If the Laschamps geomagnetic excursion happened today, aviation radiation exposure would be radically altered – with “shielded pockets” in the north
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 18-Jun-2026 06:16 ET (18-Jun-2026 10:16 GMT/UTC)
Earth’s magnetic field acts as a vital shield against radiation arriving from space, but it is not constant. A new international study has examined how a reduction of the magnetic field similar to the Laschamps excursion would affect aviation on routes such as Helsinki–Dubai and Helsinki–New York if it occurred today.
Embargoed until 14:00 CET Tuesday March 24, 2026: An international team of astronomers have made the groundbreaking discovery of a second planet in the same system where they discovered another planet last year.
Detected at an early stage of formation in the disc around a young star, the young planet named WISPIT 2c is estimated to be about 5 million years-old and most likely ten times the mass of Jupiter.
The star, WISPIT 2 is located in the constellation of the Eagle, a prominent equatorial constellation visible in the summer northern hemisphere (July-November) along the Milky Way.
The study was led by PhD student, Chloe Lawlor from the Centre for Astronomy at the University of Galway, in collaboration with PhD student Richelle van Capelleveen, Leiden Observatory, Netherlands and postdoctoral researcher Guillaume Bourdarot, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany.
Swarms of pico-satellites could work together as a single large antenna for direct-to-smartphone communications, as reported by researchers from Japan. Instead of relying on a single large satellite with a phased-array antenna, the team showed that pico-satellites orbiting Earth in formation could each carry individual phased-array elements and be synchronized wirelessly. The proof-of-principle experiment demonstrated reliable, high-quality data transmission, paving the way for cheaper, more reliable network coverage worldwide.
An invisible companion consuming material from the naked-eye star gamma-Cas has been revealed as the culprit for curious X-rays coming from the stellar system, closing the case on a mystery that has puzzled astronomers for more than fifty years. Unique high-resolution observations made by the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) revealed that the X-rays are linked to the orbital motion of a companion white dwarf star, enabling astronomers to finally solve the mystery.