Down To Earth

Four environmental organizations filed a petition Thursday urging the Federal Communications Commission to reverse its approval of a startup's plan to beam on-demand sunlight from space to Earth. The groups argue the agency failed to consider the project's potential impacts on wildlife and astronomy, reigniting debate over regulating commercial space ventures and their consequences for the night sky and ecosystems.

The Space Development Agency's fourth Tranche 1 mission has taken place, with SpaceX serving as launch provider. The mission adds to the SDA's proliferated low-Earth-orbit constellation of military satellites designed for communications and missile tracking. Tranche 1 deployments are a key step in the US effort to build a resilient network of hundreds of small satellites in orbit.

A new study in the PASTA survey examines chemical clock relations in solar twins and analogs that host planets. By measuring elements such as yttrium and magnesium in stellar surfaces, researchers can estimate stellar ages, helping them trace how planetary systems evolve around stars similar to the Sun and compare their histories with our own solar system.

New research published in AGU's journal suggests that oxygen-deprived underwater zones, long dismissed as biological 'dead zones', may instead offer clues about conditions on the early Earth, when life existed before oxygen became abundant in the oceans and atmosphere. The finding challenges assumptions about what these low-oxygen environments mean, and is drawing attention for reframing them as windows into how early life may have survived.

A full-length documentary on the weaponization of space and the race for military power is drawing wide attention. It explores how major powers are developing satellites, anti-satellite weapons and space-based defence capabilities, and what an armed conflict beyond Earth's atmosphere could mean for global security.

A new study suggests the Solar System is far more chaotic than long assumed, with planetary orbits so unstable that the system will eventually be completely destroyed. Researchers modelling long-term gravitational interactions reportedly found the planets' configuration is transient rather than permanent, prompting discussion about how secure Earth's cosmic neighbourhood really is over immense timescales.

The Pentagon is backing an ambitious plan to collect solar power in space and beam it back to Earth, according to reports from energy news outlets. Space-based solar power has long been proposed as a way to deliver continuous clean energy regardless of weather or darkness, but has faced major cost and engineering hurdles. The news is drawing attention given the US military's potential role in funding and testing the technology.

Google is developing Project Suncatcher, a plan to deploy AI chips in space, an idea being presented as a potential turning point for the future of computing. The proposal, discussed widely in tech-focused communities, envisions satellites equipped with AI processors to expand computing capacity beyond Earth. Observers are debating the feasibility, costs and implications of running AI hardware in orbit.

Scientists have reported finding a hole in the atmosphere above Earth, a claim drawing wide public attention online. The discovery is being linked by many viewers to the well-known ozone hole over Antarctica, which continues to be monitored by researchers. People are discussing what causes such holes, how dangerous they are, and what scientists are doing to repair atmospheric damage.

Scientists are using geoneutrinos—near-massless particles produced by radioactive decay inside the Earth—to build a new picture of the planet's deep interior. Wired reports that detecting these elusive particles, which pass through matter almost unnoticed, helps researchers estimate how much heat the Earth generates and how its rocks and elements are distributed, with implications for understanding plate tectonics and the planet's thermal evolution.

Physicists have detailed how an extraordinarily high-energy photon, around 300 teraelectronvolts, could have travelled to Earth. Such photons are usually expected to be absorbed or degraded over intergalactic distances, so explaining its survival challenges existing models of cosmic radiation and may point to new physics or a closer-than-assumed source.

Researchers at the University of Washington have concluded that greenhouse gases already released into the atmosphere will continue warming the planet for decades, regardless of future emission cuts. The study's finding underscores that some degree of climate change is now effectively locked in, and it is being picked up by regional news outlets across the United States.

Attention is turning to the idea of placing data centers in orbit, shifting computing infrastructure off Earth and into space. The concept raises questions about how orbital compute would be regulated, powered and cooled, and whether it could ease growing demands on terrestrial data centers. Discussion so far focuses on the proposal itself, with no confirmed deployments announced.

A website called Where Is the Planet is drawing attention on Hacker News, where users are sharing and discussing it. The site's name suggests it answers a playful question about Earth's location in space, and it has picked up dozens of upvotes from readers intrigued by the simple, singular premise. Little further detail about the project's origin or purpose has been reported.

NASA and SpaceX's Crew-12 mission marked its farewell with a change of command ceremony aboard the International Space Station. The departing crew delivered farewell remarks as command of the station formally handed over, a standard step ahead of a crew's return to Earth. The ceremony was carried live, drawing attention from space watchers following the mission's conclusion.

Asteroid 2026 SA8, estimated at 5-9 metres across, is due to pass Earth on 28 September 2026 at 06:45 UTC, coming within about 379,868 km — just inside the Moon's average distance. The roughly 6.6 km/s object is one of several small near-Earth asteroids being tracked for close approaches in recent and coming days.

The Russian House in Dhaka has held an event marking the 69th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik-1, the Soviet satellite that became the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth in 1957. The commemoration in Bangladesh's capital highlights the lasting historical significance of the milestone that opened the space age.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission is wrapping up its stay aboard the International Space Station, with the crew holding a farewell ceremony and handing over command before departing orbit. The change of command marks the traditional transfer of responsibility aboard the station as the outgoing crew prepares to return to Earth aboard their SpaceX spacecraft.

Science on a Sphere is a room-sized globe display developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that projects planetary data onto a suspended sphere, and versions of it are shown at the Smithsonian and other museums worldwide. Visitors and science communicators are highlighting the system as a striking way to visualise Earth science, climate and space data for the public.

Actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie has drawn attention to the scale of destruction in Gaza by sharing Google Earth satellite images showing devastated neighbourhoods. The images illustrate the extent of damage to buildings and infrastructure across the territory. Jolie, a longtime UNHCR goodwill ambassador, has repeatedly spoken out on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

A lecture argues that understanding the Anthropocene — the idea that humanity has entered a new geological epoch defined by its impact on Earth's ecosystems — requires serious engagement with global history. Drawing on feminist anthropology, it examines the awkward relations between human societies, colonial histories and environmental change, framing the concept as a lens for rethinking how humans relate to the planet.

Actress and humanitarian envoy Angelina Jolie used Google Earth imagery to illustrate the scale of destruction in Gaza, pointing to satellite views to help audiences grasp how much of the territory has been devastated. The visual demonstration is drawing attention for making the destruction tangible in a way statistics often fail to do.

Reports say US military weapons and vehicles are set to adopt motor technology that does not rely on rare-earth materials. The shift would reduce dependence on rare-earth supply chains, which are heavily dominated by China, and comes amid growing concerns over mineral security for defense manufacturing.

Peter Watts' 2006 hard science fiction novel Blindsight is being discussed, prompting readers to revisit the book and its ideas about consciousness, first contact and intelligence. The novel, which follows a crew investigating an alien presence after thousands of objects appear in Earth's orbit, remains influential in science fiction circles and is often recommended for its demanding, ideas-heavy approach.

A Lord of the Rings film project associated with Stephen Colbert has reportedly been put on hold in the wake of the Warner Bros. merger, according to a report circulating among film news outlets. The reported pause suggests the corporate restructuring is affecting development of Tolkien-related projects, though no official confirmation or details about the film's status have been given.