Orbital science, astronomy, remote sensing, and what lies beyond the atmosphere.
A Nature study by MIT nuclear physicist Areg Danagoulian proposes a striking way to check whether satellites are carrying nuclear weapons. The idea uses high-energy protons already trapped around Earth to create a detectable neutron signal from hidden nuclear material. The work focuses on a long-standing gap in space security. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty…
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Researchers at the University of Vienna and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have used machine learning to revisit a mysterious gamma-ray glow near the center of the Milky Way. Their study, published in Physical Review Letters, found that dark matter remains a plausible explanation for the signal known as the Galactic Center Excess. The finding reopens…
A 2026 arXiv study by Slava G. Turyshev argues that the Sun’s own gravity could become the heart of an ultra-powerful space observatory. The proposed solar gravitational lens, or SGL, could someday turn compact stars, black holes and planet-forming disks into detailed images that current telescopes can only hint at. The idea sounds almost impossibly…
Researchers at Southwest Research Institute have used NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft to measure how the solar wind weakens as it travels toward the edge of the solar system. The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, shows that the stream of charged particles flowing from the Sun is gradually slowed by material drifting in from interstellar…
