EurekAlert! In the Spotlight - Global Astronomy Month

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

In honor of Global Astronomy Month, we’re exploring the science of space. Learn how astronomy connects us through curiosity, discovery, and a shared wonder for what lies beyond.

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 2-Nov-2025 13:11 ET (2-Nov-2025 18:11 GMT/UTC)

Super-Earth discovered in habitable zone of Sun-like star via TTV technique, paving way for ‘Earth 2.0’ searches

Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international research team led by the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), along with collaborators, has achieved a breakthrough by using the Transit Timing Variation (TTV) technique for the first time to discover a super-Earth. The exoplanet, Kepler-725c, has 10 times the mass of Earth and is located in the habitable zone of the Sun-like star Kepler-725. The discovery was published in Nature Astronomy.

Journal: Nature Astronomy

Cosmic Himalayas quasar cluster defies explanation

National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A newly discovered cluster of eleven quasars has shattered the previous record of five. Rather than being associated with a dense group of galaxies, these quasars sit on the boundary between two groups of galaxies. This structure, dubbed the “Cosmic Himalayas,” cannot be explained by conventional theories, forcing astronomers to rethink the formation scenarios for quasars.

Journal: The Astrophysical Journal
Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science International Leading Research (ILR) project

Cosmic Himalayas quasar cluster defies explanation

National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

This release has been removed upon request of the submitting institution due to a duplicate posting. View it here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1086115

New study casts doubt on the likelihood of a Milky Way – Andromeda collision

Durham University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research has cast doubt on the long-held theory that our galaxy, the Milky Way, will collide with its largest neighbour, the Andromeda galaxy, in 4.5 billion years-time.

Journal: Nature Astronomy

Tova Holmes wins Simons Foundation support for muon collider groundwork

University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Grant and Award Announcement

University of Tennessee, Knoxville Assistant Professor Tova Holmes is part of a scientific trio that won $1 million from the Simons Foundation to break new ground in particle physics and train young scientists to explore it.

New laser smaller than a penny can measure objects at ultrafast rates

University of Rochester
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from the University of Rochester and University of California, Santa Barbara, engineered a laser device smaller than a penny that they say could power everything from the LiDAR systems used in self-driving vehicles to gravitational wave detection, one of the most delicate experiments in existence to observe and understand our universe.

Journal: Light Science & Applications
Funder: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, U.S. National Science Foundation