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

This May brings a rare celestial treat, two full moons in one month! We’re exploring the science of space and how astronomy connects us through curiosity, discovery, and a shared wonder for what lies beyond.

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 11-May-2026 13:16 ET (11-May-2026 17:16 GMT/UTC)

14-Apr-2026

 

Contaminants, including ink, detected in meteorites suggest sample preparation needs improving

University of the Basque Country
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Several contaminants, including traces of ink, originating in the preparation of subsamples, have been identified in Martian meteorites by the EHU’s research group. The finding highlights the importance of stricter protocols to prevent misinterpretations of the composition of these rocks and to ensure the reliability of future studies and Mars sample-return missions.

Journal

Applied Geochemistry

14-Apr-2026

 

Northumbria University researchers secure major funding to solve space radiation mystery

Northumbria University
Grant and Award Announcement

Researchers at Northumbria University have been awarded £4m to unlock the secrets of Earth's radiation belts and why they behave so unpredictably – information which is crucial for protecting satellites and forecasting space weather. 

14-Apr-2026

 

Researchers adapt torsion balance experiments to detect dark matter

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

Kavli IPMU's Shigeki Matsumoto and Jie Sheng have shown torsion-balance experiments — precision instruments originally built to test the equivalence principle — could double as detectors for very light dark matter.

Journal

Physical Review Letters

14-Apr-2026

 

Starquakes and the archaeology of stellar magnetism

Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New theoretical models, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, connect, for the first time, the magnetism at the surface of long-dead stellar remnants (white dwarfs) with recent evidence of magnetism at the cores of their dying progenitors (red giants). The team, led by astrophysicists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), argues that these magnetic fields might originate early in the stars’ lives, and survive their entire evolution, emerging as ‘fossil fields’ at the surfaces of older remnants.  A better understanding of these processes can also help to better understand our own Sun’s future.

Journal

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Funder

European Research Council, Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften

14-Apr-2026

 

Cosmic dust identified as the source of Venus' enigmatic lower haze

Tohoku University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A mysterious layer of particles that occupies the lower regions of Venus’s atmosphere has long puzzled astronomers. However, a research team has finally solved the mystery of the “lower haze,” discovering that the haze comes from cosmic dust left by shooting stars that constantly rain down on Venus.

Journal

Nature Astronomy

14-Apr-2026

 

Rice University research helps power safe return of astronauts in historic Orion splashdown

Rice University

When NASA’s Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean April 10, completing a successful Artemis II mission milestone, a critical piece of the spacecraft’s safe return traced back to research at Rice University.