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: 29-Jul-2025 00:11 ET (29-Jul-2025 04:11 GMT/UTC)

9-May-2025

Pennington Biomedical welcomes Dr. Stefan Pasiakos as Director of the Center for Human Performance Optimization

Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Business Announcement

Pennington Biomedical Research Center is pleased to announce that Stefan Pasiakos, PhD, has joined the faculty as Professor and Director of Human Performance Optimization. In this role, Dr. Pasiakos will lead groundbreaking research aimed at enhancing human performance and physiology across diverse environments – from the battlefield to deep space.

8-May-2025

The Squid Galaxy’s neutrino game just leveled up

University of California - Los Angeles
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In space, energetic neutrinos are usually paired with energetic gamma rays. Galaxy NGC 1068, however, emits strong neutrinos and weak gamma rays, which presents a puzzle for scientists to solve. A new paper posits that helium nuclei collide with ultraviolet photons emitted by the galaxy’s central region and fragment, releasing neutrons that subsequently decay into neutrinos without producing gamma rays. The finding offers insight into the extreme environment around the supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies like NGC 1068 and our own and enhances our understanding of the relationships between radiation and elementary particles that could lead to technological advances we haven’t yet imagined.

Journal: Physical Review Letters

8-May-2025

All of the biggest U.S. cities are sinking

Columbia Climate School
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study of the 28 most populous U.S. cities finds that all are sinking to one degree or another. The cities include not just those on the coasts, where relative sea level is a concern, but many in the interior. Furthermore, using newly granular data, the study finds that some cities are sinking at different rates in different spots, or sinking in some places and rising in others, potentially introducing stresses that could affect buildings and other infrastructure.

Journal: Nature Cities

8-May-2025

The quest for Martian water: seismic velocity anomalies suggest liquid water at depth

Science China Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a paper published in National Science Review, an international team of scientists provides seismic evidence of liquid water located 5.4 to 8 kilometers beneath the Martian surface. This water may originate from the ancient ocean that once existed on Mars, which was sequestered into the crust as the planet transitioned to a colder and drier climate during the Amazonian period (beginning ~3 billion years ago).

Journal: National Science Review
Funder: National Key Laboratory Foundation of China

8-May-2025

The Squid Galaxy’s neutrino game just leveled up

Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international research team including the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI) Senior Fellow Alexander Kusenko has published a new study suggesting that galaxy NGC 1068 produces neutrinos but weak gamma rays because helium nuclei may be colliding with ultraviolet light near the galaxy's core, breaking apart and releasing neutrons that eventually decay into neutrinos.

Journal: Physical Review Letters

7-May-2025

Janice R. Lachance, J.D., FASAE selected for top position of global earth and space science association

American Geophysical Union
Business Announcement

The American Geophysical Union Board of Directors and Executive Search Committee is pleased to announce AGU’s new Executive Director and CEO will be Janice R. Lachance, J.D., Fellow of the American Society of Association Executives and the National Academy of Public Administration.