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NASA and NOAA have confirmed that the Sun has entered its solar maximum phase, the most active part of its 11-year cycle. During this period, the Sun becomes more volatile, and an increase in solar storms and activity can have various effects on Earth and space. Solar maximum marks a peak in sunspot numbers, leading to frequent solar eruptions and changes in space weather.

Impact of Solar Maximum on Earth

According to Jamie Favors, Director of NASA’s Space Weather Programme, the heightened solar activity provides unique insights into the Sun’s behaviour but also impacts Earth. These solar events can disrupt satellite operations, astronauts in space, as well as GPS and communication systems. The increased solar storms also create a greater likelihood of geomagnetic events on Earth, like the auroras seen in recent months.

Recent Solar Activity and Future Predictions

In May 2024, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded one of the most intense solar storms in two decades. This solar flare activity peaked with an X9.0 flare, the most powerful so far in this cycle. However, as Elsayed Talaat, NOAA‘s Director of Space Weather Operations, pointed out, the exact peak of the solar maximum phase will only be confirmed after observing a decline in activity. Current forecasts suggest this period of high activity could last another year.

Space Weather Research and Future Missions

NASA and NOAA continue to study the Sun’s effects, with upcoming missions set to explore space weather. Notably, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will make its closest approach to the Sun in December 2024, gathering unprecedented data on solar activity. This research is crucial for the success of space missions like NASA’s Artemis programme, which will send astronauts to explore deep space.

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Meteorite From Outer Solar System Challenges Planet Formation Timeline in Early Solar System

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Meteorite From Outer Solar System Challenges Planet Formation Timeline in Early Solar System

A minuscule meteorite seems to be rewriting the history of our solar system. The 50-gram Northwest Africa 12264 has brought a new understanding of when and how rocky worlds came together. Inner planets such as Earth and Mars were thought to have formed earlier than their more distant siblings, given temperatures and composition. But a new study of this meteorite, which originates from beyond the asteroid belt, suggests that the birth of planets throughout the solar system occurred tens of millions of years earlier than previously believed, narrowing the gap in time between the solar system’s inner and outer surfaces.

Outer Solar System Meteorite Reveals Rocky Planets Likely Formed Simultaneously Across the Galaxy

As per a study led by Dr Ben Rider-Stokes of The Open University and published in Communications Earth & Environment, the meteorite’s chemical makeup offers critical evidence. Its chromium and oxygen isotope ratios place its origin in the outer solar system. Most strikingly, lead isotope dating determined its age to be about 4.564 billion years, almost identical to basalt samples from the inner solar system that represent early planetary crusts.

These findings directly challenge the previous assumption that rocky planets beyond Jupiter formed two to three million years later due to their water-rich composition. Ice and water were thought to slow differentiation, the internal layering of planetary bodies. But this meteorite, with its outer solar birth and inner solar age, points to a far more synchronised process of rocky planet formation.

Scientists note that the discovery is also consistent with observations of exoplanetary systems. Based on this and past observations of disks of dust and gas around other stars, the evidence of planetesimals forming quickly and over large orbital separations adds to the argument that early solar system evolution may have been more universal than thought.

As trivial as the time difference might be in the context of a universe, the question is huge. A new timeline of planet formation is not only a retelling of Earth’s history but may also help determine how astronomers think about how planets form in the galaxy more generally, providing new hints about where and how in the galaxy Earth-like planets could take shape.

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NASA’s Hubble and Webb Discover Bursting Star Formation in Small Magellanic Cloud



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NASA’s Hubble and Webb Discover Bursting Star Formation in Small Magellanic Cloud

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NASA’s Hubble and Webb Discover Bursting Star Formation in Small Magellanic Cloud

Scientists from NASA observed the bursting expansion of gas, stars, and dust from the glittering territory of the dual star clusters using Hubble and Webb space telescopes. NGC 460 and NGC 456 stay in the Small Magellanic Cloud, which are open clusters, with dwarf galaxies and orbit the Milky Way. These clusters are part of the extensive star complex clusters and nebulae that are most likely to be linked to each other. Stars are born upon the collapse of clouds.

Hubble and Webb Reveal Explosive Star Births in Small Magellanic Cloud

As per a report from NASA, the open clusters are from anywhere from a few dozen to many young stars, which are loosely bound by gravity. The images captured by Hubble capture the glowing and ionised gas, which comes from stellar radiation and blows bubbles in the form of gas and dust, which is blue in colour. The infrared of Webb shows the clumps and delicate filament-like structures and dust, which is red in colour.

NGC 460 and NGC 456: A Window into Early Universe Star Formation

Hubble shows the images of dust in the form of a silhouette against the blocking light; however, in the images of Webb, the dust is warmed by starlight and glows with infrared waves. The blend of gas and dust between the stars of the universe is called the interstellar medium. The region holding these clusters is known as the N83-84-85 complex and is home to multiple, rare O-type stars. These are hot and extremely massive stars that burn hydrogen like the Sun.

Such a state mimics the condition in the early universe; therefore, the Small Magellanic Cloud gives a nearby lab to find out the theories regarding star formation and the interstellar medium of the cosmos’s early stage.

With these observations, the researchers tend to study the gas flow from convergence to divergence, which helps in refining the difference between the Small Magellanic Cloud and its dwarf galaxy, and the Large Magellanic Cloud. Further, it helps in knowing the interstellar medium and gravitational interactions between the galaxies.

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New Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Could Reveal Secrets of Distant Worlds

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New Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Could Reveal Secrets of Distant Worlds

The entry of a third known object into our solar system has been confirmed on July 1, 2025 by the astronomers. This object is named 3I/ATLAS, where 3I stands for “Third Interstellar”, having a highly hyperbolic (eccentricity ≈ 6.2) orbit, confirming it is not bound to the Sun but is a true interstellar visitor. Only two such visitors, 1I/ʻOumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019), had been seen before. Notably, 3I/ATLAS appears to be the largest and brightest interstellar wanderer yet discovered.

Comparison with previous interstellars

According to NASA, astronomers from the ATLAS survey first spotted the object on July 1, 2025, using a telescope in Chile. It immediately drew attention for its unusual motion. Shortly after discovery, observers saw a faint coma and tail, leading to its classification as comet C/2025 N1 (ATLAS).

This comet-like appearance is shared with 2I/Borisov, the second interstellar visitor. Global observatories now track 3I/ATLAS. It poses no threat but offers a rare opportunity to study alien material. Since 1I/ʻOumuamua was observed only as it was leaving the solar system, it was difficult for astronomers to get enough data on it to confirm its exact nature — hence the crazy theories about it being an alien spaceship — though it’s almost certainly an asteroid or a comet.

Size and Significance

3I/ATLAS is much larger and brighter than earlier interstellar visitors. It is about 15 kilometers (km) [9 miles] in diameter, with huge uncertainty, compared to 100m for 1I/’Oumuamua and less than 1km for 2I/Borisov. This brightness and size makes it a a better target for study. Astronomers are planning to analyze its light for chemical signatures from its home system to get clues about the formation of distant planetary systems.

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