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NASA Science Flights Venture to Improve Severe Winter Weather Warnings
Jan 27, 2026
A team of NASA scientists deployed on an international mission designed to better understand severe winter storms.
The North American Upstream Feature-Resolving and Tropopause Uncertainty Reconnaissance Experiment, or NURTURE, is an airborne campaign that uses a suite of remote sensing instruments to collect atmospheric data on winter weather with a goal of improving the models that feed storm forecasts.
This combination of instruments will also serve as a proxy to demonstrate the potential to collect similar observations from space.
On Jan. 24, the research team departed from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, aboard the center’s Gulfstream III aircraft (G-III) en route to Goose Bay, Canada.
For nearly a month, the plane will be making flights stretching from the Northern Atlantic Ocean over Canada through the Northeast United States, measuring moisture, clouds, and ozone as winter storms develop.
The second phase of the campaign, scheduled to fly out of Langley next year, will serve as the inaugural mission of NASA’s new airborne science laboratory, a Boeing 777 These flights will cover a larger range of 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) and use a larger suite of instruments.
Researchers will collect detailed observations of the atmosphere over Europe, Greenland, the North Atlantic Ocean, Canada, the majority of of the U.S., and much of the Arctic Ocean.
“Part of NASA’s role is to leverage our expertise and resources for the benefit of humankind – with innovation always being at our core,” said Will McCarty, weather program manager and program scientist at NASA’s Headquarters in Washington.
“The NURTURE campaign is doing exactly that by outfitting our aircraft with one-of-a-kind instruments designed to put our science data into action to understand dangerous weather events before, and as they form.”
As the NASA G-III flies over Canada, a parallel companion mission led by a team of international partners called the North Atlantic Waveguide, Dry Intrusion, and Downstream Impact Campaign (NAWDIC) will be operating out of Shannon, Ireland.
Meanwhile, a third airborne mission led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will be studying how moisture is transported from the tropics to the Western U.S.
By combining the data collected during these campaigns, scientists will be able to track weather systems as they interact and intersect globally to understand the large-scale flows and small-scale features that drive high-impact winter weather events.
“These storms are not forecasted very accurately,” said Amin Nehrir, a research scientist at NASA Langley and co-investigator for the NURTURE mission.
“Space observations of high latitudes in the Arctic lack the sensitivity needed to gather accurate data in such a dry, atmospheric environment.
In lower latitudes, we benefit from observations from radiosondes, surface networks, and satellite observations. We are using cutting-edge technology beyond those that we have in space to get a better snapshot of atmospheric dynamics.”
Examples of severe winter weather events include cold air outbreaks, windstorms, hazardous seas, snow and ice storms, sea ice breakup, and extreme precipitation.
Data from the NURTURE mission will be used to inform first responders, decision makers, and the public sooner while also demonstrating the potential for NASA’s remote weather sensor capabilities to be developed for use on future space-based missions.
“Effects from severe weather have significant costs that threaten lives and national security by destabilizing supply chains and damaging infrastructure,” said Steven Cavallo, principal investigator for NURTURE and lead scientist at the University of Oklahoma, School of Meteorology.
The NURTURE mission is funded by NASA’s Earth Science Division and managed by researchers at NASA Langley and NASA Ames in collaboration with the University of Oklahoma.
To learn more about NURTURE, visit: https://espo.nasa.gov/nurture
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/airborne-science/nasa-science-flights-venture-to-improve-severe-winter-weather-warnings/
Webb Data Reveals Dark Matter
01/26/2026
This image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, containing nearly 800,000 galaxies, is overlaid with a map of dark matter, represented in blue.
Brighter blue areas indicate a higher density of dark matter. Researchers used Webb data to find the dark matter — which is invisible — via its gravitational influence on regular matter.
The area of sky shown here is 0.54 square degrees (about 2½ times the size of the full Moon) and located in the constellation Sextans. Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) peered at this region for a total of about 255 hours.
Dark matter doesn’t emit, reflect, absorb, or even block light, and is therefore not visible to the human eye or traditional telescopes.
But it does interact with the universe through gravity, and large clumps or clusters of dark matter have enough mass to curve space itself. Light traveling to Earth from distant galaxies becomes slightly distorted as it passes through the curved fabric of spacetime.
In some cases, the warping is significant enough that it is apparent to the naked eye, almost as if the galaxy were being viewed through a warped windowpane, an effect called strong gravitational lensing.
In the case of the dark matter map shown here, scientists inferred dark matter’s distribution by relying instead on an effect called weak gravitational lensing, which leads to much more subtle distortions of the light from thousands of galaxies.
The dark matter in this area of sky was also mapped in 2007 using data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
The Webb map contains about 10 times more galaxies than do maps of the area made by ground-based observatories and twice as many as Hubble’s map.
It reveals new clumps of dark matter and captures a higher-resolution view compared to the Hubble map.
Both the Hubble and Webb dark matter maps are part of a project called the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS). The full COSMOS “field” is 2 square degrees (about 10 times the size of the full Moon) and has been imaged by at least 15 telescopes in space and on the ground.
Observing the same region with many different telescopes allows scientists to combine complementary views to understand how galaxies grow and how dark matter influences their evolution. Only Webb and Hubble data have been used to map dark matter in the region.
To refine measurements of the distance to many galaxies for the map, the team used Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), designed and managed through launch by the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, along with other space- and ground-based telescopes.
The wavelengths that MIRI detects also make it adept at detecting galaxies obscured by cosmic dust clouds.
The James Webb Space Telescope is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.
Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
Webb’s MIRI was developed through a 50-50 partnership between NASA and ESA. A division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL led the U.S. contribution to MIRI.
JPL also led development of MIRI’s cryocooler, done in collaboration with Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, California, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
To learn more about Webb, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/webb
https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/webb-data-reveals-dark-matter/
NASA, Partners Advance LISA Prototype Hardware
Jan 27, 2026
Engineers and scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, completed tests this month on a second early version of a key element of the upcoming LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission.
The LISA mission, a collaboration between ESA (the European Space Agency) and NASA, will use infrared lasers to detect gravitational waves, or ripples in the fabric of space-time.
The tests involved the frequency reference system, delivered by BAE Systems, that will help control the lasers connecting LISA’s three spacecraft.
The lasers must be finely tuned to make precise measurements — to within a trillionth of a meter, called a picometer.
The team tested the first version of the system in May 2025.
“The extensive round of checkouts on the frequency reference system last year were very successful,” said Ira Thorpe, the project scientist for LISA at NASA Goddard.
“This second unit is identical, so our assessments this time around were less intense and preface a future cross-check of the two, which is the gold-standard for checking the stability of the system overall.”
In addition to the laser system, NASA is contributing the telescopes, devices to manage the buildup of onboard electrical charge, and the framework scientists will need to process the data the mission will generate.
NASA’s contributions are part of the agency’s efforts to innovate on ambitious science missions that will help us better understand how the universe works. LISA will also offer a major advancement in multimessenger astronomy, which is how scientists explore cosmic signals other than light.
The three LISA spacecraft will fly in a vast triangular formation that follows Earth as it orbits the Sun. Each arm of the triangle will stretch 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers).
Each spacecraft will contain two free-floating cubes inside called proof masses. Arriving gravitational waves from throughout the universe will minutely change the lengths of the triangle’s arms.
The lasers connecting the cubes will measure changes in their separation to within a distance smaller than a helium atom.
The enormous scale of the triangle will enable LISA to detect gravitational waves that cannot be found with ground-based facilities, such as those generated when massive black holes in the centers of galaxies merge.
Scientists can use the data to learn about a source’s distance and physical properties.
The LISA mission is slated to launch in the mid-2030s.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/lisa/nasa-partners-advance-lisa-prototype-hardware/
Empowering NASA’s Earth Science Fleet
January 27, 2026
This short essay, “A Plea to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, from Planet Earth”, was posted on LinkedIn byJon Mikel Walton, Former Earth Public Engagement Lead, at NASA JPL: “Jared, I used to manage NASA’s Global Climate Change website.
As we stand on the edge of humanity’s return to the Moon, I’m asking you to restore NASA’s full leadership on Earth science-and its right to speak plainly about the state of our planet. Nearly sixty years ago, Apollo 8 captured Earthrise: a thin crescent of home suspended in darkness.
That single image helped ignite the modern environmental movement, and helped make possible missions like Landsat, which still provides the world’s longest continuous space-based record of Earth’s land surface. (more below)
Today, NASA’s Earth Science fleet is one of America’s most valuable strategic assets: a planetary-scale measurement system tracking Earth’s vital signs across heat, water, ice, ecosystems, and atmospheric gases.
This global coverage and continuity is an achievement no private or academic effort can sustain on its own.
It translates observation into public value, like better storm and flood forecasting, stronger disaster readiness, safer water and food planning, and clearer visibility into climate risk.
This critical public infrastructure saves lives, protects the economy, and keeps the United States ahead.
And yet over the past year, budget uncertainty and political pressure have weakened one of the country’s most trusted sources of Earth intelligence.
Teams were cut, expertise was lost, and NASA’s ability to communicate clearly about climate and environmental risk was silenced-exactly when those risks are accelerating.
Congress has reaffirmed NASA’s science mission by restoring its funding. The question now is whether the agency will lead where it matters most: helping the nation-and the world-understand what’s happening to Earth in real time.
NASA is uniquely positioned to provide this shared reality: what’s changing, why it’s changing, and what it means for lives, livelihoods, and national resilience.
You are one of the few hundred humans who have seen our planet from space.
Astronauts often describe the Overview Effect: awe at Earth’s beauty, clarity about its fragility, and instant understanding that one thin atmosphere protects everything we love.
Space agencies have a profound responsibility to steward this perspective and share it back with the world.
The scientists and engineers at JPL, Goddard, and across NASA are still doing extraordinary work under impossible conditions. They have the data.
They have the expertise. What they need is institutional backing-and the permission-to tell the truth, plainly and consistently.
So here is the mandate: rebuild NASA’s Earth science leadership, safeguard its workforce, and restore its public voice on Earth.
Fund the fleet. Protect the teams. Tell the truth.
It’s time to lead.
Jon Mikel Walton
Former Earth Public Engagement Lead, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
https://nasawatch.com/earth-science/empowering-nasas-earth-science-fleet/
https://nasawatch.com/ask-the-administrator/keiths-top-ten-nasa-list-of-things/
Upcoming Artemis II Space Mission Has Multiple Yuma Proving Ground Connections
Jan. 28, 2026
NASA announced the first crewed mission of the Artemis II will fly around the moon after an opportune launch window sometime between early February and the end of April.
The mission will culminate in the deployment of the Orion space capsule's parachutes, which were rigorously evaluated at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, through multiple developmental tests between 2011 and 2018.
The mission's pilot is slated to be Astronaut Victor Glover, who witnessed multiple developmental tests of the Capsule Parachute Assembly System at the proving ground.
Glover and his crewmates went into a prelaunch health stabilization, or quarantine, Jan. 23 in preparation for the mission.
Most people associate space travel with tremendous speed, but safe deceleration is just as important for the astronauts on board. A spacecraft must travel at approximately 20,000 mph to escape Earth's gravity.
By contrast returning its occupants safely to the ground the same capsule needs to be decelerated from as fast as 24,500 mph to speeds slower than most people drive their cars on residential streets.
Meanwhile, the extreme friction generated as the capsule hurtles back into the Earth's atmosphere at such tremendous speed causes its exterior to heat to more than 4,000 degrees.
Safely landing under these conditions is a tremendous undertaking and large parachutes play an important role in accomplishing it.
The Capsule Parachute Assembly System's cord is made of Kevlar, a strong synthetic fiber used in body armor; the change from steel was made following testing at Yuma Proving Ground.
Each main parachute consists of 10,000 square feet of fabric. The system is designed to deploy sequentially, passing through two stages before fully opening.
On reentry, two drogue parachutes deploy to slow the hurtling 10-ton capsule before three main parachutes bring it down to a languid landing speed of 17 mph.
Further, the parachute system is designed with redundancies to ensure a safe landing for astronauts, even in extreme scenarios such as two parachutes failing or a catastrophic mishap shortly after takeoff.
In many of the tests at the proving ground, evaluators intentionally rigged one or more of the Capsule Parachute Assembly System's parachutes to not deploy, which tested if the remaining functioning chutes could withstand the additional stress of speed and mass that the failure would cause.
In addition to outfitting the test vehicle with far more instrumentation and cameras than would be possible if it were coming from space, testing over land at Yuma Proving Ground made recovery and examination of the parachutes easier than when the capsule lands in the ocean following a real space mission.
The years of hard work paid off. Following a Nov. 16, 2022, launch the uncrewed Orion took a 1.4-million-mile round-trip journey that took it past the moon, reentering the atmosphere and splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean after the Capsule Parachute Assembly System deployed without a hitch Dec. 11, 2022.
Yuma Proving Ground has hosted developmental testing for NASA since the earliest days of the space program.
The precursor to the lunar rover used during the last moon landings in 1971 and 1972, dubbed the "mobility test article," was tested at the proving ground in 1966.
Astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first human to walk on the surface of the moon, visited the proving ground in 1971 to witness developmental testing of the AH-56 Cheyenne Attack Helicopter.
https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4391747/upcoming-artemis-ii-space-mission-has-multiple-yuma-proving-ground-connections/
Genesis Has Some Crazy Ideas, Starting With This Space-Age Minivan
January 27, 2026
Genesis seems to be pushing boundaries lately, and its latest round of concept vehicles makes that clear.
Between a mid-engined supercar, a long-roof luxury barge, and even a sketch of a full-size pickup, the brand seems intent on stretching its design language in every direction.
But even by those standards, the concept you see here, a high-riding minivan that looks more at home in orbit than on asphalt, is something else entirely.
Minivan, But Make It Space Age
Dubbed a “Jet on Wheels,” the study is described as a styling exercise, though it appears to have progressed beyond the sketchpad stage. As seen in images shared online from the Italian magazine Auto&Design, Genesis created at least one full-scale, static prototype.
Genesis sent us one of the official sketches highlighting the aerodynamic silhouette and SUV-like ground clearance of the concept. The silhouette sticks to single-box proportions, with a sharply raked windshield that might remind some of the ‘90s Pontiac Trans Sport.
It sits on oversized alloy wheels that seem to exaggerate the vehicle’s otherworldly profile.
Lighting front and rear follows Genesis’s signature Two Line theme, while the side view incorporates the brand’s characteristic parabolic crease.
But the rear is where things really go off-script with a sculpted, mostly glass tail section that feels pulled straight from speculative science fiction.
As unlikely as it looks for production, the concept isn’t just for show. Speaking with Italian design publication Auto&Design, Hyundai Motor Group’s Chief Creative Officer, Luc Donckerwolke, offered some context about the project.
“We did it because at Genesis we all know we might make a van sooner or later. And since we are used to tackling different categories and architectures, it seemed perfectly natural to us to also address this typology of vehicle.
So, it’s the perfect example of the work we do behind the scenes, in our kitchen”
The luxury minivan segment has been gaining momentum lately, particularly in China, where it’s evolved from a fleet of business shuttles into a status symbol for the elite.
Genesis could eventually join the mix with an unconventional entry aimed at rivals like a possible Lexus LS-based flagship minivan and other premium-brand contenders.
Another interesting concept from the Genesis design studio is an SUV with a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. The project is internally codenamed JH and was eventually shelved.
However, it shows that Genesis once considered a hydrogen offering that could borrow technology from the Hyundai Nexo.
In the image Genesis shared, the JH concept appears as a sleek three-row SUV with complex surfacing and strong visual presence.
The Crest Grille is positioned unusually low, beneath bumper-level intakes that seem to link up with a cutout on the hood. Frameless windows, slim lighting elements, and five-spoke alloy wheels round out the design.
Auto&Design published a few alternate versions of the same concept. One showed more aggressive lighting integrated into the body through deep channels, matched with a lower stance and a coupe-like roofline.
Another rendering stayed closer to familiar proportions, bearing a strong resemblance to what we expect from the upcoming GV90.
In a statement to Carscoops, a Genesis spokesperson acknowledged that many of these design studies won’t progress beyond the concept stage.
Still, he emphasized their value as internal tools, noting that they “showcase the broad capabilities and strengths of the Genesis design team.”
https://www.carscoops.com/2026/01/genesis-minivan-concept-hydrogen-suv-design/
NASA Webb Pushes Boundaries of Observable Universe Closer to Big Bang
Jan 28, 2026
Intriguing Features
MoM-z14 is one of a growing group of surprisingly bright galaxies in the early universe – 100 times more than theoretical studies predicted before the launch of Webb, according to the research team.
“There is a growing chasm between theory and observation related to the early universe, which presents compelling questions to be explored going forward,” said Jacob Shen, a postdoctoral researcher at MIT and a member of the research team.
One place researchers and theorists can look for answers is the oldest population of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. A small percentage of these stars have shown high amounts of nitrogen, which is also showing up in some of Webb’s observations of early galaxies, including MoM-z14.
“We can take a page from archeology and look at these ancient stars in our own galaxy like fossils from the early universe, except in astronomy we are lucky enough to have Webb seeing so far that we also have direct information about galaxies during that time.
It turns out we are seeing some of the same features, like this unusual nitrogen enrichment,” said Naidu.
With galaxy MoM-z14 existing only 280 million years after the big bang, there was not enough time for generations of stars to produce such high amounts of nitrogen in the way that astronomers would expect.
One theory the researchers note is that the dense environment of the early universe resulted in supermassive stars capable of producing more nitrogen than any stars observed in the local universe.
The galaxy MoM-z14 also shows signs of clearing out the thick, primordial hydrogen fog of the early universe in the space around itself.
One of the reasons Webb was originally built was to define the timeline for this “clearing” period of cosmic history, which astronomers call reionization.
This is when early stars produced light of high enough energy to break through the dense hydrogen gas of the early universe and begin travelling through space, eventually making its way to Webb, and us.
Galaxy MoM-z14 provides another clue for mapping out the timeline of reionization, work that was not possible until Webb lifted the veil on this era of the universe.
Legacy of Discovery Continues
Even before Webb’s launch, there were hints that something very unanticipated happened in the early universe, when NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope discovered the bright galaxy GN-z11 400 million years after the big bang.
Webb confirmed the galaxy’s distance — at the time the most distant ever. From there Webb has continued to push back farther and farther in space and time, finding more surprisingly bright galaxies like GN-z11.
As Webb continues to uncover more of these unexpectedly luminous galaxies, it’s clear that the first few were not a fluke.
Astronomers are eagerly anticipating that NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, with its combination of high-resolution infrared imaging and extremely wide field of view, will boost the sample of these bright, compact, chemically enriched early galaxies into the thousands.
“To figure out what is going on in the early universe, we really need more information —more detailed observations with Webb, and more galaxies to see where the common features are, which Roman will be able to provide,” said Yijia Li, a graduate student at the Pennsylvania State University and a member of the research team.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time, with Webb revealing the early universe like never before and showing us how much there still is to discover.”
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory.
Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.
Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
To learn more about Webb, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/webb
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasa-webb-pushes-boundaries-of-observable-universe-closer-to-big-bang/
America's 250th lights up Washington Monument | Space photo of the day
Jan. 28, 2026
To ring in the new year, the Washington Monument was illuminated against the winter night with the number "250" on it in commemoration of the United States' upcoming 250th anniversary.
The image, taken by NASA photographer Bill Ingalls, transforms a familiar sight into a beacon of celebration as the nation begins its yearlong observance of America's anniversary.
What is it?
Completed to honor George Washington, the Washington Monument is a 555-foot-tall (170 meters) marble obelisk, one of the most recognizable structures in the United States and a visual anchor for major civic gatherings in the capital.
On New Year's Eve 2025, the monument became the centerpiece of a large public show tied to the kick off of "America 250" observances.
Reporting by the Washington Post described a projection that turned the obelisk into a towering "birthday candle" paired with a fireworks display.
Where is it?
The Washington Monument is located in Washington, D.C.
Why is it amazing?
The event was one of the rare times the monument has been used as a project surface, as large-scale projection shows like this don't happen too often.
Other imagery was projected onto the Washington Monument as part of the New Year's Eve celebration as well, including space-themed photos, from a full size Saturn V rocket to pictures taken by astronauts on the Apollo moon missions.
The slideshow of space photos reveals how integral NASA and its many programs have been in American history.
https://www.space.com/astronomy/earth/americas-250th-lights-up-washington-monument-space-photo-of-the-day-for-jan-28-2026
Real Dyson spheres? How alien megastructures might survive in space, study explores
Jan 28, 2026 09:00 AM EST
A scientist at the University of Glasgow has delved into the possible existence of massive hypothetical energy-harvesting structures called Dyson spheres.
In a new study, they showed that both stellar engines and Dyson bubbles could become gravitationally stable under the right conditions. This would allow them to orbit distant stars and harvest vast amounts of energy.
Assessing Dyson Spheres
Dyson spheres were first proposed by the physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson in a 1960 paper.
Dyson theorized that the most advanced alien civilizations would have the capacity to harvest the energy from their local star on a massive scale.
This would far exceed the renewable solar technologies we have on Earth today. Instead, vast structures would be deployed around a host star, allowing these hypothetical civilizations to expand far into the cosmos.
Since Dyson first proposed the existence of massive space structures, many papers have explored the possibility of different types of Dyson spheres.
Stellar engines, for example, could harness a star’s power to produce thrust, turning an entire solar system into a moving vehicle. To do so, they would use a large reflective disk to utilize the star’s power.
Dyson bubbles, meanwhile, surround a star with swarms of small energy-harvesting spacecraft.
Whatever the type, one key challenge could prevent their existence: The larger the mega-structure, the harder it is to maintain a stable, functioning infrastructure.
The new study, carried out by Professor of Engineering Science Colin McInnes at the University of Glasgow, presents a mathematical argument for the existence of Dyson spheres.
In a new paper, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, McInnes argues that the right engineering precautions would allow them to remain gravitationally stable, enabling great power-harvesting potential.
In an interview with Phys.org, McInnes said, “the idea of ultra-large artificial structures, such as stellar engines and Dyson bubbles around stars, has been discussed in SETI studies for some time.
My interest is in using mathematical models to try to understand their dynamics, and in particular how they could be configured to be passively stable.”
Harnessing a star’s energy
In his study, McInnes set out to determine whether Dyson spheres could survive without untenable round-the-clock maintenance.
To that end, the University of Glasgow scientist developed simplified models to evaluate the hypothetical structures.
By treating Dyson speheres as extended objects, rather than point masses, they allowed more realistic gravitational and radiation-pressure forces.
In the case of stellar engines, McCines’ model showed that stability depends on the distribution of mass across the reflection disk used to harness the Sun’s power.
If the mass is uniform, the disk will be inherently unstable. However, if the reflector is supported by an outer ring, containing most of the mass, it could become passively stable.
For Dyson bubbles, meanwhile, McInnes considered a large number of low-mass reflectors deployed in a dense cloud. If the swarm is large enough that its own gravity doesn’t cause instabilities, it can also function in a stable configuration.
According to the Glasgow University scientist, better understanding how these structures could function in a real-world setting could help guide the search for intelligent extraterrestrial life.
Ultimately, it could help scientists know what type of structures to look out for, out in the vast expanse of the cosmos.
https://interestingengineering.com/space/how-realistic-are-dyson-spheres
https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag100/8426277
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myepFyiqiQs
US releases Russian sailors – Moscow
28 Jan, 2026 09:27
US authorities have released two Russian sailors who were captured earlier this month as part of Washington’s enforcement of sanctions against Venezuela, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
The sailors were part of the crew of the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera, formerly known as Bella 1, which was seized on January 7 in the North Atlantic after being tracked by the US from the Caribbean Sea.
US officials have accused the vessel, chartered by a private trader, of violating oil sanctions against Venezuela.
The Marinera had a crew of 28, including six Georgian nationals, 17 Ukrainians, three Indians, and two Russians, according to media reports.
Moscow condemned the seizure as a serious violation of international maritime law and demanded that the US release the detained sailors.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Zakharova confirmed that “the two sailors have been freed and are on their way back to Russia.”
Two days after the seizure, Moscow said the US had released the Russian sailors at President Donald Trump’s behest, but later clarified that they remained in custody, voicing hope that the issue would be resolved in the near future.
The US has been enforcing a blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil exports for several weeks, having seized at least seven tankers it deemed were violating sanctions.
However, Washington has eased its sanctions against the oil-rich state since kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and engaging in dialogue with interim leader Delcy Rodriguez.
On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the US was preparing to issue a general license, which would pave the way for a broad easing of sanctions as opposed to earlier individual waivers.
https://www.rt.com/russia/631638-us-releases-sailors-marinera/
Trump-Putin photo spotted at White House
28 Jan, 2026 08:33
A photograph of US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been hung at the White House, according to PBS correspondent Elizabeth Landers.
Landers said the image can be seen in the recently renovated Palm Room, a waiting area linking the West Wing to the executive residence, positioned above a family photo of Trump with his granddaughter.
The snapshot shows Trump and Putin walking side by side at their summit in Anchorage, Alaska, last year and appears to match the photo the US president displayed at an August press conference, which he said was sent to him by Putin.
The Palm Room is not part of public tours but serves as the main lobby for officials and journalists visiting the West Wing. It was redesigned last September from a greenhouse-style lounge into a formal reception area with framed portraits.
While a Trump official said it is routine for photos of presidential engagements to be displayed and rotated throughout the White House, Landers’ discovery quickly drew media attention given the complicated Trump-Putin dynamic.
Since returning to office, Trump has alternated between criticizing Putin over stalled Ukraine conflict peace efforts and praising their personal rapport.
Their August 2025 summit in Alaska – the first face-to-face meeting between US and Russian leaders since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022 – ended without a ceasefire deal but was described by both sides as productive.
Putin has likewise portrayed his contact with Trump as constructive, presenting it as a chance to restore strained bilateral relations.
He has echoed Trump’s claim that the Ukraine conflict might have been avoided had Trump remained in office, and expressed optimism about future cooperation once the conflict ends.
The photo’s appearance comes as diplomatic engagement over Ukraine continues. Last week, delegations from the US, Russia, and Ukraine met in Abu Dhabi for the first trilateral talks since 2022, aimed at advancing a peace framework.
The sides described the discussions as constructive, though territorial issues reportedly remain the main obstacle.
https://www.rt.com/news/631631-trump-putin-photo-white-house/
https://twitter.com/ElizLanders/status/2016233925329191423
Moscow ready to host Zelensky – Putin aide
28 Jan, 2026 16:26
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is welcome to visit Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a senior Kremlin aide said on Wednesday.
The idea of a Putin-Zelensky summit has been discussed by Moscow on multiple occasions, including during phone calls with US President Donald Trump, Yury Ushakov said, noting that the Russian side has never rejected the idea.
“Our president has also said several times to journalists that if Zelensky is truly ready for a meeting, then we would be happy to invite him to Moscow. And we will guarantee his safety and the necessary working conditions,” Ushakov told Russia 1.
He stressed, however, that it would require careful preliminary work, stating that “the main thing is that these contacts are well prepared. And secondly, that they are oriented towards achieving specific results.”
His comments follow the first trilateral talks between Russian, US, and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi last week, which US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff called “very constructive.”
An unnamed US official told Axios that the parties are “very close to a meeting between Putin and Zelensky,” suggesting that more three-way negotiations are needed first, potentially paving the way for a meeting in Moscow or Kiev.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Wednesday that the next trilateral meeting will likely take place on Sunday.
Russian officials, however, have pointed to a decree Zelensky signed in 2022 banning negotiations with Putin following accession referendums in four former Ukrainian regions, noting that Kiev has not repealed it.
Moscow has also questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy to sign binding agreements after the expiration of his presidential term in May 2024. Zelensky has refused to hold a new election, citing martial law, which he has repeatedly extended.
https://www.rt.com/russia/631666-moscow-invites-vladimir-zelensky/
Kremlin confirms second round of talks with US and Ukraine
28 Jan, 2026 14:15
The next meeting between Russian, US and Ukrainian negotiators will take place on February 1, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Wednesday, marking a second round of trilateral contacts aimed at exploring a possible settlement to the conflict.
Speaking to reporters in Moscow, Peskov said the date is still a “rough estimate,” but added that preparations are underway for the meeting, which is expected to be held in Abu Dhabi.
The first round of talks between the three sides took place there last week and lasted two days.
Peskov described the start of direct contacts between Moscow, Washington and Kiev as a “positive” development, saying experts were discussing “a whole range of complex issues related to the settlement.” He did not provide details on the agenda.
All sides have acknowledged that territorial disputes remain the central obstacle to any peace agreement. Moscow says a lasting deal would require Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, which voted to join Russia in 2022.
The Kremlin has also demanded that Kiev formally recognize the new borders, including Crimea. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly ruled out territorial concessions.
Yury Ushakov, a senior aide to President Vladimir Putin who attended the previous talks, said before last week’s meeting that Russia currently holds the battlefield initiative and would pursue its objectives militarily if a diplomatic solution cannot be reached.
The renewed contacts come amid continued fighting and diplomatic efforts to test whether a negotiated framework is possible, though officials on all sides have cautioned that significant differences remain.
https://www.rt.com/russia/631662-kremlin-trilateral-meeting-russia-us-ukraine/
At least 5 killed, 2 hurt, in Russian drone attack on Ukrainian train
Jan. 28, 2026 / 7:34 AM
Jan. 28 (UPI) – At least five people were killed and two were injured after a Russian drone strike on a cross-country passenger train they were riding in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, authorities said.
The Kharkiv prosecutor's office said late Tuesday that Russian forces targeted the train with three Shahed-type attack drones, one of which struck a passenger car and the locomotive, setting them ablaze, while two others detonated nearby.
The attack occurred near Barvinkove near the border with Donetsk province as the train was nearing the end of an 830 mile journey from Chop in Ukraine's far southwest on the Slovakia/Hungary border, via Lviv, according to Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov and Ukrainian Railways.
The prosecutor's office attributed the attack to the "Ossetian Army," but it was unclear if it was referring to Russian Federation forces stationed in South Ossetia that were redeployed to the region at the start of the war, or South Ossetia militias who have been fighting on the side of pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas since 2014.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, saying there was absolutely no justification, militarily, for attacking civilians.
"In any country, a drone strike on a civilian train would be considered in exactly the same way – purely as terrorism. There would be no doubt about the classification, neither in Europe, nor in America, nor in the Arab world, nor in China, nor anywhere else.
There is, and can be, no military justification for killing civilians in a train carriage," Zelensky wrote on X.
The attack came amid a large-scale overnight assault involving at least one ballistic missile and more than 140 drones against targets in Kryvyi Rih, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa and killing at least two people and injuring four others, in the Kyiv region.
The fatalities, a woman and a man, in Bilohorodka, just outside Kyiv, occurred when a drone hit an apartment building, setting it on fire
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent Marian Kushnir, a resident in the building, told Ukrainian Pravda that he pulled the 4-year-old daughter of the woman who was killed from their burning apartment but was unable to rescue the mother and her partner.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/01/28/Ukraine-Russian-drone-strikes-passenger-train/5981769591467/
https://mezha.net/eng/bukvy/russian-drone-attack-on-passenger-train-near-izium-kills-five/
other Russia and Ukraine
https://www.the-sun.com/news/15851572/ukraine-drone-blitz-putin-aircraft-struck-russia-war/
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/ukrainian-forces-strike-russian-drone-control-1769596449.html
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/2163866/ukraine-stunning-drone-attack-russia-airfields
https://militarnyi.com/en/news/ukrainian-drones-hit-oil-depot-in-russia-s-voronezh-region/
https://aeronaut.media/news-en/uavs-drones-news-en/en-ukraine-struck-russian-drone-control-center/
https://www.euronews.com/video/2026/01/28/overnight-russian-drones-strike-homes-damage-monastery-in-odesa
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/01/28/8018269/
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/68951
https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/01/28/sleeping-giant-awakens-eu-launches-e6-billion-drone-alliance-with-ukraine-as-us-shifts-to-indo-pacific/
https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/01/28/ukraine-wrecked-russian-bombers-with-2000-drones-us-f-35s-have-the-same-blind-spot/
https://tvpworld.com/91289747/russia-bombards-ukraine-with-drones-missiles-killing-two-near-kyiv
https://www.thesun.ie/news/16455532/troops-surrender-robot-cowering-russians-ukrainian-drone/
https://united24media.com/latest-news/what-ukrainian-operation-spiderweb-taught-the-pentagon-about-drone-defense-and-why-it-matters-15403
https://kyivindependent.com/explosions-rock-kyiv-as-russian-drones-target-ukraines-capital/
https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-war-latest-update-2026-01-28/