Interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS that have been captured in planet-forming discs around young stars could become the seeds of giant planets, bypassing a hurdle that theoretical models have previously been unable to explain. Interstellar objects are asteroid- and comet-like bodies that have been ejected from their home system and now wander through interstellar space, occasionally encountering other star systems. Since 2017 astronomers have detected three interstellar objects passing through our Solar System: 1I/’Oumuamua, 2I/Borisov and most recently 3I/ATLAS, discovered in summer 2025. However, interstellar objects may be more influential than they at first appear to be, says Professor Susanne Pfalzner of Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany, who presents her new findings on the subject at this week’s EPSC-DPS2025 Joint Meeting in Helsinki.

The closest technological species to us in the Milky Way galaxy could be 33,000 light years away and their civilisation would have to be at least 280,000 years, and possibly millions of years, old if they are to exist at the same time that we do, according to new research presented at the EPSC–DPS2025 Joint Meeting in Helsinki this week.

Tiny red objects spotted by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are offering scientists new insights into the origins of galaxies in the universe — and may represent an entirely new class of celestial object: a black hole swallowing massive amounts of matter and spitting out light.

A newly discovered distant object that astronomers have dubbed “The Cliff” could solve a riddle posed by some of the first observations of the distant universe with the James Webb Space Telescope, related to the discovery of a population of objects dubbed “little red dots.” Those objects were thought to be young galaxies, but with such considerable mass as would have been difficult to explain in current models of cosmic evolution. “The Cliff” has led to a proposal that could resolve this problem: Little red dots are not galaxies, but instead supermassive black holes that are embedded in a thick envelope of gas. The researchers call this new class of object a “black hole star.”

For more than 30 years, the Naval Postgraduate School’s (NPS) Fleet Satellite Communications System (FLTSATCOM) lab has advanced student knowledge in satellite design, engineering and operations. Once a vanguard of the institution’s spacecraft design and engineering education and research programs, the ground test - or qualification - model identical to FLTSATCOM satellites launched decades ago to support advanced U.S. Navy ultrahigh frequency (UHF) communications, executed its final telemetry student exercise, Aug. 25. Long overdue renovations to the school’s Halligan Hall will soon displace the satellite from its NPS home.

While the early Mars climate remains an open question, a new study suggests its atmosphere may have been hospitable to life due to volcanic activity which emitted sulfur gases that contributed to a greenhouse warming effect.