New research reveals the extent to which Mars is quietly tugging on Earth’s orbit and shaping the cycles that drive long-term climate patterns here, including ice ages.

Earth’s slow axial wobbles—known as precession cycles—do not just shape long-term climate trends. A new study led by researchers from China, Belgium, and Austria shows that these orbital motions can also spark climate swings on thousand-year timescales, even in ancient ice-free greenhouse worlds. The findings suggest that rapid climate variability may be an intrinsic feature of Earth’s climate system and could recur under future warming. 

Gas and dust flowing from stars can, under the right conditions, clash with a star’s surroundings and create a shock wave. Now, astronomers using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) have imaged a beautiful shock wave around a dead star — a discovery that has left them puzzled. According to all known mechanisms, the small, dead star RXJ0528+2838 should not have such structure around it. This discovery, as enigmatic as it’s stunning, challenges our understanding of how dead stars interact with their surroundings.

Astronomers have spotted one of the oldest ‘dead’ galaxies yet identified, and found that a growing supermassive black hole can slowly starve a galaxy rather than tear it apart.

Astronomers have discovered that black holes don’t just consume matter — they manage it, choosing whether to blast it into space as high-speed jets or sweep it away in vast winds

After clearing its last hurdle on its way to space, the Pandora satellite mission is awaiting to be launched into orbit, where it will study at least 20 exoplanets and their host stars over long periods of time. The data will establish a firm foundation for interpreting measurements by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and future missions aimed at searching for habitable worlds.