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Japan launches MMX probe to Mars moon Phobos, aiming to return samples in 2031
The H3 rocket carried Japan's MMX probe away from Tanegashima on Tuesday, 20 October, starting a mission to bring rock and sand from Phobos back to Earth in July 2031.
Earhart search team finds Taraia Object was likely trees, not wreckage
A Purdue-linked expedition on Nikumaroro found that the object seen in 2020 satellite images was most likely a pile of large trees. The researchers still believe Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan may have reached the island.
Leap second scrapped: world clocks will stop adding extra seconds from May 2027
Representatives of member states at the General Conference on Weights and Measures voted in Versailles on Thursday, 15 October 2026, to stop adding leap seconds to world time. The change takes effect on 20 May 2027, and the gap between atomic time and Earth's rotation may then grow to one hour.
Maker Faire Rome 2026 opens with 400-plus stands and an Innovators Under 35 call
Rome's fourteenth Maker Faire opened on 23 October at the Gazometro Ostiense, where 145 projects from schools and universities sit among more than 400 stands. The same day, Mit Technology Review Italia launched the European call for its Innovators Under 35 prize.
Roman rule reshaped Iberia's gene pool more than later migrations, a study finds
A study of 243 ancient genomes from 31 archaeological sites, published in the journal Cell on 21 October 2026, finds Roman rule brought a deeper demographic shift than the migrations that followed. Two siblings buried 725 km apart illustrate how mobile the period's population was.
Neanderthal shoulder blade pierced by wooden spear 75,000 years ago, researchers say
Cambridge archaeologists say a 15 mm hole in a Neanderthal's shoulder blade from Iraqi Kurdistan may be the earliest evidence of lethal violence involving a wooden spear. Who threw the weapon, and why, is still unknown.
NASA's Perseverance rover sets Mars distance record at 45.22 km, passing Opportunity
The rover reached the mark on 11 October 2026 while heading for Idubi, an area near Jezero crater's western edge where the science team hopes to find traces of ancient hydrothermal systems.
Four giant LST telescopes open at La Palma for the CTAO gamma-ray observatory
Four 23-metre Large-Sized Telescopes at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma were inaugurated on 15 October 2026, completing the northern LST subsystem of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory.
Fossil overlooked for a century reveals new megaraptoran dinosaur from Isle of Wight
A fossil held at the Natural History Museum in London since 1924 has been identified as a new predator, Invictibellatrix amberina. It is the first megaraptoran recorded in Europe, a group of two-legged hunters related to Tyrannosaurus rex.
Barn owl family nests in Manhattan water tower, a first in recorded history
A barn owl family has settled in a water tower on a building near Central Park, drawing crowds to the Upper West Side every night. Residents first noticed the birds through screeching sounds that started in early September.
Expedition lands on Nikumaroro to test a possible Amelia Earhart plane wreck
A team of 17 researchers reached the uninhabited Pacific atoll of Nikumaroro on Monday, 12 October, to examine a submerged object that may be Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra. Other specialists consider a fallen tree in the lagoon the more likely explanation.
Warhound raises $200M to genetically engineer military dogs with Anduril gear
The startup plans to clone and gene-edit Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds and labradors, with first puppies expected in early 2027 and Anduril supplying protective gear.
Divers find wreck of ORP Gdynia in Puck Bay, long believed scrapped after WWII
Baltictech divers located the sunken ship at shallow depth, only a couple of kilometres from shore, although postwar records said it had been raised and cut up for scrap. The vessel was sunk by German aircraft in September 1939.
Westminster Abbey Roman sarcophagus skeleton likely a medieval abbot, expert says
Radiocarbon dating places the man's death between 987 and 1052 AD, and the two leading candidates are Westminster abbots Aelfwig and Wulnoth.
Invasive yellow-legged hornet establishes first nest in Poland, near Kraków
A beekeeper found a fully developed yellow-legged hornet nest in Wielka Wieś near Kraków, and single individuals have since appeared at an AGH University apiary in the city.
Archaeologists find shipwreck off Turkey dated 4,400 to 4,700 years old
Underwater archaeologists working off Kekova island in Turkey's Antalya province have found a wreck with more than 30 jars and three stone anchors, and the jars may still hold traces of their cargo.
Astronomers identify a green white dwarf 280 light-years away, colored by sodium from planetary debris
The white dwarf WD J1330+6435, about 280 light-years from Earth in the constellation Draco, glows yellowish-green because sodium from former planetary material absorbs orange light. Researchers at the University of Warwick reported the find in RAS Techniques and Instruments.
Egypt uncovers two colossal Ramses II statues in a Nile Delta village
A local resident's find of an inscribed stone block led archaeologists to the remains of two colossal statues, believed to depict Ramses II, in Gharbia governorate.