Astronomy

Juice Spies Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

This image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was captured by the JANUS camera aboard ESA’s Juice spacecraft on November 6, 2025, just seven days after the comet made its closest approach to the Sun. At the time, Juice was about 66 million km (41 million miles) away from the comet. The inset in the image shows the same data, but processed to highlight the coma structure. The arrows in the top left indicate the direction in which the comet was moving (blue) and the relative direction of the Sun (yellow). Image credit: ESA / Juice / JANUS.

The JANUS science camera aboard ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) has captured new images of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS. This image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was captured by the JANUS camera aboard ESA’s Juice spacecraft on November 6, 2025, just seven days after the comet made its closest approach to the Sun. At the time, Juice was about 66 million km (41 million miles)...

Archaeology

Early Humans May Have Invented System of Symbols Long Before Writing

Plaquette with hybrid creature (so-called ‘Adorant’), ivory, from the Swabian Aurignacian. Image credit: Christian Bentz & Ewa Dutkiewicz, doi: 10.1073/pnas.2520385123.

Early humans living in Europe some 40,000 years ago developed a conventional system of geometric signs — deliberate, repeatable markings that went beyond decoration and hint at an early form of structured communication, according to a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Mobile artifacts with geometric signs from the Swabian Aurignacian. Image credit:...

Physics

Astrophysicists Propose New Method to Measure Hubble Constant

Schematic of the expansion of the Universe from the Big Bang to the present day. Image credit: NASA / EFBrazil.

Astrophysicists from the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago have developed an innovative method to measure the Hubble constant — the rate at which the Universe is expanding — using the subtle background hum of gravitational waves. As gravitational-wave detectors become more sensitive in the coming years, this approach could reshape our understanding of cosmic history...

Genetics

Japanese Archipelago Was Once a Refuge for Cave Lions

Cave lions painted in the Chauvet Cave, France.

Between 73,000 and 20,000 years ago (Late Pleistocene), the Japanese Archipelago was inhabited by cave lions (Panthera spelaea), according to a new genetic and proteomic analysis of fossilized felid remains previously attributed to tigers (Panthera tigris). Cave lions painted in the Chauvet Cave, France. Lions and tigers were widespread apex predators during the Late Pleistocene and integral components...

Geology

New Research Uncovers Hidden Complexity beneath Martian Surface

This perspective view from ESA’s Mars Express shows three of Mars’ famously colossal volcanoes (from left to right): Arsia, Pavonis and Ascraeus Mons. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin.

New orbital data reveal that the most recently active volcanic systems on Mars weren’t simple one-off blasts into space; instead, long-lived magmatic plumbing beneath Pavonis Mons, one of the Red Planet’s largest volcanoes, reshaped lava flows over time, with distinct eruptive phases and evolving chemical signatures, offering fresh insights into the planet’s inner dynamics and how rocky planets...