EurekAlert! In the Spotlight

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.

Lunar spacecraft exhaust could obscure clues to origins of life

American Geophysical Union
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Over half of the exhaust methane from lunar spacecraft could end up contaminating areas of the moon that might otherwise yield clues about the origins of earthly life, according to a recent study published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. The pollution could unfold rapidly regardless of a spacecraft’s touchdown site; even for a landing at the South Pole, methane molecules may “hop” across the lunar surface to the North Pole in under two lunar days.

7-Jan-2026

Naturally occurring “space weather station” elucidates new way to study habitability of planets orbiting M dwarf stars

Carnegie Institution for Science
Meeting Announcement

Carnegie's Luke Bouma presented exciting new research at the American Astronomical Society meeting revealing how large clumps of cool plasma that are trapped in an M dwarf star's magnetosphere can be used as a "space weather station" to better understand the ways that particles from stars contribute to planetary conditions.

7-Jan-2026

NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory spots record-breaking asteroid in pre-survey observations

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Astronomers analyzing data from NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, have discovered the fastest-ever spinning asteroid with a diameter over half a kilometer — a feat uniquely enabled by Rubin. The study provides crucial information about asteroid composition and evolution, and demonstrates how Rubin is pushing the boundaries of what we can discover within our own Solar System.

Journal: The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Meeting: 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society

7-Jan-2026

We finally know how the most common types of planets are created

University of California - Los Angeles
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Planets larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune are the most common kind in the galaxy, but because our solar system lacks such a planet, scientists don’t know much about how they form. Astronomers have now witnessed four baby planets in the V1298 Tau system in the process of becoming super-Earths and sub-Neptunes. Despite being 5 to 10 times Earth’s radius, the planets had masses only 5 to 15 times Earth’s. This means they are very low-density, comparable to Styrofoam, whereas the Earth has the density of rock.

Journal: Nature

7-Jan-2026

Astronomers find missing link to galaxy's most common planets

National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

– January 7, 2026 (London time) – One of the biggest recent surprises in astronomy is the discovery that most stars like the Sun harbor a planet between the size of Earth and Neptune within the orbit of Mercury — sizes and orbits absent from our solar system. These ‘super-Earths and sub-Neptunes’ are the galaxy's most common planets, but their formation has been shrouded in mystery. Now, an international team of astronomers has found a crucial missing link. By weighing four newborn planets in the V1298 Tau system, they've captured a rare snapshot of worlds in the process of transforming into the galaxy's most common planetary types.

Journal: Nature
Funder: JSPS KAKENHI, JSPS KAKENHI, JSPS KAKENHI, JSPS KAKENHI, JSPS KAKENHI, JSPS KAKENHI, JSPS KAKENHI, JSPS Bilateral Program, JSPS Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows, JSPS KAKENHI, JST PRESTO

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

Latest News Releases

Lunar spacecraft exhaust could obscure clues to origins of life

Naturally occurring “space weather station” elucidates new way to study habitability of planets orbiting M dwarf stars

NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory spots record-breaking asteroid in pre-survey observations

We finally know how the most common types of planets are created

Astronomers find missing link to galaxy's most common planets

Scientists find evidence dark matter and neutrinos may interact, challenging standard model of the universe