India's XPoSat mission is now open for proposals from Indian scientists. Launched in January 2024, this X-ray observatory offers a chance to study extreme cosmic phenomena. Sixty percent of observation time for the XSPECT payload is reserved for Indian researchers from January to December 2026. Submissions are due by November 30, 2025.

Mount Everest has captivated the world with recent stunning views from both space and the Indian plains. Astronaut Don Pettit shared a striking ISS photograph of the Himalayas, while a rare video from Bihar showed the mountain visible from the plains due to exceptional atmospheric clarity. These visuals highlight Everest's enduring allure and the grandeur of the Himalayas.

Scientists have pinpointed specific neurons and microglia, crucial for emotion and inflammation, as key players in depression. This breakthrough, using advanced brain tissue analysis, reveals disrupted gene activity in these cells. The findings offer a biological foundation for the disorder, paving the way for more targeted and effective future treatments for millions worldwide.

NASA's Artemis program is set to explore the Moon's south pole, a region of perpetual darkness holding clues to the solar system's formation. Missions will seek water ice and other frozen volatiles, potentially revealing how Earth acquired its water. This discovery could revolutionize space exploration, enabling lunar bases and Mars missions.

Scientists have captured the first image of two black holes orbiting each other in the quasar OJ287, confirming a long-held astronomical theory. Using radio telescopes, researchers detected particle jets from the 18-billion-solar-mass and 150-million-solar-mass black holes, locked in a 12-year orbit. This unprecedented observation offers a glimpse into binary supermassive black hole dynamics.

Astronaut Don Pettit captured a stunning video from the ISS of a SpaceX Starlink satellite train streaking over Earth's auroras. The satellites appeared as bright as Jupiter against the green northern lights, highlighting the growing visibility of the expanding satellite network. Pettit's footage offers a unique perspective on human-made objects transforming the night sky.

New research reveals fungi, not plants, were Earth's first land colonizers, emerging hundreds of millions of years earlier. These ancient fungi partnered with algae, recycled nutrients, and built proto-soils, stabilizing surfaces and releasing essential elements. This groundbreaking discovery shows fungi created the foundational ecosystems that paved the way for plants and all terrestrial life.

Witnessing a meteor, or shooting star, is a dazzling event caused by tiny space rocks burning up in Earth's atmosphere. These celestial fragments, originating from comets or asteroids, offer crucial insights into the early Solar System. Astronomers distinguish between meteoroids (in space), meteors (burning in the atmosphere), and meteorites (those that land on Earth).

Astronomers have identified the most pristine star ever observed, located in the Milky Way's halo. This ancient star, with exceptionally low levels of heavy elements, offers a rare glimpse into the universe's earliest moments, potentially formed from the remnants of the first generation of stars.