How could life exist on Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa? This is what a recent study published in The Planetary Science Journal hopes to address as a pair | Space
Category: space
SPHEREx imaging reveals increased sublimation activity on 3I/ATLAS
The interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS, was first discovered in July 2025, and made its closest approach to the sun (perihelion) in late October. New observations of 3I/ATLAS were taken in December from the SPHEREx observatory—a near-infrared space observatory used for spectrophotometry. The analysis of these observations was recently discussed by a team of scientists in a paper on arXiv, and reveals some dramatic differences from the data taken before 3I/ATLAS reached perihelion.
SPHEREx first analyzed spectrographic data from 3I/ATLAS in August, shortly after its discovery. At the time, the interstellar object was moving inward, getting closer to the sun, but still between Jupiter and Mars.
At this time, spectrographic analysis showed “barely detectable” H2O-gas, according to the study authors, along with a CO2 coma. The CO2 gas production was estimated in a prior study to be about 9.4 × 1026 molecules/sec, with upper limits for H2O and CO being much lower. Carbon-based organic compounds (collectively referred to as C-H), like methanol (CH3OH), formaldehyde (H2CO), methane (CH4), and ethane (C2H6) were not detectable at the time.
A century’s worth of data could help predict future solar cycle activity
Research conducted by an international team of astronomers from Southwest Research Institute, Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences in India and the Max Planck Institute in Germany could help predict upcoming solar cycle activity.
To enable these predictions, the team has devised a new way to look at historical data from the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KoSO), a field station of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) Bangalore, to reconstruct the sun’s polar magnetic behavior over more than 100 years.
“We needed to find the polar magnetic information hidden in the historical data,” said SwRI scientist Dr. Bibhuti Kumar Jha, second author of a paper about these findings. “To start, we cleaned up and calibrated early data to today’s standards and then correlated patterns with modern observations. I addressed anomalies like time zone slips and rotation errors to enable this kind of study.”
Tesla Robotaxis, AGI Myths, and the Real Economics of the Musk Economy
Elon Musk’s ventures, particularly Tesla’s robotaxis and advancements in AI, are poised to revolutionize the economy and society, with significant potential for growth, discovery, and profound implications for the future ##
## Questions to inspire discussion.
Robotaxi Economics & Business Model.
🚖 Q: What determines robotaxi success beyond achieving autonomy? A: Success depends on unit economics, fleet scalability, and supply elasticity during peak demand, not who reaches autonomy first, with the ability to integrate privately owned vehicles into a single economic system being critical.
💰 Q: What margin advantage does Tesla’s robotaxi model have over competitors? A: Tesla projects 35% margins by 2030, significantly higher than Uber’s 7.9% and Waymo’s break-even margins, enabling rapid revenue growth.
📈 Q: What revenue growth is expected for Tesla’s robotaxi business? A: Tesla expects 4.4-5x growth in robotaxi revenue over the next 5 years, potentially greater due to untapped use cases like long road trips.
Mercury’s BepiColombo Mio and Earth’s GEOTAIL show shared wave frequency properties across planetary magnetospheres
An international team from Kanazawa University (Japan), Tohoku University (Japan), LPP (France), and partners has demonstrated that chorus emissions, natural electromagnetic waves long studied in Earth’s magnetosphere, also occur in Mercury’s magnetosphere exhibiting similar chirping frequency changes.
Using the Plasma Wave Investigation instrument aboard BepiColombo’s Mercury orbiter Mio, six Mercury flybys between 2021 and 2025 detected plasma waves in the audible range. Comparison with decades of GEOTAIL data confirmed identical instantaneous frequency changes.
This provides the first reliable evidence of intense electron activity at Mercury, advancing understanding of auroral processes across the solar system.
Stealth quantum sensors unlock possibilities anywhere GPS doesn’t work
As commercial interest in quantum technologies accelerates, entrepreneurial minds at the University of Waterloo are not waiting for opportunities—they are creating them.
Among them is Alex Maierean (MMath ‘24), CEO of Phantom Photonics and part-time Ph.D. student at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC). Her startup is developing ultra-sensitive quantum sensors that can filter out background noise and detect the faintest signals, even down to a single photon—the smallest unit of light. This offers new levels of precision and stealth for industries operating in extreme environments, from the depths of the ocean to outer space.
Launched in 2023, the Velocity startup emerged from fundamental research at an IQC lab led by Dr. Thomas Jennewein, IQC affiliate and adjunct faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Today, the startup is based at Velocity where it has established a dedicated lab space to continue to develop its quantum sensor technology and build its core team.
