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Population III stars are the first generation that formed in the Universe, made from pristine hydrogen and helium, without any heavier "metals." They're difficult to find, surrounded by the early cosmic fog and lasting for only a few million years, but a new paper proposes that Webb could detect the pollution from these first stars as they're enriching the gas around them. There would be a hybrid phase when the first galaxies could contain second-generation stars and the polluted gas from the first stars.

An unfolding mystery is how early supermassive black holes got so big, so early. Their high mass is tough to explain through a ladder of mergers; instead, astronomers suggest they could have formed directly from huge clouds of gas. In a new paper, researchers propose the signals these directly-forming supermassive black holes might emit, and how they could even be detectable by James Webb before they collapse.

What methods can be used to identify subsurface oceans on the five largest moons of Uranus: Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, and Miranda? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as a team of scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) investigated potentially using radio science on the Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP) concept mission, which was designated as a high priority Flagship-class mission by the 2023–2032 Planetary Science Decadal Survey.

How do stars form?

People with PCOS who struggle to conceive tend to have lower levels of a gut microbe that has been linked to endometrial function

People with PCOS who struggle to conceive tend to have lower levels of a gut microbe that has been linked to endometrial function

The Sun and its planets formed out of the solar nebula, around 4.6 billion years ago. But what was the delay between the Sun's formation and the planets? Astronomers have surveyed 78 protoplanetary disks in the Ophiuchus star-forming region and seen examples of every step in the planetary formation process. They found that the planets start forming much earlier than previously believed, when the disk is still filled with gas and dust, growing together with their host stars.

What processes during the formation of Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, potentially led to it having cryovolcanism, and even an internal ocean? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated the formation and evolution of Charon to ascertain whether it once possessed an internal ocean during its history and if this could have led to cryovolcanism based on images obtained by NASA’s New Horizons probe.

The dwarf planet Sedna will reach its closest point to the Sun in 2075, the ideal time to send a mission to study this world that takes 11,000 years to orbit the Sun. In a new paper, researchers consider two exotic propulsion systems for a mission like this: a direct fusion drive, and an enhanced solar sail. Both methods could allow a spacecraft to reach Sedna in under a decade of flight time.

Spielberg's contemporary spin on H. G. Wells would be up there with his best if only he could have nailed the ending.

Blue Origin, the spaceflight company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, launched its 13th crewed New Shepard rocket on a successful suborbital spaceflight on Sunday, June 29, 2025.

Muon Space released the first images from its new wildfire detection satellite, FireSat.

The World Meteorological Organization maintains a list of 21 hurricane names for each year. In especially busy years, a supplemental list is used.

Parisian astronomer Camille Flammarion brought used science fiction to bring Mars to life

"Returning the scientifically selected samples that await us on Mars, as part of a balanced portfolio, will help to ensure the US does not cede leadership in deep space to other nations, such as China."

How were these unusual Martian spherules created?

When humans finally reach Mars, they're going to rely on local resources for habitat construction. Researchers are considering how Martian explorers could use lichen and bacteria together with Martian regolith to form building materials. These biomaterials can glue together particles of crushed rock into a building material which can then be 3D-printed into houses, furniture and other buildings. This system might only require regolith, air, light and an inorganic medium to create the building material.

George Lucas had big plans for a live-action TV series before he sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 — so what happened?

On Episode 167 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik are joined by AJ Gemer of Lunar Outpost, a fast-moving company innovating in cislunar technology.