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: 23-Jul-2025 08:12 ET (23-Jul-2025 12:12 GMT/UTC)

SkyMapper and SETI Institute team up to map the entire sky, all the time

SETI Institute
Business Announcement

The SETI Institute announced today a strategic collaboration with SkyMapper, the world’s leading decentralized global astronomy and space science network. Together, they plan to deliver continuous, real-time astronomical data to scientists, educators and enthusiasts worldwide.

This network will enable telescope users and sky-observing stations, including the SETI Institute’s LaserSETI, CAMS, and Unistellar programs to receive realtime observation requests from researchers and contribute their data back into a secure, globally accessible database. SkyMapper’s blockchain-based verification will ensure data integrity and transparency for all submitted data.

In addition, SkyMapper will provide SETI Institute access to its database for research, algorithm training and scientific studies, enabling SETI Institute scientists to advance their work in astronomy and space science through advanced data analysis and processing.

University College Dublin experts awarded ERC Advanced Grants for cutting-edge research

UCD Research & Innovation
Grant and Award Announcement

University College Dublin researchers Assoc Prof Barry Wardell and Prof Kylie Jarrett receive a total of €5 million for projects exploring gravitational waves and livelihoods generated by digital platforms.

Funder: HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council

4 ERC Advanced Grants: 10 million Euro for ISTA

Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Grant and Award Announcement

The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) in Klosterneuburg receives over 10 million Euro by the European Research Council (ERC). Four research projects – in astrophysics, neuroscience, brain imaging, and math – were awarded around 2.5 million Euro each in the form of a competitive ERC Advanced Grant. ISTA is one of the most successful institutions at winning grants from this EU funding body.

Funder: European Research Council

Distant super-massive black hole shows high velocity sign of over-eating

University of Leicester
Peer-Reviewed Publication

- Publication of three linked papers in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS) by University of Leicester scientists describe how the capture of new matter - lasting a few days and corresponding to several Earth masses - formed a ring around the hole, before being partly swallowed by the hole, with excess matter ejected as a high velocity wind

- SMBH are found in the nucleus of all but the smallest galaxies, including our local Milky Way Galaxy, typically being identified by a bright or 'active' nucleus (AGN)

Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

European high school students on first-of-its-kind simulated Mars mission

International Science Council Committee on Space Research

Alqueva, Portugal, 16 June 2025: The ground-breaking EXPLORE project is set to launch its first analog mission 23-27 June 2025, near Monsaraz, Portugal. Nine young Europeans from three different countries will experience life in an isolated and challenging environment that will simulate Mars—in the heart of the Alentejo region. The mission is part of the European project EXPLORE (EXpeditionary Program for Learning OppoRtunities in analog space Exploration), an EU co funded Erasmus+ program which aims to bring the future of space exploration into classrooms. At the end of the mission, on 27 June, there will be a press conference that will include the opportunity to photograph and interact with the team.

Lunar dust less toxic than city pollution, study finds

University of Technology Sydney
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As NASA prepares to send astronauts back to the moon for the first time in over 50 years, new research from the UTS has found that lunar dust is less harmful to human lung cells than previously feared, and significantly less toxic than common Earth-based air pollution.

Journal: Life Sciences in Space Research
Funder: Australian Government

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