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: 22-Dec-2025 11:11 ET (22-Dec-2025 16:11 GMT/UTC)

21-Jul-2025

Characteristics of asteroids and comets: implications of Tianwen-2 radar observations

Beijing Zhongke Journal Publising Co. Ltd.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A recent review in journal Earth and Planetary Physics highlights that China's Tianwen-2 mission, launched on May 29, 2025, will carry a penetrating radar to directly probe the internal structures of the near-Earth asteroid 2016 HO₃ (Kamo'oalewa) and the active asteroid 311P/PANSTARRS. This investigation is expected to provide crucial data for unveiling the internal characteristics of asteroids and comets, thereby offering new insights into the early evolution of the solar system.

Journal: Earth and Planetary Physics

21-Jul-2025

Astronomical breakthrough reveals star that survived destructive encounter with black hole

Tel-Aviv University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

This is the first confirmed case of a star that survived an encounter with a supermassive black hole and came back for more. This discovery upends conventional wisdom about such tidal disruption events and suggests that these spectacular flares may be just the opening act in a longer, more complex story.

21-Jul-2025

Space research: The key to cosmic environmental stewardship

International Science Council Committee on Space Research

Science and Exploration

Exploring space around us is an integral part of the human mindset. With modern astronomy we look far into the cosmos and deep into our past, and the spectacular development of Solar System exploration over the last decades has taught us a lot about the “big science questions” we have about its origin, the mechanisms that drive its evolution, and the habitability of its diverse worlds. While this great harvest of discoveries has provided partial answers to these “big questions”, it has also opened new and deeper questions about our relation to the Cosmos that can only be answered by the next waves of exploration missions: we are still far from seeing humankind become an “interstellar species”.

18-Jul-2025