NASA's Perseverance rover has detected 'mini-lightning' on Mars for the first time, capturing faint crackles from dust-driven electrical discharges during storms. These tiny, centimetre-scale sparks, unlike Earth's lightning, were recorded by the rover's microphone, offering compelling evidence of atmospheric electrical activity on the Red Planet. Researchers are eager for further confirmation.

India has added seven new names to the Martian geological map. Prominent Kerala locations like Periyar, Bekal, Varkala, Thumba, and Valiamala now represent features on Mars. Renowned geologist MS Krishnan is also honoured with a crater and plain designation. These recognitions highlight India's growing contribution to planetary science and international space research.

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is the focus of the eighth official UN and IAWN planetary-defence exercise, running from November 27, 2025, to January 27, 2026. This live, coordinated global campaign allows experts to refine tracking methods and strengthen readiness against future Near-Earth Object threats, despite the comet posing no danger to Earth.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are set for a lavish Thanksgiving feast, a far cry from earlier, simpler meals. This year's menu boasts turkey, clams, oysters, crab, and quail, sent up in September. This culinary comfort aims to replicate home-cooked meals, providing a vital sense of humanity for the crew orbiting Earth.

The total solar eclipse on August 2, 2027, will be a spectacular, yet localized, event. While parts of Africa, the Middle East, and southern Europe will witness totality, most of the world will see only a partial eclipse or no change at all. The Moon's shadow is too narrow to darken the entire planet simultaneously.

A newly discovered, faint radio emission, the Hectometric Continuum, emerges only after sunset and pulses through Earth's upper atmosphere for several hours. This natural radiation, undetectable from the ground, originates from plasma interactions within the magnetosphere and has surprised scientists due to its nighttime-only appearance and sensitivity to calm space weather.

New research suggests Earth's Moon formed from the catastrophic collision of our planet with its "sister" planet, Theia, born nearby. This "sibling" planet theory, supported by iron isotope evidence, explains the Moon's composition and Earth's stable tilt. The Moon is now seen as the last remnant of a lost world, offering insights into planetary formation.

Four volunteers are spending a year in NASA's 3D-printed Mars habitat, simulating life on the Red Planet. This mission, CHAPEA, tests how isolation, limited resources, and confined spaces affect human health and teamwork. Researchers are gathering crucial data on sleep, stress, and problem-solving to make future Mars missions safer and more achievable.

Scientists have uncovered massive, dense rock structures deep beneath the western Pacific, challenging long-held theories about Earth's mantle. Advanced seismic imaging reveals these anomalies, which don't fit current models of subducting tectonic plates. Their existence suggests a more complex and ancient Earth interior than previously understood, prompting a re-evaluation of geological processes.

An active underwater volcano off Canada's coast has revealed a vibrant deep-sea habitat, teeming with hundreds of thousands of Pacific white skate eggs. This geothermally active seamount provides a warm, mineral-rich environment, accelerating embryonic development and creating a crucial nursery. Researchers are studying this unique interaction between volcanic heat and reproduction, highlighting its importance for deep-sea life.

Saturn stunned skywatchers on 23 November when its iconic rings seemed to vanish, leaving the planet looking strangely bare. Astronomers confirmed nothing was wrong. Earth had passed directly through the ring plane, making the vast icy bands appear edge-on and nearly invisible. This rare alignment, occurring every 13 to 15 years, created a dramatic but temporary celestial illusion.

Astronomers have discovered a new, previously unnoticed concentration of icy bodies in the Kuiper Belt, dubbed the 'inner kernel.' This finding, made possible by advanced clustering algorithms, suggests the cold classical belt is more layered than previously thought. It offers crucial new insights into Neptune's complex migration and the early evolution of our Solar System, challenging existing models.

Antarctica's ozone hole is showing significant recovery, appearing smaller and breaking up earlier this year. Scientists attribute this positive trend to global efforts under the Montreal Protocol, which has reduced ozone-depleting chemicals. While weather plays a role, the long-term outlook for the ozone layer's full recovery by the late 2060s remains promising.

NASA has discovered CWISE J1249, a mysterious red celestial object moving at over one million miles per hour through the Milky Way. This object, with its extremely low mass and unique infrared signature, challenges current theories of stellar and planetary formation. Scientists are investigating if it's a supernova remnant or an ejected planet, as its characteristics defy conventional classification.

The Elephant’s Foot, a solidified mass formed beneath Chernobyl’s Reactor Four in 1986, once emitted nearly 10,000 roentgens an hour, enough to kill within minutes. Created from molten fuel and debris, it weighs about two tonnes and remains dangerously radioactive. Even decades later, it stands as one of the most lethal legacies of the disaster and a lasting reminder of the risks of nuclear failure.

NASA’s new images of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS have done little to settle the debate. While the agency insists it is a harmless comet, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb argues the data leaves key anomalies unexplained, especially the million-kilometre, ruler-straight features captured by amateur astronomers. Loeb says December’s close approach may finally reveal whether 3I/ATLAS is natural, or something engineered.

A new Amazon Prime documentary alleges three alien craft landed at a New Mexico air base in 1964, with former President George H.W. Bush reportedly informed of the encounter decades later. The film also details a secret government "Legacy Programme" for UFO retrieval, raising national security concerns about ongoing secrecy.

Modern warfare faces a critical challenge as GPS becomes unreliable due to jamming and spoofing. The Pentagon is exploring quantum sensors, like magnetometers, that use Earth's magnetic field for navigation. While promising, these technologies require detailed maps and face hurdles in battlefield conditions, pushing for hybrid solutions to ensure military autonomy.