times as long." He added that Swift "advanced our understanding of the changing universe and was part of a revolution in astrophysics."&nbsp;Over 22 years, Swift observed more than 2,000 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and 1,400 supernovas.&nbsp;

Swift telescope crashed on Wednesday, ending a journey of 22 years during which time it observed more than 2,000 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and 1,400 supernovas. It burnt up over Sumatra, but some debris could have made it down to Earth.

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory crashed on Wednesday (Nov 4) after its orbit weakened and a mission failed to save it. The nearly 1,500-kilogram telescope re-entered Earth's atmosphere at 7:39 am EST (6:09 pm IST) over northern Sumatra, satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell said, citing Space Force data. Most of the spacecraft burned up, with no news yet of any debris that may have survived. NASA had said that the crash would not be hazardous, with only a 1 in 2,100 chance of causing any damage. Swift was being dragged after its orbit started weakening due to solar storms and other reasons. The spacecraft was launched in 2004 and studied some of the most powerful gamma rays in the universe for 22 years. But then it started falling in the past few years. NASA did not want to let go of it this easily. It awarded Katalyst Space the contract to build a spacecraft that could catch Swift, carry it upwards and place it in a more stable orbit. Also Read: Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory crashes today: Time of entry and where debris could fall Robotic arms launched to save Swift failed The LINK mission was launched in July this year. It was supposed to align with Swift, and then its three robotic arms were supposed to carry it to a more stable orbit. It was even captured near the observatory a few weeks later. However, it went into an uncontrollable spin which could not be fixed. Meanwhile, Swift had dropped from 600 km above Earth's surface to around 360 km. By 300 km, it became impossible to save it, and NASA announced that the observatory would tumble down by November. Also Read: Swift telescope to crash on Earth this month - What to expect, and does it pose a danger? LINK crashed back on Earth on September 25. "From the beginning, this was a high-risk, high-reward mission," Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA's Astrophysics Division, said in a statement. He added that even though the mission failed, "this boost effort would be worthwhile either way — advancing U.S. spacecraft servicing technology, challenging us to meet unprecedented mission timelines, and testing how we operate satellites to extend their time in low Earth orbit." Praising the Swift's achievements, Domagal-Goldman said, "Swift delivered an incredible, lasting return on investment for the nation, designed for a two-year primary mission but productive for more than 10 times as long." He added that Swift "advanced our understanding of the changing universe and was part of a revolution in astrophysics." Over 22 years, Swift observed more than 2,000 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and 1,400 supernovas.

Swift telescope crashed on Wednesday, ending a journey of 22 years during which time it observed more than 2,000 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and 1,400 supernovas. It burnt up over Sumatra, but some debris could have made it down to Earth.

Swift has crashed, ending a 22-year mission: Where did it burn up and did debris survive?

Earth got a new moon in April this year, and it was first observed in August. Astronomers suspected 2026 QQ8 could also be a piece of space debris. But further analysis confirmed that it was likely an asteroid that got caught in Earth's gravity. It is only about three feet and goes around our planet in a weird and loopy orbit. It will stay with us until December before escaping.&nbsp;Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky first spotted 2026 QQ8 on August 20, according to a statement from the Minor Planet Center on October 29, 2026. She determined that the object entered Earth's orbit in April this year. But doubts remained that it could also be of technological origin from an old piece of rocket. Astronomers scanned data from the University of Hawaii 2.2-meter telescope and the Lowell Discovery Telescope. This revealed that it was a natural cosmic object.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/could-quasi-moon-2025-pn7-be-of-technological-origin-scientists-raise-doubt-1761629211209">Could quasi-moon 2025 PN7 be of technological origin? Scientists raise doubt</a><h2>Could the mini-moon pose a threat?</h2>&nbsp;Astronomers have calculated that 2026 QQ8 will remain about 0.0038 astronomical units (AU) away from Earth, about 1 and a half times farther than our own moon. Since it is quite small, even if it were to enter the atmosphere, it would burn up into a fiery ball.&nbsp;Orbital data also revealed that 2026 QQ8 comes near Earth every 10 years or so, although it doesn't always become a mini-moon. It came quite close in 1965, EarthSky reported, but still managed to stay out of the Hill radius. This is a theoretical boundary inside which Earth's gravity dominates, and outside of which the Sun becomes overpowering. But this time, 2026 QQ8 managed to breach this boundary, and ended up becoming a mini-moon.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/earth-has-hosted-mini-moons-before-and-one-of-them-will-revisit-in-27-years-764394">Earth has had two moons in the past. One of the mini-moons has visited twice and will return in 27 years</a><h2>Other mini-moons</h2>&nbsp;Earth previously got a mini-moon in 2024 when asteroid 2024 PT5 was captured on September 29. It was discovered on August 7 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) by Carlos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos, researchers at Spain’s Universidad Complutense de Madrid. It is a resident of the Arjuna asteroid belt. The 37-foot space rock left us on November 25 of the same year.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/when-will-earth-get-its-next-mini-moon-a-1981-and-2022-visitor-returns-in-778199">When will Earth get its next mini-moon? A 1981 and 2022 visitor returns in…</a><h2>Quasi-moon</h2>We also got a quasi-moon in 2025. Asteroid 2025 PN7 was discovered by the Pan-STARRS observatory on Haleakala in Hawaii on August 29, 2025. A quasi-moon is different from a mini-moon, because it is not orbiting our planet. It instead goes around the Sun, sharing Earth's orbit. Data scoured from past observations revealed that 2025 PN7 has been in this place for 60 years and won't go away for another 60 years. Earth has had other quasi-moons as well, including Cardea, Kamo‘oalewa and four others.

A new mini-moon has been orbiting Earth since April this year. Asteroid 2026 QQ8 was caught in Earth's gravity and became a temporary satellite. It has been confirmed to be of natural origin. The latest mini-moon has a loopy orbit and it is also quite tiny.

Earth got a new moon in April this year, and it was first observed in August. Astronomers suspected 2026 QQ8 could also be a piece of space debris. But further analysis confirmed that it was likely an asteroid that got caught in Earth's gravity. It is only about three feet and goes around our planet in a weird and loopy orbit. It will stay with us until December before escaping. Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky first spotted 2026 QQ8 on August 20, according to a statement from the Minor Planet Center on October 29, 2026. She determined that the object entered Earth's orbit in April this year. But doubts remained that it could also be of technological origin from an old piece of rocket. Astronomers scanned data from the University of Hawaii 2.2-meter telescope and the Lowell Discovery Telescope. This revealed that it was a natural cosmic object. Also Read: Could quasi-moon 2025 PN7 be of technological origin? Scientists raise doubt Could the mini-moon pose a threat? Astronomers have calculated that 2026 QQ8 will remain about 0.0038 astronomical units (AU) away from Earth, about 1 and a half times farther than our own moon. Since it is quite small, even if it were to enter the atmosphere, it would burn up into a fiery ball. Orbital data also revealed that 2026 QQ8 comes near Earth every 10 years or so, although it doesn't always become a mini-moon. It came quite close in 1965, EarthSky reported, but still managed to stay out of the Hill radius. This is a theoretical boundary inside which Earth's gravity dominates, and outside of which the Sun becomes overpowering. But this time, 2026 QQ8 managed to breach this boundary, and ended up becoming a mini-moon. Also Read: Earth has had two moons in the past. One of the mini-moons has visited twice and will return in 27 years Other mini-moons Earth previously got a mini-moon in 2024 when asteroid 2024 PT5 was captured on September 29. It was discovered on August 7 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) by Carlos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos, researchers at Spain’s Universidad Complutense de Madrid. It is a resident of the Arjuna asteroid belt. The 37-foot space rock left us on November 25 of the same year. Also Read: When will Earth get its next mini-moon? A 1981 and 2022 visitor returns in… Quasi-moon We also got a quasi-moon in 2025. Asteroid 2025 PN7 was discovered by the Pan-STARRS observatory on Haleakala in Hawaii on August 29, 2025. A quasi-moon is different from a mini-moon, because it is not orbiting our planet. It instead goes around the Sun, sharing Earth's orbit. Data scoured from past observations revealed that 2025 PN7 has been in this place for 60 years and won't go away for another 60 years. Earth has had other quasi-moons as well, including Cardea, Kamo‘oalewa and four others.

A new mini-moon has been orbiting Earth since April this year. Asteroid 2026 QQ8 was caught in Earth's gravity and became a temporary satellite. It has been confirmed to be of natural origin. The latest mini-moon has a loopy orbit and it is also quite tiny.

10-year cosmic visitor: Earth has a new 'Lilliputian' mini-moon

Scientists in China have detected a signal from a star system about 238 light-years from Earth, and it matches the type of signals astronomers look for in their quest to find alien life. The researchers wrote in a study that the signal was extremely narrowly focused, and such signals rarely originate from natural cosmic processes. However, they are known to come from artificial transmitters. This has led to questions around whether this signal could have actually come from another life form in the universe. The study was published in The Astronomical Journal.&nbsp;The scientists were going through observations of 33 planetary systems on the FAST telescope collected in 2021 and testing new software when they stumbled upon the signal. Many of its features have triggered curiosity about whether it could have been artificially generated. The star system K2-155 has three “super-Earths”. One of them orbits its star in the habitable zone, meaning where water can exist in liquid form.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/scientists-detect-first-radio-signals-directly-from-faraway-planet-1790165445948">Scientists detect first radio signals directly from faraway planet</a><h2>Why the signal appears to be artificially generated</h2>&nbsp;Named NBS 260108, it was picked up as a steady radio tone concentrated around a single frequency. Such signals aren't believed to be the result of natural processes in the universe. There were a total of 19 beams, and this signal appeared only in the telescope beam aimed at K2-155. Another classic sign of transmissions from distant technology is a steady shift in the frequency. This also happened with NBS 260108.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/88-days-apart-twice-mystery-signal-detected-coming-from-empty-space-1792056124449">88 days apart, twice: Mystery signal detected coming from empty region of space</a>&nbsp;The team says further improvements in technology are needed to verify whether this mysterious signal actually came from deep space, or was it a false alarm caused by human-made interference on Earth. They will now compare the original recordings from all 19 telescope beams to determine its position and motion.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science-tech/this-radio-signal-is-coming-from-a-place-that-is-bending-the-rules-of-physics-8896132">Deep space radio signal travels from a place defying the rules of universe</a>&nbsp;K2-155 remains a candidate for finding alien life because its planet, K2-155d, is near the habitable zone. It is nearly 1.6 times bigger than Earth and orbits around its star in 40.7 days. "This system’s habitable-zone super-Earth made it an intriguing SETI [the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence] target," the authors wrote.<h2>Radio signal is not natural</h2>Scientists were looking for radio transmissions from the star system, as that could mean the presence of an advanced civilisation. When the signal's frequency shifts, it could be attributed to the movement of a transmitter located at a far-off place. This signal shifted to a lower radio frequency. It appeared on the charts as a thin, slightly slanted streak against the surrounding background.&nbsp;The signal is now being analysed with the aim of answering "one of humanity’s oldest scientific questions - whether intelligent life exists beyond Earth." But finding the origin of any signal coming from space isn't going to be easy.&nbsp; &nbsp;

A radio signal has been detected from a star system which has three super-Earths. It has all the features of a transmission that scientists look for when searching for alien technology. Could we have found our first planet with extraterrestrial life? Was this the first handshake?

Scientists in China have detected a signal from a star system about 238 light-years from Earth, and it matches the type of signals astronomers look for in their quest to find alien life. The researchers wrote in a study that the signal was extremely narrowly focused, and such signals rarely originate from natural cosmic processes. However, they are known to come from artificial transmitters. This has led to questions around whether this signal could have actually come from another life form in the universe. The study was published in The Astronomical Journal. The scientists were going through observations of 33 planetary systems on the FAST telescope collected in 2021 and testing new software when they stumbled upon the signal. Many of its features have triggered curiosity about whether it could have been artificially generated. The star system K2-155 has three “super-Earths”. One of them orbits its star in the habitable zone, meaning where water can exist in liquid form. Also Read: Scientists detect first radio signals directly from faraway planet Why the signal appears to be artificially generated Named NBS 260108, it was picked up as a steady radio tone concentrated around a single frequency. Such signals aren't believed to be the result of natural processes in the universe. There were a total of 19 beams, and this signal appeared only in the telescope beam aimed at K2-155. Another classic sign of transmissions from distant technology is a steady shift in the frequency. This also happened with NBS 260108. Also Read: 88 days apart, twice: Mystery signal detected coming from empty region of space The team says further improvements in technology are needed to verify whether this mysterious signal actually came from deep space, or was it a false alarm caused by human-made interference on Earth. They will now compare the original recordings from all 19 telescope beams to determine its position and motion. Also Read: Deep space radio signal travels from a place defying the rules of universe K2-155 remains a candidate for finding alien life because its planet, K2-155d, is near the habitable zone. It is nearly 1.6 times bigger than Earth and orbits around its star in 40.7 days. "This system’s habitable-zone super-Earth made it an intriguing SETI [the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence] target," the authors wrote. Radio signal is not natural Scientists were looking for radio transmissions from the star system, as that could mean the presence of an advanced civilisation. When the signal's frequency shifts, it could be attributed to the movement of a transmitter located at a far-off place. This signal shifted to a lower radio frequency. It appeared on the charts as a thin, slightly slanted streak against the surrounding background. The signal is now being analysed with the aim of answering "one of humanity’s oldest scientific questions - whether intelligent life exists beyond Earth." But finding the origin of any signal coming from space isn't going to be easy.

A radio signal has been detected from a star system which has three super-Earths. It has all the features of a transmission that scientists look for when searching for alien technology. Could we have found our first planet with extraterrestrial life? Was this the first handshake?

First handshake? Radio signal with all hallmarks of alien technology detected in China

NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on Wednesday (Nov 4) after remaining in orbit for 22 years. The LINK mission to save it earlier this year failed, after which the space agency declared that the telescope will crash in the coming days. The 1,500-kilogram observatory was launched in 2004 and observed the brightest explosions in the universe. But solar storms weakened its orbit, causing a drag on it. NASA tried saving it, but the robotic arms couldn't catch up to Swift as it fell further.&nbsp;The US Space Force has predicted that Swift will re-enter the atmosphere at approximately 3:30 am EST (2 pm IST), with a margin of 11 hours. It expects most of the spacecraft to burn up in the atmosphere, but some pieces might survive and fall in certain areas on the ground.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/swift-telescope-to-crash-on-earth-this-month-does-it-pose-a-danger-1793628236563">Swift telescope to crash on Earth this month - What to expect, and does it pose a danger?</a><h2>Where can Swift pieces fall?</h2> According to estimates, the fragments from Swift will fall somewhere between 20.6 degrees south latitude and 20.6 degrees north latitude. This band covers a vast amount of open ocean, deserts, rainforests, as well as populated areas.&nbsp;&nbsp;This comprises parts of Mexico, Caribbean islands and parts of Central America, northern Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana in South America, North, West, and Central Africa, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, southern India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines, and vast stretches of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.&nbsp;NASA and Space Force have said that the overall risk of any damage on Earth to human life and property is only about 1 in 2,100.<h2>What went wrong with Swift?</h2>&nbsp;Swift has studied gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe, since being launched in 2004. But in the past few years, its orbit started decaying. This primarily happened because of the intense solar activity. In the last two years, it dropped from 600 km above Earth's surface to around 360 km.&nbsp;NASA enrolled Katalyst Space to try and save the spacecraft. In eight months, the company &nbsp;"designed, built, tested, and integrated a robotic spacecraft". It was launched on July 3 with the intent to carry it upwards and place Swift in a stable orbit. However, the LINK mission went into an uncontrollable spin a few weeks later. It was even captured on camera near Swift at one point, but failed to achieve its mission.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory will crash on November 4 in the early hours of the US morning, or afternoon in India. The telescope has been falling for days and will now re-enter Earth's atmosphere. NASA has identified the places that could see some debris.

NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on Wednesday (Nov 4) after remaining in orbit for 22 years. The LINK mission to save it earlier this year failed, after which the space agency declared that the telescope will crash in the coming days. The 1,500-kilogram observatory was launched in 2004 and observed the brightest explosions in the universe. But solar storms weakened its orbit, causing a drag on it. NASA tried saving it, but the robotic arms couldn't catch up to Swift as it fell further. The US Space Force has predicted that Swift will re-enter the atmosphere at approximately 3:30 am EST (2 pm IST), with a margin of 11 hours. It expects most of the spacecraft to burn up in the atmosphere, but some pieces might survive and fall in certain areas on the ground. Also Read: Swift telescope to crash on Earth this month - What to expect, and does it pose a danger? Where can Swift pieces fall? According to estimates, the fragments from Swift will fall somewhere between 20.6 degrees south latitude and 20.6 degrees north latitude. This band covers a vast amount of open ocean, deserts, rainforests, as well as populated areas. This comprises parts of Mexico, Caribbean islands and parts of Central America, northern Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana in South America, North, West, and Central Africa, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, southern India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines, and vast stretches of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. NASA and Space Force have said that the overall risk of any damage on Earth to human life and property is only about 1 in 2,100. What went wrong with Swift? Swift has studied gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe, since being launched in 2004. But in the past few years, its orbit started decaying. This primarily happened because of the intense solar activity. In the last two years, it dropped from 600 km above Earth's surface to around 360 km. NASA enrolled Katalyst Space to try and save the spacecraft. In eight months, the company "designed, built, tested, and integrated a robotic spacecraft". It was launched on July 3 with the intent to carry it upwards and place Swift in a stable orbit. However, the LINK mission went into an uncontrollable spin a few weeks later. It was even captured on camera near Swift at one point, but failed to achieve its mission.

Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory will crash on November 4 in the early hours of the US morning, or afternoon in India. The telescope has been falling for days and will now re-enter Earth's atmosphere. NASA has identified the places that could see some debris.

Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory crashes today: Time of entry and where debris could fall

Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider have led scientists to stumble upon signals from a particle which is 100 billion times smaller than an atom. This small size has led some scientists to dub it the zeptoverse. The word zeptoverse refers to the realm of ultra-small distance scales, around a zeptometre or a trillionth of a billionth of a metre. It could prove crucial in the discovery of dark matter, as scientists think that this subatomic particle interacts with this invisible force. The LHC is located at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (Cern), and inside it, atoms are smashed together to see what lies inside them.&nbsp;In one such experiment, particles were smashed together at high energy and the fragments of this collision were scientists studied in detail. One such particle was the beauty quark, much, much smaller than even the atom. It exists for only one and a half trillionths of a second before breaking down. This decay process occurs in only 1 out of every 10 billion beauty particles. But this small timespan was enough to see what it was doing. The quark was noticed interacting with other tiny particles at a scale of a billion-trillionth of a metre.&nbsp;Previous theories suggest that some particles are more sensitive to dark matter at this scale. Dark matter could also be affecting beauty quarks and deciding how they break down. This could lead scientists to finally detect dark matter. Scientists want to explore this possibly new particle and see what could be inside the zeptoverse.&nbsp;The Large Hadron Collider is being upgraded to increase the frequency of these decays tenfold. Twenty-eight countries involved in the project have agreed to contribute a total of £150m towards it. However, the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) agency has pulled out of the financial commitment, including cuts to several other particle physics and astronomy projects. This despite the fact that scientists based in Cambridge were leading the research.

Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider detected signals at the ultra-small "zeptoverse" scale, where decaying beauty quarks could help unveil mysterious dark matter.

Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider have led scientists to stumble upon signals from a particle which is 100 billion times smaller than an atom. This small size has led some scientists to dub it the zeptoverse. The word zeptoverse refers to the realm of ultra-small distance scales, around a zeptometre or a trillionth of a billionth of a metre. It could prove crucial in the discovery of dark matter, as scientists think that this subatomic particle interacts with this invisible force. The LHC is located at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (Cern), and inside it, atoms are smashed together to see what lies inside them. In one such experiment, particles were smashed together at high energy and the fragments of this collision were scientists studied in detail. One such particle was the beauty quark, much, much smaller than even the atom. It exists for only one and a half trillionths of a second before breaking down. This decay process occurs in only 1 out of every 10 billion beauty particles. But this small timespan was enough to see what it was doing. The quark was noticed interacting with other tiny particles at a scale of a billion-trillionth of a metre. Previous theories suggest that some particles are more sensitive to dark matter at this scale. Dark matter could also be affecting beauty quarks and deciding how they break down. This could lead scientists to finally detect dark matter. Scientists want to explore this possibly new particle and see what could be inside the zeptoverse. The Large Hadron Collider is being upgraded to increase the frequency of these decays tenfold. Twenty-eight countries involved in the project have agreed to contribute a total of £150m towards it. However, the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) agency has pulled out of the financial commitment, including cuts to several other particle physics and astronomy projects. This despite the fact that scientists based in Cambridge were leading the research.

Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider detected signals at the ultra-small "zeptoverse" scale, where decaying beauty quarks could help unveil mysterious dark matter.

Scientists detect signal from beauty particle 100bn times smaller than atom. It could lead us to dark matter

Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth, but weeks before this historic event, the spacecraft left NASA in a tizzy when the engineers could not contact it for over 24 hours. In mid-October, NASA engineers failed to detect its radio signal twice in a 24 hour gap. The contact was re-established the next day, but they are still trying to work out what went wrong.&nbsp;Voyager 1 was launched in 1977 to study Jupiter and Saturn closely, including their rings and moons. It completed the two flyby for 1980, and yet continued to remain active and move ahead. Today, it is the farthest man-made object in space. On November 18, 2026, it will reach one light-day from Earth, that is the distance that light takes to travel in 24 hours.&nbsp;NASA relies on Deep Space Network (DSN), an array of giant radio antennas, to communicate with Voyager 1. However, on October 18 and 19, NASA was jolted when it failed to establish contact with Voyager. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a statement on 29 October 2026 that all communications returned back to normal on October 20 without the engineers having sent any command. The reason for the loss remains a mystery, although investigations are going on. Till now, scientists have established that one group of thrusters went offline on the spacecraft and the backup thrusters turned on. This switch is built into the programming in case the active thrusters experience some problem.&nbsp;According to JPL, this is known as automatic response fault protection and it puts the probe into a safe, or stable, configuration. All normal operations are put on hold while the engineers identify the issue.&nbsp;“This is the first time we’ve seen the spacecraft do something like this, but we are also at a point in the mission where we have to expect the unexpected,” Kareem Badaruddin, Voyager mission manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said in a statement.&nbsp;Voyager 1 is travelling at a speed of 611,55 kilometres per hour and will be 25.89 billion km from Earth on November 18. At this distance, light takes 24 hours to travel. Radio waves already take 24 hours to reach the probe. “If you want to say ‘hello’ to Voyager, you send your message and then you go home and you wait two days before you finally get a response,” Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager at JPL, said.&nbsp;To keep the probe going, NASA has switched off several scientific instruments which helps save power. It is powered by heat from decaying plutonium, which is converted into electricity.&nbsp;

A month before Voyager 1 was supposed to reach a historic milestone, it stopped communicating with NASA engineers on Earth for 24 hours. Communication returned the next day automatically. The space agency is trying to understand what went wrong.

Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth, but weeks before this historic event, the spacecraft left NASA in a tizzy when the engineers could not contact it for over 24 hours. In mid-October, NASA engineers failed to detect its radio signal twice in a 24 hour gap. The contact was re-established the next day, but they are still trying to work out what went wrong. Voyager 1 was launched in 1977 to study Jupiter and Saturn closely, including their rings and moons. It completed the two flyby for 1980, and yet continued to remain active and move ahead. Today, it is the farthest man-made object in space. On November 18, 2026, it will reach one light-day from Earth, that is the distance that light takes to travel in 24 hours. NASA relies on Deep Space Network (DSN), an array of giant radio antennas, to communicate with Voyager 1. However, on October 18 and 19, NASA was jolted when it failed to establish contact with Voyager. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a statement on 29 October 2026 that all communications returned back to normal on October 20 without the engineers having sent any command. The reason for the loss remains a mystery, although investigations are going on. Till now, scientists have established that one group of thrusters went offline on the spacecraft and the backup thrusters turned on. This switch is built into the programming in case the active thrusters experience some problem. According to JPL, this is known as automatic response fault protection and it puts the probe into a safe, or stable, configuration. All normal operations are put on hold while the engineers identify the issue. “This is the first time we’ve seen the spacecraft do something like this, but we are also at a point in the mission where we have to expect the unexpected,” Kareem Badaruddin, Voyager mission manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said in a statement. Voyager 1 is travelling at a speed of 611,55 kilometres per hour and will be 25.89 billion km from Earth on November 18. At this distance, light takes 24 hours to travel. Radio waves already take 24 hours to reach the probe. “If you want to say ‘hello’ to Voyager, you send your message and then you go home and you wait two days before you finally get a response,” Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager at JPL, said. To keep the probe going, NASA has switched off several scientific instruments which helps save power. It is powered by heat from decaying plutonium, which is converted into electricity.

A month before Voyager 1 was supposed to reach a historic milestone, it stopped communicating with NASA engineers on Earth for 24 hours. Communication returned the next day automatically. The space agency is trying to understand what went wrong.

Voyager 1 mysteriously loses contact with NASA. 24 hours later, it came back by itself

After a robotic arm failed to save the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, the spacecraft is set to crash some time this month. It will make an uncontrolled reentry into Earth's atmosphere. The telescope was launched in November 2004 and 22 years later, is set to tumble down, marking an end to it mission. Earlier this year, NASA tried to save it by launching a private mission to elevate its orbit. But the rescue machine could not catch up to it in time. Swift had fallen to an altitude from where it was impossible to save it.&nbsp;Over two decades, Swift studied gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe. &nbsp;But recently, the telescope's low Earth orbit began to rapidly decay. Solar storms made the situation worse, and caused it to drag. This meant that it would inevitably crash. This was expected to happen by early 2027. From 600 km above Earth's surface, it dropped to around 360 km. Most of this drag and drop happened in the last two years.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/swift-telescope-set-to-crash-on-earth-as-nasa-declares-saviour-mission-link-has-failed-1787196105498">Swift telescope set to crash on Earth as NASA declares saviour mission LINK has failed</a><h2>Saviour mission LINK</h2>&nbsp;NASA could simply let it go, or save it. It decided to take a step towards keeping it functioning in space. &nbsp;It awarded a contract to Katalyst Space for it. The company successfully "designed, built, tested, and integrated a robotic spacecraft" to rescue Swift. In June, the changes of the telescope crashing stood at 50 per cent. The LINK spacecraft, with its three robotic arms, launched on July 3. It was supposed to carry the telescope to a higher and more stable orbit.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasa-launches-link-to-catch-swift-observatory-in-space-1783079815337">NASA launches LINK to catch 22-year-old Swift observatory in space - Details</a>&nbsp;But weeks later, it went into an uncontrollable spin. NASA and Katalyst tried to save the mission, but nothing could be done. The 1,500-kilogram observatory had fallen to 300 kilometres and could no longer escape the effects of the increased drag. In August, NASA and Katalyst announced that the mission had failed. "Following continued monitoring and assessment of the LINK spacecraft, Katalyst Space and NASA together have concluded that ​due to ongoing attitude control issues, the mission will not include the capture ​and boost of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory," they said in a joint statement.<h2>Does Swift's fall pose a danger to humans?</h2> Experts expect the observatory to disintegrate in the atmosphere, with only a few fragments crashing. Even these are expected to fall in the ocean. According to Dean Sladen, a quality manager and aerospace engineer at the UK precision-components supplier Accu Components, said that "Swift's orbit only passes over a band within about 21 degrees of the equator", and most of this region comprises only ocean, although it also crosses populated parts of Africa, South and Southeast Asia and Latin America.&nbsp;He told Space.com, that its aluminium body, wiring and electronics will melt upon reentry. "Six heavy reaction wheels, the spinning flywheels it used to aim itself, along with tougher telescope parts such as lenses and mirrors" are likely to make it down. While NASA has not released a risk assessment report yet, it is expected to do so in the coming days. "The risk is almost certainly very small, but it would give people a clear, factual picture rather than guesswork," he said.

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is set to crash this month. NASA could not save it with the LINK mission. Where would the telescope crash, and does it pose a danger to humans? Can it fall on populated areas?

After a robotic arm failed to save the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, the spacecraft is set to crash some time this month. It will make an uncontrolled reentry into Earth's atmosphere. The telescope was launched in November 2004 and 22 years later, is set to tumble down, marking an end to it mission. Earlier this year, NASA tried to save it by launching a private mission to elevate its orbit. But the rescue machine could not catch up to it in time. Swift had fallen to an altitude from where it was impossible to save it. Over two decades, Swift studied gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe. But recently, the telescope's low Earth orbit began to rapidly decay. Solar storms made the situation worse, and caused it to drag. This meant that it would inevitably crash. This was expected to happen by early 2027. From 600 km above Earth's surface, it dropped to around 360 km. Most of this drag and drop happened in the last two years. Also Read: Swift telescope set to crash on Earth as NASA declares saviour mission LINK has failed Saviour mission LINK NASA could simply let it go, or save it. It decided to take a step towards keeping it functioning in space. It awarded a contract to Katalyst Space for it. The company successfully "designed, built, tested, and integrated a robotic spacecraft" to rescue Swift. In June, the changes of the telescope crashing stood at 50 per cent. The LINK spacecraft, with its three robotic arms, launched on July 3. It was supposed to carry the telescope to a higher and more stable orbit. Also Read: NASA launches LINK to catch 22-year-old Swift observatory in space - Details But weeks later, it went into an uncontrollable spin. NASA and Katalyst tried to save the mission, but nothing could be done. The 1,500-kilogram observatory had fallen to 300 kilometres and could no longer escape the effects of the increased drag. In August, NASA and Katalyst announced that the mission had failed. "Following continued monitoring and assessment of the LINK spacecraft, Katalyst Space and NASA together have concluded that due to ongoing attitude control issues, the mission will not include the capture and boost of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory," they said in a joint statement. Does Swift's fall pose a danger to humans? Experts expect the observatory to disintegrate in the atmosphere, with only a few fragments crashing. Even these are expected to fall in the ocean. According to Dean Sladen, a quality manager and aerospace engineer at the UK precision-components supplier Accu Components, said that "Swift's orbit only passes over a band within about 21 degrees of the equator", and most of this region comprises only ocean, although it also crosses populated parts of Africa, South and Southeast Asia and Latin America. He told Space.com, that its aluminium body, wiring and electronics will melt upon reentry. "Six heavy reaction wheels, the spinning flywheels it used to aim itself, along with tougher telescope parts such as lenses and mirrors" are likely to make it down. While NASA has not released a risk assessment report yet, it is expected to do so in the coming days. "The risk is almost certainly very small, but it would give people a clear, factual picture rather than guesswork," he said.

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is set to crash this month. NASA could not save it with the LINK mission. Where would the telescope crash, and does it pose a danger to humans? Can it fall on populated areas?

Swift telescope to crash on Earth this month - What to expect, and does it pose a danger?

The Hubble Space Telescope is expected to crash to Earth somewhere in the early 2030s. NASA is inviting companies to help save it, preparing the entire mission, including planning it, preparing a spacecraft which it would also need to launch itself and recruiting any staff that might be required. Hubble launched in 1990, and NASA knew even before that it would one day start dragging downward. Saving it was one of the agendas along with the launch. It would need to be safely captured and elevated to an altitude of 600 kilometres, besides fine-tuning its performance. However, if none of that is possible, the company would need to guide it on a controlled reentry back to Earth.&nbsp;Even though it has been 36 years since Hubble launched, NASA says there is still a lot that it needs to achieve. "Hubble still has important science ahead of it, and we should be looking at every reasonable opportunity to keep it delivering for as long as possible," said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman in a post. He added that it is important to explore cost-effective ways to save an “asset already in orbit.”<h2>Hubble's history</h2> After being launched, Hubble became an eye in space for astronomers that could peer into the universe's past. In 2002, Space Shuttle Columbia moved it upwards into orbit. But the drag was inevitable, and the telescope was going to fall one day. With no solution in sight, the space agency has issued a call to the private sector.&nbsp;In a Request for Information (RFI) released on October 29, NASA has called on commercial players to offer a solution to raise the altitude of Hubble. It is also asking for proposals on how to execute a controlled disposal if no other solution is available. Private players with plenty of satellites in space and vying to add more constellations could come up with an offer. They have been asked to submit their proposals before November 30.&nbsp;For NASA, to undertake the task itself might be a huge challenge as it is already short on funds. Colombia has already retired, so there is no existing means to do that. Its budget has already been reduced by eons, leaving it to choose which projects get priority.&nbsp;

NASA is asking commercial space companies to offer a solution to save the 36-year-old Hubble Space Telescope. It is being dragged down by gravity and is expected to crash early next decade. Scientists are hoping that someone will step in.

The Hubble Space Telescope is expected to crash to Earth somewhere in the early 2030s. NASA is inviting companies to help save it, preparing the entire mission, including planning it, preparing a spacecraft which it would also need to launch itself and recruiting any staff that might be required. Hubble launched in 1990, and NASA knew even before that it would one day start dragging downward. Saving it was one of the agendas along with the launch. It would need to be safely captured and elevated to an altitude of 600 kilometres, besides fine-tuning its performance. However, if none of that is possible, the company would need to guide it on a controlled reentry back to Earth. Even though it has been 36 years since Hubble launched, NASA says there is still a lot that it needs to achieve. "Hubble still has important science ahead of it, and we should be looking at every reasonable opportunity to keep it delivering for as long as possible," said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman in a post. He added that it is important to explore cost-effective ways to save an “asset already in orbit.” Hubble's history After being launched, Hubble became an eye in space for astronomers that could peer into the universe's past. In 2002, Space Shuttle Columbia moved it upwards into orbit. But the drag was inevitable, and the telescope was going to fall one day. With no solution in sight, the space agency has issued a call to the private sector. In a Request for Information (RFI) released on October 29, NASA has called on commercial players to offer a solution to raise the altitude of Hubble. It is also asking for proposals on how to execute a controlled disposal if no other solution is available. Private players with plenty of satellites in space and vying to add more constellations could come up with an offer. They have been asked to submit their proposals before November 30. For NASA, to undertake the task itself might be a huge challenge as it is already short on funds. Colombia has already retired, so there is no existing means to do that. Its budget has already been reduced by eons, leaving it to choose which projects get priority.

NASA is asking commercial space companies to offer a solution to save the 36-year-old Hubble Space Telescope. It is being dragged down by gravity and is expected to crash early next decade. Scientists are hoping that someone will step in.

Hubble Space Telescope is falling and NASA is asking for help to save it

If cosmic particles excite you and you dream of going to space someday, let's face it: that might never happen in your lifetime. But NASA is offering people a chance to fly their names to the far reaches of the solar system. The space agency's Dragonfly rotorcraft will land on Saturn's moon Titan and become the first mission of its kind. NASA is inviting people to add their names to the list that will fly aboard the Dragonfly and land on Titan.<h2>How to add your name to the list?</h2>&nbsp;If you wish to add your name to the passenger list, visit this link - <a href="https://go.nasa.gov/dragonfly-names">https://go.nasa.gov/dragonfly-names</a>&nbsp;Upon entering your details, the NASA website generates your very own personalised boarding pass, with your name on it. It also carries details of the launch, the estimated distance Dragonfly will cover and the time of landing. It also has a photo of the rotorcraft that will explore the surface of the Saturnian moon.<h2>Mind-blowing mission to Saturn's moon</h2>Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington, said that the Dragonfly mission will "simply blow your mind." She added, "By flying the first-ever rotorcraft science mission, NASA will explore Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, as we search for signs of habitability on a distant world that is most similar to our own."&nbsp;Talking about the chance of flying your name to Titan, she said, “We are excited to bring humanity along for the journey of a lifetime, and we invite everyone to send their names on this small, but mighty rotorcraft that will unlock the secrets of the universe in what is widely considered one of the most exciting space missions of our lifetime.”<h2>About the Dragonfly mission</h2>Dragonfly is scheduled to take off in July 2028, covering a distance of approximately 3.54 billion kilometres before landing in December 2034. &nbsp;It will be launched aboard the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.&nbsp;Titan is believed to be similar to our world in some ways. It has a thick atmosphere, rivers and lakes of liquid methane, and dunes. It is rich in organic material.&nbsp;The last date to add your name to the Titan mission is January 15, 2027.

NASA's Dragonfly mission will launch in 2028 and land on Saturn's moon Titan in 2034, travelling 3.54 billion kilometres. The space agency is inviting people to become part of the mission by adding their names to the list that will be put on board the rotorcraft.

If cosmic particles excite you and you dream of going to space someday, let's face it: that might never happen in your lifetime. But NASA is offering people a chance to fly their names to the far reaches of the solar system. The space agency's Dragonfly rotorcraft will land on Saturn's moon Titan and become the first mission of its kind. NASA is inviting people to add their names to the list that will fly aboard the Dragonfly and land on Titan. How to add your name to the list? If you wish to add your name to the passenger list, visit this link - https://go.nasa.gov/dragonfly-names Upon entering your details, the NASA website generates your very own personalised boarding pass, with your name on it. It also carries details of the launch, the estimated distance Dragonfly will cover and the time of landing. It also has a photo of the rotorcraft that will explore the surface of the Saturnian moon. Mind-blowing mission to Saturn's moon Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington, said that the Dragonfly mission will "simply blow your mind." She added, "By flying the first-ever rotorcraft science mission, NASA will explore Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, as we search for signs of habitability on a distant world that is most similar to our own." Talking about the chance of flying your name to Titan, she said, “We are excited to bring humanity along for the journey of a lifetime, and we invite everyone to send their names on this small, but mighty rotorcraft that will unlock the secrets of the universe in what is widely considered one of the most exciting space missions of our lifetime.” About the Dragonfly mission Dragonfly is scheduled to take off in July 2028, covering a distance of approximately 3.54 billion kilometres before landing in December 2034. It will be launched aboard the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Titan is believed to be similar to our world in some ways. It has a thick atmosphere, rivers and lakes of liquid methane, and dunes. It is rich in organic material. The last date to add your name to the Titan mission is January 15, 2027.

NASA's Dragonfly mission will launch in 2028 and land on Saturn's moon Titan in 2034, travelling 3.54 billion kilometres. The space agency is inviting people to become part of the mission by adding their names to the list that will be put on board the rotorcraft.

NASA invites people to fly their names to Saturn's moon, Titan, aboard Dragonfly

A scientist in China used an AI model trained on fossil data to state that most of Earth's mass extinctions never happened, or at least did not occur in the manner we perceive them. The research was carried out by Shuzhong Shen at Nanjing University in China and presented at the Geological Society of America’s meeting in Denver.&nbsp;"The canonical 'Big Five' mass extinctions have long been regarded as the principal drivers of Phanerozoic marine biodiversity history. This paradigm, however, was built upon taxonomic range compilations and stage-level time bins that cannot resolve ecological dynamics operating on timescales of thousands to tens of thousands of years," the study authors wrote in the paper.&nbsp;OneStrata "learns a shared probabilistic representation of geological time directly from fragmented stratigraphic observations." This is similar to how large language model trains on texts. The team used a huge dataset of fossil information called OneStratigraphy for the study. When fossil specimens are categorised, it is done over time spans covering millions of years. This leads to changes happening over shorter periods of time getting lost.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/humanist-is-excused-from-using-ai-at-work-on-religious-grounds-1793344315613">Man is excused from using AI at work on religious grounds - ‘I want to uphold human dignity’</a><h2>Studying short time periods</h2>Shen's team wanted to fix this problem and use new technologies to shorten this timespan to just tens of thousands of years. In 2020, he worked with other Chinese scientists to divide Earth's ancient history into intervals of approximately 26,000 years using a supercomputer. This allowed them to examine changes in marine life in much smaller time intervals.&nbsp;&nbsp;Information was analysed from 11,000 fossils of marine organisms, which showed their species, when they lived, when some of them disappeared and how marine biodiversity changed over time.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/scientist-blames-dark-matter-at-centre-of-milky-way-for-mass-extinctions-on-earth-1785246607054">Scientist finds a pattern to Earth's mass extinctions, and it's hiding in deep space</a>&nbsp;This showed that the Late Devonian mass extinction, which happened around 360 million years ago, unfolded gradually over roughly 50 million years. This is a long timespan, especially compared to the End-Permian mass extinction, which took place over 63,000 years. The researchers also found that the end‑Triassic and end‑Cretaceous extinctions occurred over millions of years.&nbsp;Since mass extinctions unfold gradually over a long period of time, scientists believe we are in the midst of the sixth one. The main reason for this is climate change, which could end or change life over thousands of years.

A scientist in China used an AI model for an analysis of fossils, which revealed that five of the mass extinctions weren't exactly sudden deaths for life on Earth. Mass extinctions are believed to be events when organisms vanished en masse with nothing left behind. But that is not true.

A scientist in China used an AI model trained on fossil data to state that most of Earth's mass extinctions never happened, or at least did not occur in the manner we perceive them. The research was carried out by Shuzhong Shen at Nanjing University in China and presented at the Geological Society of America’s meeting in Denver. "The canonical 'Big Five' mass extinctions have long been regarded as the principal drivers of Phanerozoic marine biodiversity history. This paradigm, however, was built upon taxonomic range compilations and stage-level time bins that cannot resolve ecological dynamics operating on timescales of thousands to tens of thousands of years," the study authors wrote in the paper. OneStrata "learns a shared probabilistic representation of geological time directly from fragmented stratigraphic observations." This is similar to how large language model trains on texts. The team used a huge dataset of fossil information called OneStratigraphy for the study. When fossil specimens are categorised, it is done over time spans covering millions of years. This leads to changes happening over shorter periods of time getting lost. Also Read: Man is excused from using AI at work on religious grounds - ‘I want to uphold human dignity’ Studying short time periods Shen's team wanted to fix this problem and use new technologies to shorten this timespan to just tens of thousands of years. In 2020, he worked with other Chinese scientists to divide Earth's ancient history into intervals of approximately 26,000 years using a supercomputer. This allowed them to examine changes in marine life in much smaller time intervals. Information was analysed from 11,000 fossils of marine organisms, which showed their species, when they lived, when some of them disappeared and how marine biodiversity changed over time. Also Read: Scientist finds a pattern to Earth's mass extinctions, and it's hiding in deep space This showed that the Late Devonian mass extinction, which happened around 360 million years ago, unfolded gradually over roughly 50 million years. This is a long timespan, especially compared to the End-Permian mass extinction, which took place over 63,000 years. The researchers also found that the end‑Triassic and end‑Cretaceous extinctions occurred over millions of years. Since mass extinctions unfold gradually over a long period of time, scientists believe we are in the midst of the sixth one. The main reason for this is climate change, which could end or change life over thousands of years.

A scientist in China used an AI model for an analysis of fossils, which revealed that five of the mass extinctions weren't exactly sudden deaths for life on Earth. Mass extinctions are believed to be events when organisms vanished en masse with nothing left behind. But that is not true.

AI model says Earth's 5 mass extinctions never happened

ISRO's third space launch of 2026, the GSLV-F18 rocket carrying the 2,250kg NVS-03 satellite, is crucial to enable a phased revival of India's defunct Navigation satellite fleet known as NAVIC. Navigation with Indian Constellation(NAVIC) was envisaged as an Indian version of America's GPS or Russia's GLONASS or China's Beidou. While GPS, GLONASS, and Beidou provide global coverage, NAVIC is meant to serve civilian and defence users within Indian borders and 1,500 km beyond. NAVIC is a project of immense strategic significance, as it is meant to serve the Armed Forces and civilians. ISRO officials confirmed to WION that the countdown for the 24-hour countdown to the launch mission scheduled for 11:51 pm, Friday (Oct 30th), is progressing smoothly.18 minutes and 40 seconds after lifting off from the Second launchpad at ISRO's Sriharikota Spaceport, the GSLV-F18 rocket is meant to eject the NVS-03 satellite into its initial orbit. After placing the NVS-03 in it its initial Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit(GTO), ISRO will have to fire the satellite's thrusters to raise it to its eventual orbit. The NVS-03 satellite carries an Indigenous Atomic clock, along with the procured Atomic clocks. It also includes L1 signal in addition to existing L5/S-band signals. &nbsp;<h2>The present state of NAVIC</h2>Theoretically, a bare minimum of four satellites are required for the functioning of NAVIC's core services. At present, barely 3 of 11 NAVIC satellites are fulfilling their core purpose, information shared by the Indian Government reveals.Right now, there are three NAVIC satellites believed to be capable of providing Positioning, Navigation &amp; Timing services: first-generation satellites IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I; and second-generation satellite NVS-01. Of these three, IRNSS-1B has lived longer than its expected life of 10 years, and could potentially fail at any time. If all goes well, IRNSS-1I could potentially function till 2028. NVS-01 has at least a decade of life ahead of it, if it functions as designed. NVS-02 was launched in January 2025, but the satellite got stuck in its initial orbit, as its onboard engines could not be fired for orbit raising. Stuck in its initial orbit, NVS-02 is of very limited use.Therefore, considering long-term functionality, only the NVS-01 satellite can be considered truly operational, because of the decade-long service that lay ahead of it.<h2>How many satellites are needed to revive NAVIC?</h2>If the Indian Government wishes to revive and sustain NAVIC in its basic form, it must place at least three more NVS-series satellites in orbit, all in quick succession. To resuscitate and revive NAVIC to its minimal level of four satellites, the Indian space agency ISRO must also launch NVS-04 and NVS-05 satellites, which can work together with the existing NVS-01 and the NVS-03(which is scheduled for launch tonight). However, that is the basic requirement. To have higher reliability and robust capabilities, India would also have to build and launch backup satellites in the NVS series. Eventually, a fleet of six or seven satellites would have to be maintained for reliably operating a regional Navigation system such as NAVIC.<h2>How do NAVIC's global peers compare?</h2>America's Global Positioning System(GPS), which supports trillion-dollar civilian and military applications worldwide, requires a fleet of 24 satellites in orbit for optimum performance and round-the-clock global coverage. Considering how crucial GPS is to the global economy, the US Government maintains at least 30 GPS satellites in orbit at any given point in time. The six additional satellites are meant to ensure that the service remains reliable and robust, even when a few satellites fail or encounter unexpected glitches.To meet its own national requirements, China operates a fleet of Beidou satellites, which serve as an alternative to America's GPS. While Beidou's global network requires a fleet of 30 satellites in orbit, around 35 satellites are believed to be in orbit.<h2>NVS-series and the pace of launches so far</h2>ISRO launched NVS-01 in May 2023; NVS-02 was launched in January 2025, which is after a gap of 19 months. NVS-03 is flying to space in October 2026, which is almost 20 months after NVS-02. ISRO has also faced three failures in six missions executed from home soil between January 2025 and January 2026, further slowing down the overall pace of activity.<h2>The wide gulf between rhetoric and execution</h2>In mid-2025, the Indian Government had revealed in Parliament that an NVS-series satellite was planned to be launched by the end of the year. Subsequently, with a gap of six months, NVS-04 &amp; NVS-05 are planned to be launched, it was announced. However, none of these satellites was launched. This amply indicates the wide gulf between the rhetoric and implementation.If ISRO indeed is looking to launch three NAVIC satellites in quick succession, it must build and assemble GSLV (formerly known as GSLV Mk2) rockets accordingly. While the 52-meter-tall GSLV rocket is the most suited vehicle for carrying the 2,250kg NVS-series satellites, it must be noted that only one satellite can be carried per rocket due to lifting power limitations. Going by the recent record, ISRO has done only one or two GSLV launches in a year. If ISRO were to launch multiple NVS-series missions in quick succession, it would affect schedules of other launches that are in the pipeline. It must be remembered that ISRO does barely five or seven launches from home soil in a year. In 2026, this GSLV-F18/NVS-03 mission is ISRO's third launch.&nbsp;

If the Indian Government wishes to revive and sustain NAVIC in its basic form, it must place at least three more NVS-series satellites in orbit, all in quick succession.

ISRO's third space launch of 2026, the GSLV-F18 rocket carrying the 2,250kg NVS-03 satellite, is crucial to enable a phased revival of India's defunct Navigation satellite fleet known as NAVIC. Navigation with Indian Constellation(NAVIC) was envisaged as an Indian version of America's GPS or Russia's GLONASS or China's Beidou. While GPS, GLONASS, and Beidou provide global coverage, NAVIC is meant to serve civilian and defence users within Indian borders and 1,500 km beyond. NAVIC is a project of immense strategic significance, as it is meant to serve the Armed Forces and civilians. ISRO officials confirmed to WION that the countdown for the 24-hour countdown to the launch mission scheduled for 11:51 pm, Friday (Oct 30th), is progressing smoothly. 18 minutes and 40 seconds after lifting off from the Second launchpad at ISRO's Sriharikota Spaceport, the GSLV-F18 rocket is meant to eject the NVS-03 satellite into its initial orbit. After placing the NVS-03 in it its initial Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit(GTO), ISRO will have to fire the satellite's thrusters to raise it to its eventual orbit. The NVS-03 satellite carries an Indigenous Atomic clock, along with the procured Atomic clocks. It also includes L1 signal in addition to existing L5/S-band signals. The present state of NAVIC Theoretically, a bare minimum of four satellites are required for the functioning of NAVIC's core services. At present, barely 3 of 11 NAVIC satellites are fulfilling their core purpose, information shared by the Indian Government reveals. Right now, there are three NAVIC satellites believed to be capable of providing Positioning, Navigation & Timing services: first-generation satellites IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I; and second-generation satellite NVS-01. Of these three, IRNSS-1B has lived longer than its expected life of 10 years, and could potentially fail at any time. If all goes well, IRNSS-1I could potentially function till 2028. NVS-01 has at least a decade of life ahead of it, if it functions as designed. NVS-02 was launched in January 2025, but the satellite got stuck in its initial orbit, as its onboard engines could not be fired for orbit raising. Stuck in its initial orbit, NVS-02 is of very limited use. Therefore, considering long-term functionality, only the NVS-01 satellite can be considered truly operational, because of the decade-long service that lay ahead of it. How many satellites are needed to revive NAVIC? If the Indian Government wishes to revive and sustain NAVIC in its basic form, it must place at least three more NVS-series satellites in orbit, all in quick succession. To resuscitate and revive NAVIC to its minimal level of four satellites, the Indian space agency ISRO must also launch NVS-04 and NVS-05 satellites, which can work together with the existing NVS-01 and the NVS-03(which is scheduled for launch tonight). However, that is the basic requirement. To have higher reliability and robust capabilities, India would also have to build and launch backup satellites in the NVS series. Eventually, a fleet of six or seven satellites would have to be maintained for reliably operating a regional Navigation system such as NAVIC. How do NAVIC's global peers compare? America's Global Positioning System(GPS), which supports trillion-dollar civilian and military applications worldwide, requires a fleet of 24 satellites in orbit for optimum performance and round-the-clock global coverage. Considering how crucial GPS is to the global economy, the US Government maintains at least 30 GPS satellites in orbit at any given point in time. The six additional satellites are meant to ensure that the service remains reliable and robust, even when a few satellites fail or encounter unexpected glitches. To meet its own national requirements, China operates a fleet of Beidou satellites, which serve as an alternative to America's GPS. While Beidou's global network requires a fleet of 30 satellites in orbit, around 35 satellites are believed to be in orbit. NVS-series and the pace of launches so far ISRO launched NVS-01 in May 2023; NVS-02 was launched in January 2025, which is after a gap of 19 months. NVS-03 is flying to space in October 2026, which is almost 20 months after NVS-02. ISRO has also faced three failures in six missions executed from home soil between January 2025 and January 2026, further slowing down the overall pace of activity. The wide gulf between rhetoric and execution In mid-2025, the Indian Government had revealed in Parliament that an NVS-series satellite was planned to be launched by the end of the year. Subsequently, with a gap of six months, NVS-04 & NVS-05 are planned to be launched, it was announced. However, none of these satellites was launched. This amply indicates the wide gulf between the rhetoric and implementation. If ISRO indeed is looking to launch three NAVIC satellites in quick succession, it must build and assemble GSLV (formerly known as GSLV Mk2) rockets accordingly. While the 52-meter-tall GSLV rocket is the most suited vehicle for carrying the 2,250kg NVS-series satellites, it must be noted that only one satellite can be carried per rocket due to lifting power limitations. Going by the recent record, ISRO has done only one or two GSLV launches in a year. If ISRO were to launch multiple NVS-series missions in quick succession, it would affect schedules of other launches that are in the pipeline. It must be remembered that ISRO does barely five or seven launches from home soil in a year. In 2026, this GSLV-F18/NVS-03 mission is ISRO's third launch.

If the Indian Government wishes to revive and sustain NAVIC in its basic form, it must place at least three more NVS-series satellites in orbit, all in quick succession.

ISRO's GSLV-F18/NVS-03 launch crucial for phased revival of NAVIC

The Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO) has spotted a mysterious object beyond Neptune, in a region where known dwarf planets reside. This object could be a dwarf planet as well, based on initial observations. Named 2026 ED138, it is between 600 and 1500 kilometres wide. This suggests that it was capable of coming together because of its own gravity.&nbsp;Till now, only five dwarf planets have been identified - Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea and Makemake. If 2026 ED138 is confirmed as a dwarf planet, that would be a major discovery for astronomers. Matthew Holman, from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard &amp; Smithsonian (CfA), discovered this object on October 13.&nbsp;Holman had developed a search code with his CfA colleague Kevin Napier and was running previous data from Rubin through it. This is when he found a strange object beyond Neptune's orbit. Its brightness and distance showed that it is unusually large. This is an icy and dark region in the solar system, yet it was quite bright. This meant that it was larger than other bodies in the region.<h2>Body was observed 30 times in 4 months</h2>Holman said in a statement on Tuesday, "Objects like this are very rare, so I immediately started checking whether I or the code had done something wrong." To confirm that what he was looking at was real, he went through Vera's entire catalogue, which despite being relatively new, contains quite a lot of data. Holman found that the telescope had observed the object on 20 other occasions, with the earliest one on March 4, 2026. Rubin's Simonyi Survey Telescope observed ED138 30 times on 20 nights till July 11.&nbsp;ED138 is at a distance of 46 astronomical units (1 au is the distance between Sun and Earth). For comparison, Pluto is located at 40 au. Its orbit is tilted almost 25 degrees off of the plane of the Solar System, making it a hot-classical TNO. This also hints that the object is not in its original orbit and was disturbed by the gravitational interactions with Neptune. It is one of the largest dwarf planet candidates ever discovered beyond Neptune.&nbsp;

A possible dwarf planet likely resides beyond Neptune, according to data from the Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO). Scientists say it lives in the same region as other dwarf planets. Only five confirmed dwarf planets have been identified in the solar system till now. 

The Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO) has spotted a mysterious object beyond Neptune, in a region where known dwarf planets reside. This object could be a dwarf planet as well, based on initial observations. Named 2026 ED138, it is between 600 and 1500 kilometres wide. This suggests that it was capable of coming together because of its own gravity. Till now, only five dwarf planets have been identified - Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea and Makemake. If 2026 ED138 is confirmed as a dwarf planet, that would be a major discovery for astronomers. Matthew Holman, from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), discovered this object on October 13. Holman had developed a search code with his CfA colleague Kevin Napier and was running previous data from Rubin through it. This is when he found a strange object beyond Neptune's orbit. Its brightness and distance showed that it is unusually large. This is an icy and dark region in the solar system, yet it was quite bright. This meant that it was larger than other bodies in the region. Body was observed 30 times in 4 months Holman said in a statement on Tuesday, "Objects like this are very rare, so I immediately started checking whether I or the code had done something wrong." To confirm that what he was looking at was real, he went through Vera's entire catalogue, which despite being relatively new, contains quite a lot of data. Holman found that the telescope had observed the object on 20 other occasions, with the earliest one on March 4, 2026. Rubin's Simonyi Survey Telescope observed ED138 30 times on 20 nights till July 11. ED138 is at a distance of 46 astronomical units (1 au is the distance between Sun and Earth). For comparison, Pluto is located at 40 au. Its orbit is tilted almost 25 degrees off of the plane of the Solar System, making it a hot-classical TNO. This also hints that the object is not in its original orbit and was disturbed by the gravitational interactions with Neptune. It is one of the largest dwarf planet candidates ever discovered beyond Neptune.

A possible dwarf planet likely resides beyond Neptune, according to data from the Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO). Scientists say it lives in the same region as other dwarf planets. Only five confirmed dwarf planets have been identified in the solar system till now.&nbsp;

Mysterious body lurking beyond Neptune could be only the 6th object of its kind

Long before a clinical trial enrols its first participant, it has already settled a question almost nobody examines: who is physically close enough to take part. The answer sits in the registry, in the list of study sites, in public, in a structured field."Site geography is the most under-read field in the registry," says Yaswanth Sai Pogadapula. "Where a trial places its sites determines who can physically reach it." You can see the catchment of a study before you see a single enrolment figure, he argues, because "travel distance is an eligibility criterion that appears nowhere in the eligibility section."He makes that claim as someone who builds the records rather than analyses them. Pogadapula is a clinical trial disclosure specialist who, over his career, has been responsible for registration and results disclosure across roughly 40 global, regional and national registries, among them ClinicalTrials.gov, the EU register, and country-level registries with their own formats and deadlines. He has been lead disclosure coordinator for immunology, medical devices and consumer studies, with backup coverage across neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.The work is specific. He has set up, maintained and closed study records, carrying studies from first registration through results posting, and has handled the quality comments registry operators send back, the NIH among them, the step that decides whether a public record is accurate rather than merely present. He has produced disclosure records for audits and regulatory inspections.His argument: the record can answer questions about exclusion, provided you accept which parts of it bear weight. Registration data shows what was studied, where, and who was eligible. Results data carries baseline characteristics and participant flow. Together they describe the shape of who was enrolled and, by implication, who was not.The trap is expecting it to behave like a research dataset. "It is a compliance record maintained to a standard," he says, "and the standard governs completeness, not comparability."Three things follow. The first is that the most consequential field in the record is prose. Eligibility criteria, the terms that decide who may enter a study, are written as free text. "Prose does not aggregate," he says. "You can count trials; you cannot easily count exclusions." Any analysis of systematic exclusion therefore rests on interpretation that someone has to defend. His view of the remedy is structural rather than exhortative: "If the field were structured, questions about systematic exclusion would be answerable in an afternoon rather than in a research programme."The second is the error he considers most common, and the one he is most insistent about. Where a demographic field is optional or inconsistently completed, an empty field says nothing about the people in the trial. "Absence in the record is not evidence of absence in the trial," he says. "It is evidence that nobody was required to report it." Treating a blank as a zero is, in his experience, the most common error made with this data, and it is made in good faith. He applies the caution symmetrically: he would distrust any claim built on missing registry fields, "including claims that support a conclusion I agree with."The third is a seam invisible unless you have worked both sides of it. A registration record is created early, while the protocol is still moving; results are added years later, by different people. "Registration and results are maintained by different people at different times, and it shows," he says. Anyone reading across the two halves should know the join is there.Those cautions carry weight because he has worked the production side of the problem. A single study may appear in a dozen registries, each with its own data model, required fields, language and deadline, so the same trial has to be expressed accurately several different ways, and small differences accumulate into records that will not line up later. His response was to treat the record "as a product with a standard rather than a form to be filled", the precondition, he says, for anyone reading across trials afterwards.Statutory deadlines apply under FDAAA 801 in the United States and equivalent obligations in the EU, and missed deadlines are publicly visible. He treats on-time disclosure as the baseline of the job rather than its achievement. The deadline, though, is the easy half. "Compliance is often discussed as a deadline problem; in practice it is a data quality problem." The harder work was routing recurring registry findings back to study teams so the same correction did not have to be made twice.Which leads to the tension he thinks explains most of the record's failings. "A compliance record and a public service are not the same artefact, and we ask one document to be both."He is more optimistic than that sounds. Obligations are tightening and converging across jurisdictions, and every increment of required structured reporting makes representativeness more answerable. His prescription for policymakers is correspondingly blunt: "If policy wants exclusion to be visible, the lever is the required-fields list, not exhortation."His advice to sponsors costs little and is easy to overlook. Treat the record as a product with an owner, not a filing obligation discharged at a deadline. Complete the optional fields anyway. Assume somebody will one day read across the portfolio and ask who was missing, and write the record now so the honest answer is visible then.

Questions about who gets excluded from research are usually treated as missing data. A disclosure specialist argues much of the answer is already public, sitting in fields that are rarely read.

Long before a clinical trial enrols its first participant, it has already settled a question almost nobody examines: who is physically close enough to take part. The answer sits in the registry, in the list of study sites, in public, in a structured field. "Site geography is the most under-read field in the registry," says Yaswanth Sai Pogadapula. "Where a trial places its sites determines who can physically reach it." You can see the catchment of a study before you see a single enrolment figure, he argues, because "travel distance is an eligibility criterion that appears nowhere in the eligibility section." He makes that claim as someone who builds the records rather than analyses them. Pogadapula is a clinical trial disclosure specialist who, over his career, has been responsible for registration and results disclosure across roughly 40 global, regional and national registries, among them ClinicalTrials.gov, the EU register, and country-level registries with their own formats and deadlines. He has been lead disclosure coordinator for immunology, medical devices and consumer studies, with backup coverage across neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension. The work is specific. He has set up, maintained and closed study records, carrying studies from first registration through results posting, and has handled the quality comments registry operators send back, the NIH among them, the step that decides whether a public record is accurate rather than merely present. He has produced disclosure records for audits and regulatory inspections. His argument: the record can answer questions about exclusion, provided you accept which parts of it bear weight. Registration data shows what was studied, where, and who was eligible. Results data carries baseline characteristics and participant flow. Together they describe the shape of who was enrolled and, by implication, who was not. The trap is expecting it to behave like a research dataset. "It is a compliance record maintained to a standard," he says, "and the standard governs completeness, not comparability." Three things follow. The first is that the most consequential field in the record is prose. Eligibility criteria, the terms that decide who may enter a study, are written as free text. "Prose does not aggregate," he says. "You can count trials; you cannot easily count exclusions." Any analysis of systematic exclusion therefore rests on interpretation that someone has to defend. His view of the remedy is structural rather than exhortative: "If the field were structured, questions about systematic exclusion would be answerable in an afternoon rather than in a research programme." The second is the error he considers most common, and the one he is most insistent about. Where a demographic field is optional or inconsistently completed, an empty field says nothing about the people in the trial. "Absence in the record is not evidence of absence in the trial," he says. "It is evidence that nobody was required to report it." Treating a blank as a zero is, in his experience, the most common error made with this data, and it is made in good faith. He applies the caution symmetrically: he would distrust any claim built on missing registry fields, "including claims that support a conclusion I agree with." The third is a seam invisible unless you have worked both sides of it. A registration record is created early, while the protocol is still moving; results are added years later, by different people. "Registration and results are maintained by different people at different times, and it shows," he says. Anyone reading across the two halves should know the join is there. Those cautions carry weight because he has worked the production side of the problem. A single study may appear in a dozen registries, each with its own data model, required fields, language and deadline, so the same trial has to be expressed accurately several different ways, and small differences accumulate into records that will not line up later. His response was to treat the record "as a product with a standard rather than a form to be filled", the precondition, he says, for anyone reading across trials afterwards. Statutory deadlines apply under FDAAA 801 in the United States and equivalent obligations in the EU, and missed deadlines are publicly visible. He treats on-time disclosure as the baseline of the job rather than its achievement. The deadline, though, is the easy half. "Compliance is often discussed as a deadline problem; in practice it is a data quality problem." The harder work was routing recurring registry findings back to study teams so the same correction did not have to be made twice. Which leads to the tension he thinks explains most of the record's failings. "A compliance record and a public service are not the same artefact, and we ask one document to be both." He is more optimistic than that sounds. Obligations are tightening and converging across jurisdictions, and every increment of required structured reporting makes representativeness more answerable. His prescription for policymakers is correspondingly blunt: "If policy wants exclusion to be visible, the lever is the required-fields list, not exhortation." His advice to sponsors costs little and is easy to overlook. Treat the record as a product with an owner, not a filing obligation discharged at a deadline. Complete the optional fields anyway. Assume somebody will one day read across the portfolio and ask who was missing, and write the record now so the honest answer is visible then.

Questions about who gets excluded from research are usually treated as missing data. A disclosure specialist argues much of the answer is already public, sitting in fields that are rarely read.

The clinical-trial record can already show you who medicine leaves out. It just has to be read right

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ISRO's GSLV-F18/NVS-03 launch crucial for phased revival of NAVIC