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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: 9-May-2026 00:16 ET (9-May-2026 04:16 GMT/UTC)

Study: The infant universe’s “primordial soup” was actually soupy

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research shows quarks create wakes as they speed through quark-gluon plasma, the material that existed during the first microseconds of the early universe. The findings could help physicists understand the earliest moments of the infant universe.

Journal: Physics Letters B
Funder: U.S. Department of Energy

NASA’s Juno spacecraft measures thickness of Europa’s ice shell

Southwest Research Institute

SAN ANTONIO — January 28, 2026 — Data from NASA’s Juno mission has provided new insights into the thickness and subsurface structure of the icy shell encasing a subsurface liquid ocean within Jupiter’s moon Europa. Using the spacecraft’s Microwave Radiometer (MWR), mission scientists determined that the shell averages about 18 miles (29 kilometers) thick in the region observed during Juno’s 2022 flyby of Europa.

Journal: Nature Astronomy

WVU research helps astronauts stay healthy on long space missions

West Virginia University
Grant and Award Announcement

A study led by Valeriya Gritsenko and Sergiy Yakovenko responds to the growing likelihood that astronauts will be spending longer periods in microgravity environments like space stations, the moon or rocket ships bound for Mars.

Funder: NASA WV EPSCoR

Powering AI from space, at scale

University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science
Reports and Proceedings

Penn Engineers have developed a new design for solar-powered orbital data centers that could realistically scale to meet the growing energy demands of AI. By using a tether-based architecture that passively orients itself toward the sun, the system avoids many of the limitations of other space-based data center concepts.

Funder: University of Pennsylvania
Meeting: AIAA SciTech Forum 2026

Researchers uncover clue to explain the Universe’s symmetry

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

Researchers have developed a method to reduce uncertainties in observational measurements of cosmic birefringence, which might help explain the Universe’s symmetry.

Journal: Physical Review Letters

First radio signals from rare supernova reveal star’s final years

University of Virginia College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New study offers unique insights into the mysteries of exploding stars.

Journal: The Astrophysical Journal Letters

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