SPACE/COSMOS
AI spots solar storms days before they strike
November 11, 2025
Without photosynthesis we wouldn’t have food because it converts energy from the sun into chemical energy for the food chains. Image by Tim Sandle
A new application of AI improves early warnings to protect satellites and power grids from solar storms by providing an early warning. The technology predicts solar wind days in advance with far greater accuracy than existing methods.
This is obtained by analysing ultraviolet solar images. Solar wind is a continuous stream of charged particles released by the Sun. When these particles speed up, they can cause “space weather” events that disrupt Earth’s atmosphere and drag satellites out of orbit, damage their electrons, and interfere with power grids.
For example, in 2022, a strong solar wind event caused SpaceX to lose 40 Starlink satellites (as the BBC reported). SpaceX reported that the orbital decay on Starlink satellites was considered to be linked to a geomagnetic storm that was initiated on February 3, 2022. This demonstrates the urgent need for better forecasting.
Solar winds
A solar wind is a flow of particles that comes off the sun at about one million miles per hour and travels throughout the entire solar system. The ‘wind’ is composed of a stream of electrons and protons, with energies sufficient to escape the Sun’s gravity.
Solar winds were first proposed in the 1950s by University of Chicago physicist Eugene Parker, the solar wind is visible in the halo around the sun during an eclipse and sometimes when the particles hit the Earth’s atmosphere— as the aurora borealis, or northern lights.
Solar winds can impact on satellites. Our reliance on satellite technology for navigation, weather forecasting, telecommunications, and global connectivity means that the space weather has become a critical concern.
As an example, geomagnetic Storms can cause electrical surges in satellite systems and lead to damage or failure. In particular, solar wind can increase atmospheric drag, causing satellites to drift and potentially collide with the Earth’s surface.
Credit – Dre Erwin Photography, CC SA 4.0.
What does the AI do?
The scientists, from New York University, trained their AI model using high-resolution ultraviolet (UV) images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, combined with historical records of solar wind.
Instead of analysing text, like the everyday AI language models, the AI system analyses images of the Sun to identify patterns linked to solar wind changes. The result is a 45 percent improvement in forecast accuracy compared to current operational models, and a 20 percent improvement over previous AI-based approaches.
Practical use
The U.S. breakthrough demonstrates how AI can solve one of space science’s toughest challenges: predicting the solar wind. With more reliable forecasts, scientists and engineers hope to better prepare for space weather events, strengthening resilience against disruptions to critical infrastructure.
The research appears in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, titled “A Multimodal Encoder–Decoder Neural Network for Forecasting Solar Wind Speed at L1.”
How to spot life in the clouds on other worlds
ITHACA, N.Y. – An exoplanet with dense or even total cloud cover could help astronomers searching for signs of life beyond our planet.
Cornell University researchers have created the first reflectance spectra – a color-coded key – of diverse, colorful microorganisms that live in the clouds floating above Earth’s surface. Astronomers don’t know if these bacteria exist elsewhere in the universe and in enough abundance to be detected by telescopes; on Earth they are not. But now astronomers can use the color key in the search for life outside our world – making an exoplanet’s clouds, in addition to its surface and air, a promising realm for finding signs of life.
“There is a vibrant community of microorganisms in our atmosphere that produce colorful biopigments, which have fascinated biologists for years,” said astrobiologist Ligia Coelho, fellow at the Carl Sagan Institute.
Coelho led the study of “Colors of Life in the Clouds: Biopigments of Atmospheric Microorganisms as a New Signature to Detect Life on Planets Like Earth,” published in Astrophysical Journal Letters on November 11.
“Finding colorful life in Earth’s atmosphere has opened a completely new possibility for finding life on other planets,” said Lisa Kaltenegger, professor of astronomy and director of the Carl Sagan Institute, who is second author of the study. “Now, we have a chance to uncover life even if the sky is filled with clouds on exoplanets. We thought clouds would hide life from us, but surprisingly they could help us find life.”
With the spectra, she said, astronomers will be able to look for biosignatures on exoplanets that have dense or even 100% cloud cover.
The colorful microbes that produced Coelho’s spectra are rare in Earth’s atmosphere and took specialized work to collect. She worked with collaborators at the University of Florida, who used a latex sounding balloon to gather biota from lower altitudes in the stratosphere, between 21 and 29 kilometers above the ground.
To flourish at a high-enough density that observers could find them, the microbes would need to live in planets with humid conditions. And telescope technology will also have to catch up. Knowing that we can search for life on cloudy worlds is informing the design of future telescopes, including NASA’s space-based Habitable Worlds Observatory, which is in development, and observation strategies for the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope, which is under construction in Chile and scheduled to start science observations in the 2030s.
“Biopigments have a universal character on our planet. They give us tools to fight stresses like radiation, dryness and lack of resources. We produce them, and so do bacteria, archaea, algae, plants, other animals,” Coelho said. “They are powerful biosignatures and we’ve discovered a new way to look for them – through the clouds of distant worlds. And if life looks like this, we finally have the tools to recognize it.”
For additional information, see this Cornell Chronicle story.
Cornell University has dedicated television and audio studios available for media interviews.
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Article Title
Colors of Life in the Clouds: Biopigments of Atmospheric Microorganisms as a New Signature to Detect Life on Planets Like Earth
Article Publication Date
11-Nov-2025
Flower-like satellite constellations to guide future missions around Titan
Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Exploring Saturn's largest moon, Titan, presents unique orbital challenges due to its dense atmosphere, gravitational perturbations, and limited sunlight. A new study proposes an innovative satellite constellation architecture based on the 2D Necklace Flower Constellation methodology, enabling long-term, stable coverage of Titan's surface. By integrating frozen orbits and repeating ground-track configurations, the approach ensures continuous observation and reduced maintenance needs for multi-satellite systems. Simulation results confirm that the proposed configurations provide robust orbital stability and uniform surface coverage, paving the way for future missions to monitor Titan's methane lakes, dunes, and potential signs of life from orbit.
Titan, Saturn's largest natural satellite, captivates scientists with its Earth-like processes, dense nitrogen atmosphere, and surface lakes of liquid hydrocarbons. However, its nonuniform gravity field, thick haze, and low solar energy pose major obstacles for orbital missions. Traditional single-satellite systems struggle to balance coverage, stability, and data transmission under such conditions. Moreover, the gravitational pull from Saturn and nearby moons further complicates orbital control. Based on these challenges, there is a strong need for innovative constellation designs that maintain stability and periodic surface observation while minimizing fuel consumption and communication losses. To address these limitations, researchers conducted an in-depth study on Titan-centered constellation design.
Researchers from São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil, Universidad de Zaragoza in Spain, and the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) have developed a new orbital framework for Titan exploration. Published (DOI: 10.1186/s43020-025-00180-x) in Satellite Navigation in 2025, the study introduces a 2D Necklace Flower Constellation model optimized for the unique gravitational and atmospheric environment of Saturn's moon. The research analyzes how frozen orbits and synchronized trajectories can maintain stable, overlapping coverage for future missions investigating Titan's lakes, dunes, and methane cycle.
Using advanced astrodynamics modeling, the team applied the Flower Constellation Theory and its extended 2D Necklace variant to design coordinated satellite networks around Titan. This method arranges multiple spacecraft in harmonized orbital planes, ensuring they share identical trajectories in a rotating reference system while minimizing collision risk. The researchers incorporated Titan's gravitational harmonics—mainly J₂ and J₃ perturbations—to identify altitude ranges (about 1,400–20,000 km) where orbits remain dynamically stable. Two example constellations, Titan I and Titan II, were designed: Titan I targets the polar hydrocarbon seas such as Kraken Mare and Ontario Lacus, while Titan II focuses on equatorial dune regions. The proposed architectures use only six satellites to achieve global surface coverage, with long revisit intervals and reduced fuel requirements. Numerical simulations employing the IAS15 integrator confirmed that the constellations maintain their repeating ground tracks and frozen characteristics over extended periods, even under Saturn’s perturbing influence. These results demonstrate the feasibility of cost-effective, autonomous multi-satellite missions for outer-planetary exploration.
"Our study demonstrates that carefully designed satellite constellations can transform how we explore distant moons like Titan," said Lucas S. Ferreira, lead author from UNESP. "By combining mathematical elegance with orbital realism, the Necklace Flower Constellation approach balances stability, coverage, and efficiency under extreme conditions. This could guide future planetary missions where continuous surface monitoring is essential but environmental constraints are severe. We hope our framework will support missions such as NASA's Dragonfly and inspire new cooperative orbital designs across the Solar System."
The proposed constellation framework provides a scalable template for future planetary exploration missions—not only around Titan but also other moons and small bodies with complex gravitational environments. Its ability to maintain stable orbits with minimal station-keeping makes it ideal for long-duration observations, mapping, and communication relay systems. By enabling sustained monitoring of Titan's methane cycle, hydrocarbon seas, and dynamic atmosphere, this method could help uncover prebiotic processes resembling early Earth. Beyond astrobiology, the approach strengthens mission safety and efficiency for deep-space exploration, offering a new path toward cost-effective, resilient orbital networks.
###
References
DOI
Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.1186/s43020-025-00180-x
Funding information
The work of L.Ferreira and A.F.B.A Prado has been supported by Program CAPES-PDSE, process number 88881.982568/2024-01, and São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) [grant number 2022/11783-5]. The work of D. Casanova and E. Tresaco have been supported by Grant PID2024-156002NB-I00 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER, UE, and by the Aragón Government and European Social Fund (E24-23R).
About Satellite Navigation
Satellite Navigation (E-ISSN: 2662-1363; ISSN: 2662-9291) is the official journal of Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The journal aims to report innovative ideas, new results or progress on the theoretical techniques and applications of satellite navigation. The journal welcomes original articles, reviews and commentaries.
Journal
Satellite Navigation
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Satellite constellation design for Titan exploration: orbit design and performance assessment
Astronomers discover a superheated star factory in the early universe
Chalmers University of Technology
image:
Galaxy Y1 shines thanks to dust grains heated by newly-formed stars (circled in this image from the James Webb telescope).
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Diego (Instituto de FÃsica de Cantabria, Spain), J. D’Silva (U. Western Australia), A. Koekemoer (STScI), J. Summers & R. Windhorst (ASU), and H. Yan (U. Missouri)
Astronomers have uncovered a previously unknown, extreme kind of star factory by taking the temperature of a distant galaxy using the ALMA telescope. The galaxy is glowing intensely in superheated cosmic dust while forming stars 180 times faster than our own Milky Way. The discovery indicates how galaxies could have grown quickly when the universe was very young, solving a long-standing puzzle for astronomers.
The first generations of stars formed under conditions very different from anywhere we can see in the nearby universe today. Astronomers are studying these differences using powerful telescopes that can detect galaxies so far away their light has travelled towards us for billions of year.
Now, an international team of astronomers led by Tom Bakx at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden has measured the temperature of one of the most distant known star factories. The galaxy, known as Y1, is so far away that its light has taken over 13 billion years to reach us.
“We’re looking back to a time when the universe was making stars much faster than today. Previous observations revealed the presence of dust in this galaxy, making it the furthest away we've ever directly detected light from glowing dust. That made us suspect that this galaxy might be running a different, superheated kind of star factory. To be sure, we set out to measure its temperature,” says Tom Bakx.
Stars like our Sun are forged in huge, dense clouds of gas in space. The Orion Nebula and the Carina Nebula are two examples of such star factories. They shine brightly in the night sky, powered by their youngest and most massive stars, which light up clouds of gas and dust in many different colours.
At wavelengths longer than the human eye can see, star factories shine brightly thanks to huge numbers of tiny grains of cosmic dust, heated by starlight.
"An extreme star factory"
To be able to probe the galaxy's temperature, the scientists needed the superior sensitivity of ALMA. One of the world's largest telescopes, ALMA’s dry, high-altitude location in Chile made it possible to image the galaxy in just the right colour, at a wavelength of 0.44 millimetres using its Band 9 instrument.
“At wavelengths like this, the galaxy is lit up by billowing clouds of glowing dust grains. When we saw how bright this galaxy shines compared to other wavelengths, we immediately knew we were looking at something truly special,” says Tom Bakx.
The detection showed the galaxy’s dust glowing at a temperature of 90 Kelvin – around -180 degrees Celsius.
“The temperature is certainly chilly compared to household dust on Earth, but it’s much warmer than any other comparable galaxy we’ve seen. This confirmed that it really is an extreme star factory. Even though it’s the first time we’ve seen a galaxy like this, we think that there could be many more out there. Star factories like Y1 could have been common in the early universe,” says team member Yoichi Tamura, astronomer at Nagoya University, Japan.
Y1 is manufacturing stars at the extreme rate of over 180 solar masses per year, an unsustainable pace that cannot last long. On average, our galaxy, the Milky Way, creates only about one solar mass per year. Brief, hidden bursts of star formation, as seen in Y1, may have been common in the early universe, the scientists suspect.
"We don't know how common such phases might be in the early universe, so in the future we want to look for more examples of star factories like this. We also plan to use the high-resolution capabilities of ALMA to take a closer look at how this galaxy works," says Tom Bakx.
Could help solve another cosmic mystery
Bakx’s team believes that galaxy Y1 may help solve another cosmic mystery. Earlier studies have shown that galaxies in the early universe appear to have far more dust than their stars could have produced in the short time they have been shining.
Astronomers have been puzzled by this, but Y1’s unusual temperature points to a solution. Team member Laura Sommovigo, astrophysicist at the Flatiron Institute and Columbia University, USA, takes up the story.
“Galaxies in the early universe seem be too young for the amount of dust they contain. That’s strange, because they don’t have enough old stars, around which most dust grains are created. But a small amount of warm dust can be just as bright as large amounts of cool dust, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing in Y1. Even though these galaxies are still young and don’t yet contain much heavy elements or dust, what they do have is both hot and bright,” she concludes.
More about the research:
The research is presented in the paper A warm ultraluminous infrared galaxy just 600 million years after the Big Bang in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, lead author Tom Bakx (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden).
All authors: Yoichi Tamura (Nagoya University, Japan), Renske Smit (Liverpool John Moores University, UK), Andrea Ferrara (Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy), Hiddo Algera (Academia Sinica, Taiwan), Susanne Aalto (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden), Duncan Bossion (University of Rennes, France), Stefano Carniani (Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy), Clarke Esmerian (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden), Masato Hagimoto (Nagoya University, Japan), Takuya Hashimoto (University of Tsukuba, Japan; Tomonaga Center for the History of the Universe, University of Tsukuba, Japan), Bunyo Hatsukade (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Japan; SOKENDAI, Japan; University of Tokyo, Japan), Edo Ibar (Universidad de ValparaÃso, Chile; Millenium Nucleus for Galaxies, Chile), Hanae Inami (Hiroshima University, Japan), Akio K. Inoue (Waseda University, Japan; Waseda University, Japan), Kirsten Knudsen (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden), Nicolas Laporte (Aix Marseille Université, France), Ken Mawatari (Waseda University, Japan; Waseda University, Japan), Juan Molina (Universidad de ValparaÃso, Chile; Millenium Nucleus for Galaxies, Chile), Gunnar Nyman (University of Gothenburg, Sweden), Takashi Okamoto (Hokkaido University, Japan), Andrea Pallottini (Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy; Università di Pisa, Italy), W. M. C. Sameera (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden), Hideki Umehata (Nagoya University, Japan; Nagoya University, Japan), Wouter Vlemmings (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden), Naoki Yoshida (University of Tokyo, Japan)
The galaxy is known by its catalogue number, MACS0416_Y1. It lies so far from Earth that its light is stretched out by the expansion of the universe; astronomers refer to its distance as redshift 8.3. It was discovered behind a cluster of galaxies called MACS0416, which itself lies only 4 billion light years away in the direction of the constellation Eridanus, the River.
Previous observations by the same team showed that the galaxy holds the record for the furthest away detection of light from cosmic dust. (Press release at ALMA:s web page)
Caption
Galaxy Y1 shines thanks to dust grains heated by newly-formed stars. Image from the James Webb telescope.
Credit
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Diego (Instituto de FÃsica de Cantabria, Spain), J. D’Silva (U. Western Australia), A. Koekemoer (STScI), J. Summers & R. Windhorst (ASU), and H. Yan (U. Missouri)
Galaxy Y1 and its surroundings as seen by James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCAM (blue and green) and by ALMA (red).
Credit
NASA, ESA, CSA (JWST), T. Bakx/ALMA (ESO/NRAO/NAOJ)
Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Method of Research
Observational study
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
A warm ultraluminous infrared galaxy just 600 million years after the big bang
Article Publication Date
12-Nov-2025
