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It’s one of the better annual meteor showers, and 2025 is shaping up to give sky watchers a chance to see it at its best. If skies are clear this weekend, be sure to be vigilant for the Geminid meteors.

Scientists at the University of Geneva have successfully tested key components of RISTRETTO, a new spectrograph designed to analyse light from Proxima b, the nearest exoplanet to Earth. The instrument uses coronagraphic techniques and extreme adaptive optics to block a star's overwhelming glare and detect planets that shine 10 million times fainter. Simulations suggest RISTRETTO could not only spot Proxima b with just 55 hours of observation time but potentially identify oxygen or water in its atmosphere, offering our first chance to study the conditions on an Earth sized world orbiting our nearest stellar neighbour.

Astronomers have developed a new technique called "X-arithmetic" that reveals the hidden physics inside galaxy clusters. By analysing Chandra X-ray Observatory data at different energy levels and painting the results in vibrant colours, researchers can now distinguish between sound waves, black hole inflated bubbles, and cooling gas, enabling them to classify structures by what they are rather than how they look. The method has already exposed striking differences between galaxy clusters and galaxy groups, showing that supermassive black holes wield dramatically different influence on their surroundings.

We are not close to mining asteroids, but the idea is intriguing enough to cause some serious study of the potential. The idea is simple enough – our solar system is full of chunks of rock with valuable minerals. If we could make it economically viable to mine even a tiny percentage of these asteroids the potential would be immense, a game changer for many types of resources. How valuable are asteroids?

The range of potential value is extreme, but at the high end we have a large metal rich asteroid like 16 Psyche in the asteroid belt. Astronomers estimate that the iron in 16 Psyche alone is worth about $10,000 quadrillion on today’s market. By comparison the world’s current economic output is just over $100 trillion, so that’s 100,000 times the world’s annual economic output. Of course, the cost of extraction would be high and the market value would likely be dramatically affected by such a resource, but it shows the dramatic potential of mining asteroids. Some asteroids are rich in platinum-group metals or rare earths, which would be even more valuable. But even the more common carbonaceous asteroids would likely have minerals worth quadrillions.

Again, these figures are likely not the actual monetary value that would be profited from mining asteroids, but they indicate that it is very likely economically viable to do so. I am reminded of the fact that aluminum was more expensive than gold in the 19th century. Then a process for extracting and refining aluminum from dirt was found, and now it is worth about $1.30 a pound. Still the aluminum industry is worth about $300 billion today. Mining asteroids would have a similar effect on many industries.

There are two basic uses for the material mined from asteroids. The first is to provide resources for space exploration and settlement itself. It is really expensive to get things into space, and getting out of Earth’s gravity well is the vast majority of the cost. Once in Earth’s orbit, you are most of the way there (in terms of energy costs) to pretty much anywhere in the inner solar system. So extracting resources away from Earth would potentially be extremely cost-effective. The more local the better, but even mining an asteroid for material to be used on the Moon is a huge advantage over blasting material off the Earth.

Further, many asteroids, and especially comets, have water-rich minerals or frozen volatiles. Having a steady water supply is essential if we want humans to live in space. Hydrogen from water is also potentially a source of fuel (not energy, just a way of storing energy in hydrogen).

The second use is to bring valuable minerals back to Earth. For this purpose we would want to target asteroids that are already close to Earth, and even come close to our orbit. We could even potentially alter the orbit of such asteroids to keep them in an Earth-lunar orbit, or to rest near a Lagrangian point (a “valley” in the combined gravitational fields of multiple objects that keep objects in place). We could then mine them at our leisure.

Further, if we identify an asteroid whos orbit might intersect with Earth, and therefore pose a threat of strike, we could deal with it by simply mining it out of existence. Therefore we get a double benefit – we get the minerals and we eliminate a potential threat to the Earth.

Right now we are mostly studying asteroids (and mostly from studying meteorites) to determine their composition, how to identify their composition, and determine the composition of specific asteroids that might be a target for future mining. To kickstart an asteroid mining industry we would likely want to pick the lowest-hanging fruit first – which means the easiest to mine, close to Earth, and chock full of highly valuable metals. Even still, this would require a massive investment with a very long horizon before returns are realized.

But once we get a toe-hold in this industry, the potential value is so extreme it will likely take off. We need to develop the technology for mining in low gravity environments, and develop cost-effective methods for returning the ore to Earth or perhaps even refining it in space for delivery to the Moon or Mars. Technological progress over the last two decades, specifically with reusable rockets dramatically lowering the cost of getting into space, makes mining asteroids more feasible, but further technological progress is still required.

It is easy to imagine that in a few hundred years something like the Belters of The Expanse might become a reality – people living permanently in the asteroid belt, mining it for its resources. It’s also possible that the industry would be entirely robotic – why put frail humans into the harsh environment of space unless they are absolutely necessary. Robotics and AI advances have also been extensive in the last decade, and it would certainly be more cost-effective to extract resources without having the added expense of keeping people alive in space. Belters, in other words, are likely to be robots.

The post Mining Asteroids first appeared on NeuroLogica Blog.

There are already tens of thousands of pieces of large debris in orbit, some of which pose a threat to functional satellites. Various agencies and organizations have been developing novel solutions to this problem, before it turns into full-blown Kessler Syndrome. But many of them are reliant on understanding what is going on with the debris before attempting to deal with it. Gaining that understanding is hard, and failure to do so can cause satellites attempting to remove the debris to contribute to the problem rather than alleviating it. To help solve that conundrum, a new paper from researchers at GMV, a major player in the orbital tracking market in Europe, showcases a new algorithm that can use ground-based telescopes to try figure out how the debris is moving before a deorbiter gets anywhere near it.

The challenge is that nothing in this universe is simple. And if there’s one thing you take away from today’s episode, then let it be that. Don’t ever let yourself fall into the trap of simple answers for difficult questions. We’re cosmologists, we study the universe as it is, not as we wish it would be.

People are often diagnosed with multiple neurodivergencies and mental health conditions, but the biggest genetic analysis so far suggests many have shared biological causes

A new explanation for the solar system's radioactive elements suggests Earth-like planets might be found orbiting up to 50 per cent of sun-like stars

Scientists developed a high-performance hydrogen-production catalyst using lignin, a common waste product from paper and biorefinery processes. The nickel–iron oxide nanoparticles embedded in carbon fibers deliver fast kinetics, long-term durability, and low overpotential. Microscopy and modeling show that a tailored nanoscale interface drives the catalyst’s strong activity. The discovery points toward more sustainable and industrially scalable clean-energy materials.

Scientists have uncovered that some atoms in liquids don't move at all—even at extreme temperatures—and these anchored atoms dramatically alter the way materials freeze. Using advanced electron microscopy, researchers watched molten metal droplets solidify and found that stationary atoms can trap liquids in tiny “atomic corrals,” keeping them fluid far below their normal freezing point and giving rise to a strange hybrid state of matter.

arXiv:2512.07695v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: One of the forefront goals in the field of exoplanets is the detection of an atmosphere on a temperate terrestrial exoplanet, and among the best suited systems to do so is TRAPPIST-1. However, JWST transit observations of the TRAPPIST-1 planets show significant contamination from stellar surface features that we are unable to confidently model. Here, we present the motivation and first observations of our JWST multi-cycle program of TRAPPIST-1 e...

Urban populations in southern Britain experienced a decline in health that lasted for generations after the Romans arrived

An international team of astronomers has published a series of papers detailing their observations of the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Their results, though ambiguous, are a big step towards exoplanet characterization.

An international team of astronomers observed a sudden outburst of matter near the supermassive black hole NGC 3783 at speeds reaching up to 20% of the speed of light. During a ten-day observation, mainly with the XRISM space telescope, the researchers witnessed its formation and acceleration. Scientists often find that these outbursts are powered by strong radiation, but this time the most likely cause is a sudden change in the magnetic field, similar to bursts on the Sun that cause solar flares.

The world’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide is on the cusp of a turning point that could herald the beginning of a global decline in fossil fuel use

This Changes Everything columnist Annalee Newitz on how AI-generated content went mainstream in 2025

Biologists poured cold water on Colossal Biosciences’ claim to have brought the dire wolf back from extinction, and some worry the overblown headlines will undermine conservation work

Our visual highlights from the animal world this year include a mouse caring for its companion, dolphins communicating in an unexpected way and a colossal squid caught on camera for the first time

Big AI firms have built their models by hoovering up copyrighted material from the internet as training data. They say this is legal, but copyright holders disagree - and this year they hit back in a major way

Field Notes From Space-Time columnist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein on how comets grabbed the headlines in 2025