A US military office offers Rocket Lab a $150 million loan as rocket rides run short, and Rocket Lab raises Neutron's price to $70 million

The stories

15 on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   A US military office offers Rocket Lab a $150 million loan as rocket rides run short, and Rocket Lab raises Neutron's price to $70 million

   $150 million

   loan a US military office offered Rocket Lab

   it offered Stoke Space the same on 26 October [1]

   $55m to $70m

   Neutron's price for one launch, before and after the rise

   Neutron has not flown; its first flight is set for 2027 [2]

   117

   launches Rocket Lab has on order across its two rockets

   the next free Neutron slots are in the 2030s [2]

   85%

   of US launches in 2025 that flew on SpaceX's Falcon 9

   SpaceX takes no new company orders for flights after 2028 [1]

   What happened

   • A US Defense Department office, the Office of Strategic Capital, offered Rocket Lab a $150 million loan on Tuesday. [1][3]
   • Rocket Lab builds the small Electron rocket and a bigger one, Neutron, whose first flight is set for 2027. [1]
   • Rocket Lab also raised Neutron's price, from $55 million to $70 million a launch. [1]
   • It says the reason is a surge in orders for a rocket that has not flown yet. [1]
   • SpaceX's Falcon 9 flew 85% of US launches in 2025. [5]
   • SpaceX has stopped taking orders from companies for Falcon 9 flights after 2028. [1]
   • SpaceX is moving to Starship, a far bigger rocket, and will fill it first with its own satellites. [1]
   • Payload, a space business news site, says ending the shared rides is the main cause of the coming US shortage. [2]
   • The Space Force now expects to need up to 249 medium and large launches by the early 2030s. [1] That is more than double its guess two years ago. [1]
   • Blue Origin is the only other US company that has flown a rocket that could meet the military's needs. [1]
   • Its New Glenn rocket exploded on its launch pad in a test on 28 May and is still grounded. [5]
   • It offered Stoke Space, another rocket company, the same $150 million on 26 October. [1]
   • It also offered $150 million to LeoLabs, a company whose radars track objects in orbit. [6]
   • LeoLabs must find the same sum again from private investors, taking the total to $300 million. [6]
   • Rocket Lab's loan would pay for more engines and rocket bodies, and more ships to bring boosters back. [1]
   • Rocket Lab's finance chief, Adam Spice, said the loan comes on "very attractive terms". [1]
   • Rocket Lab booked 8 new Neutron launches from July to September, worth more than $515 million. [2]
   • Customers' next free Neutron launch slots are now in the 2030s. [2]
   • Across both its rockets, Rocket Lab now has 117 launches on order. [1]
   • Its chief executive, Peter Beck, said: "Launch is extremely constrained, and that is exactly the situation we predicted." [1]
   • Rocket Lab is also raising the price of its small Electron rocket. [4]

   Who is involved

   Today they are SpaceX and ULA, whose Vulcan rocket was grounded twice in two years by booster faults. [1] ULA is owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. [5]

   The office was set up in 2022 to put money into companies building technology the US military calls vital. [1]

   ICEYE, a satellite company, bought 3 Neutron launches starting in late 2028. [2]

   • SpaceX the company whose Falcon 9 flew most US launches in 2025; it is winding Falcon 9 down for Starship
   • ULA Vulcan, grounded twice
   • Rocket Lab a rocket company that builds the small Electron and the unflown Neutron; offered a $150 million loan, it charges more for Neutron launches
   • Office of Strategic Capital a US Defense Department office, set up in 2022, that puts money into firms building vital military technology; it offered the loans
   • Mike Haridopolos a US congressman who chairs the House space subcommittee; he expects the market to fill the gap

   How it unfolded

   SpaceX first ended its popular shared rides to orbit, then stopped selling Falcon 9 to companies at all. [7]

   Since the 1990s, the US military has paid to keep at least two US rocket makers flying its satellites. [1]

   1. 2025 Falcon 9 flies 85% of US launches [5]
   2. After 2028 no new company orders
   3. 28 May New Glenn explodes in a test
   4. Now still grounded
   5. 26 Oct $150 million loan offered to Stoke Space [1]
   6. 10 Nov $150 million loan for Rocket Lab revealed [1]
   7. 2027 Neutron's first flight due [2]
   8. 2030s next free launch slots
   9. 28 Oct ULA says Vulcan returns
   10. Mid-Nov Vulcan due to fly
   11. 1990s the US military starts paying to keep two rocket makers flying [1]

   Why it matters

   The Space Force relies on Falcon rockets for sensitive military satellites, including ones for Golden Dome, a planned missile shield. [5]

   The loans aim to get Stoke's and Rocket Lab's new rockets ready for those military flights. [1]

   How it works

   Accountants call orders that are signed but not yet delivered a backlog. They count the money as earned only once the work is done.

   Rocket Lab's backlog is a record $3.6 billion. [2] It earned a record $268 million from July to September. [2]

   It still expects to lose $14 million to $20 million in the last 3 months of 2026. [2]

   Seen it before

   A bakery full of wedding cake orders has no money from them until each cake is handed over.

   The truth

   • What is really going on SpaceX, whose Falcon 9 flew 85% of US launches in 2025, will take no new company orders for flights after 2028. [5][1]A US military office is now offering loans to SpaceX's rivals, and Rocket Lab has raised the price of Neutron, a rocket that has not flown yet. [1][2]
   • Why it works on people A record order book sounds like money already made, so a $3.6 billion backlog can sit beside a forecast loss without anyone noticing the gap. [2]
   • Neutron has not flown yet, and its first flight has already slipped to 2027. [2]
   • Mike Haridopolos, who chairs the US House space subcommittee, said: "I think the marketplace will fill that void." [8]
   • Who gains Rocket Lab — It gets military money on terms its finance chief calls very attractive, while it charges more for every Neutron flight. [1]
   • Who gains Stoke Space — The same office offered it money for a second launch pad in Florida. [1]
   • Who pays Satellite companies waiting for a ride — With Falcon 9 closed to new company orders, some must wait years for a slot or build their own rockets. [2]
   • Who pays Young space start-ups — Dearer launches could stop them before they start, says Matthew Weinzierl, who studies space business at Harvard. [5]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether the military loans will ever be paid out.

     All three are conditional, and each company must still pass financial, legal and technical checks. [1][6]

   • Nobody knows yet

     How long the US military can still fly on Falcon 9.

     Ars Technica says the Space Force can order Falcon flights until 2029 and fly them until 2033. [1] Scientific American quotes a Space Force spokesperson saying launches are planned through 2032. [5]

   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether Neutron will really fly in 2027.

     Its first flight has already slipped, and Rocket Lab ties its own profits to Neutron's first flights. [2]

   What comes next

   ULA said on 28 October that its Vulcan rocket will fly again in mid-November. [5]

1. 02

   Axiom Space sues its rival Vast

   What happened

   • Axiom Space, a US company that runs private trips to the International Space Station, is suing its rival Vast Space. [9]
   • Axiom filed the case on 19 June, and a judge unsealed it on 4 November. [9]
   • Axiom says Vast handed NASA a mission plan that included Axiom's own private information. [9]
   • Axiom's filing says NASA told it in June that parts of Vast's document still carried Axiom's name. [9]
   • Vast says the case is about competition, not fraud. [9]
   • The US Justice Department chose on 23 October not to take over the case, so Axiom goes on alone. [9]

   Who is involved

   • Axiom Space brings the case
   • Vast Space denies it

   How it unfolded

   NASA began letting companies fly private astronauts to the station in 2019. [9] Axiom won trips 1 to 5, Vast won trip 6 and Voyager Technologies won trip 7. [9]

   1. 19 Jun Axiom files the case
   2. 4 Nov a judge unseals it

   Why it matters

   Final bids for NASA's private space station contracts are due on 14 December. [9]

   A finding of fraud could hurt Vast's chances in that contest, Ars Technica says. [9]

   How it works

   Under the US False Claims Act, a private party can sue someone it says cheated the government. [9] If it wins, the law gives it a reward. [9]

   Axiom chose this law over a plain copying claim, and it seeks triple damages plus that reward. [9]

   Seen it before

   A shop that pays a reward for spotting shoplifters gets many more eyes watching its shelves.

   The truth

   • Ars Technica notes that the Justice Department's choice does not settle whether Vast used Axiom's material. [9]
   • Who gains Axiom Space — If its case wins, the law can give it a reward, and its rival's bid for NASA's station work could be weakened. [9]
   • Who pays Vast Space — It must fight a fraud case in court a month before NASA's station bids are due. [9]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How Axiom's planning document got into Vast's file for NASA.

     Ars Technica calls it the main unanswered question, and NASA says it does not comment on court cases. [9]

2. 03

   Twin NASA probes head for Mars

   What happened

   • NASA's twin ESCAPADE probes swung close past Earth on 7 and 9 November and are now heading to Mars. [10]
   • Each probe fired its engine as it passed. [11]
   • The second came within about 1,050 km of Earth, the first within about 1,600 km. [11]
   • A NASA flight director said the team did the move "twice, flawlessly, in just two days." [10]

   How it unfolded

   Earth and Mars line up for the shortest trip only once every 26 months. [10]

   The probes were meant to leave in October 2024, but delays to Blue Origin's rocket made them miss it. [10]

   They launched in November 2025 and spent nearly a year looping far from Earth and back, instead of waiting. [11]

   1. 7 Nov first probe swings past Earth
   2. 9 Nov second probe follows
   3. Oct 2024 launch chance missed
   4. Nov 2025 launch on New Glenn
   5. 9 Nov second flyby done
   6. Sep 2027 both reach Mars

   Why it matters

   They will study how the solar wind, the stream of charged particles from the Sun, hits Mars. [10][11]

   Advanced Space, which planned the route, says it lets Mars missions launch almost anytime. [11]

   How it works

   Mission planners call the short time when two planets line up for a trip a launch window. [10]

   ESCAPADE missed its window, so it waited out in space and used Earth's pull to set off instead. [10][11]

   Seen it before

   Miss a train and you can wait for the next, or take a bus to meet it further along.

   The truth

   • Who pays Scientists hoping for cheap planet missions — NASA has asked for no new SIMPLEx missions and has no plans to, citing budget pressures. [11]

   Good news

   • Two small NASA probes fired their engines as they swept past Earth on 7 and 9 November, and both are now on course to reach Mars in September 2027.

   What comes next

   Both are due to reach Mars in September 2027, 2 days apart. [11]

1. 04

   Space Force hires Viasat for a data hub

   What happened

   • The US Space Force hired Viasat, a satellite company, to build a control centre for its new data network. [12]
   • The contract is worth up to $450 million, starting with a first order of $115 million. [12]
   • The Space Data Network will pass military data between government and company satellites. [12]

   Who is involved

   SpaceX won $2.9 billion in May to build the network's backbone, the links that carry its data. [12]

   Rocket Lab, York, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Amazon also hold contracts for the network. [12]

   • US Space Force the buyer
   • Viasat builds the centre

   How it unfolded

   In 2022, hackers cut off thousands of Viasat customers in Europe as Russia attacked Ukraine. [12]

   Why it matters

   The network is closely tied to Golden Dome, the planned US missile shield. [12]

   How it works

   US government buyers call the most a contract can pay out its ceiling. [12]

   Only the $115 million first order is set so far; the rest depends on more orders. [12]

   Seen it before

   A gift card's limit is the most a shopper can spend, not what they will spend.

   Why a rocket maker's long order book is not yet money in the bank

   Accountants count a sale as earned only when the work is done, so a company can hold billions in orders and still lose money.

   The twist

   Rocket Lab holds $3.6 billion of orders and still expects to lose money this quarter, because a launch counts as earned only on the day it flies.

   The picture

   $3.6 billionOrders signed

   vsvs

   $268 millionEarned in 3 months

   Step by step

   1. 1 A customer signs for a launch years ahead
   2. 2 The order joins the backlog: work promised, not yet done
   3. 3 Accountants count the money only when the rocket flies
   4. 4 So a full order book can sit beside a loss today

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • Viasat's Space Force contract

     The deal can reach $450 million, but only the $115 million first order is set, and the rest is paid only as more work is ordered and done.

   • Kratos and the floating launch pad

     Kratos signed for launches from 2027 onward, but nothing can be counted as earned until the platform is built and a rocket leaves it.

   Where you've seen this

   Airlines

   a ticket sold in March for an August flight counts as earned in August

   House builders

   homes sold before they are built count as sales only when they are finished and handed over

   Magazine subscriptions

   a year paid up front is counted one issue at a time

   The catch

   An order can still be cancelled or pushed back, so a backlog is a promise of work, not a guarantee of money.

   And the whole of it

   The 117 launches on Rocket Lab's list are rides for satellite makers, a plan for US military planners and a number for investors. Every one of them waits on Neutron, a rocket that has not flown yet.

   The truth

   • Who gains Viasat — Its centre becomes the central hub joining the network's government and company satellites. [12]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Where Viasat's control centre will be, and who will staff it.

     A Space Force spokesperson would say only that Guardians, its troops, will run it, and gave no location or staffing plan. [12]

1. 05

   A US lawmaker on NASA's next budget

   What happened

   • Democrats won control of the US House of Representatives in last week's election. [8]
   • He says a 40% cut to NASA was once possible, and the US Congress blocked it. [8]
   • He says the One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised NASA's spending by about $9.9 billion. [8]

   Who is involved

   Mike Haridopolos, the Florida Republican who chairs the House space subcommittee, kept his seat. [8]

   • Mike Haridopolos chairs the House space subcommittee

   How it unfolded

   1. 2028 Artemis III and IV, he expects
   2. Now a Democratic House

   Why it matters

   If the parties cannot agree a budget, NASA would keep its current one, he says. [8]

   How it works

   Lawmakers call a stopgap law that keeps the current budget going a continuing resolution. [8]

   Under one, NASA keeps its current budget, which Haridopolos says NASA can live with. [8]

   Seen it before

   When a family cannot agree a new plan, the old pocket money simply carries on.

   The truth

   • This account comes from one Republican; no Democrat speaks in the interview. [8]

   What comes next

   He expects Artemis III and IV, NASA's next crewed Moon flights, by 2028. [8]

2. 06

   A robot builds a frame in orbit alone

   What happened

   • A robot built part of an antenna frame in orbit on its own, with no person at the controls. [13]
   • The robot joined tubes with metal joints and added a thin shiny film, building a frame 1.4 m wide. [13]
   • Engineers could talk to it for only about 15 minutes a day. [13]

   Who is involved

   Caltech, the California Institute of Technology, ran the test, and DARPA paid for it. [13]

   • Caltech ran the test
   • DARPA paid for it

   How it unfolded

   The robot reached orbit on 30 March, on a SpaceX shared ride. [13] Caltech announced the result on 5 November. [13]

   1. 30 Mar the robot reaches orbit
   2. 5 Nov the result is announced

   Why it matters

   A rocket's nose cone limits how big a satellite can be, so building in orbit could lift that limit. [13]

   DARPA wants frames hundreds of metres or kilometres across, which nothing can build today. [13]

   How it works

   Engineers call this in-space assembly: launching parts small and joining them in orbit. [14]

   The robot built one section at a time, added the film, then pushed each finished section out. [14]

   Seen it before

   Flat-pack furniture comes in a small box and is put together at home.

   The truth

   • The team ran out of time and did not finish the whole frame. [13]

   Good news

   • A robot in orbit built part of an antenna frame on its own, the first structure put together in space with no person at the controls.
3. 07

   A floating launch pad gets a customer

   What happened

   • Kratos, a US defence technology company, signed a long-term deal on 10 November to launch from a floating platform. [15]
   • Seagate Space, the platform's maker, also signed its first contract to build one, called Gateway. [15]
   • It will first use it for military launches and for targets that missile defences practise on. [15]

   Who is involved

   • Kratos will launch from it
   • Seagate Space builds the platform

   How it unfolded

   1. 10 Nov deal signed
   2. 2027 first mission planned

   Why it matters

   A pad at sea can move, which the companies say gives more choice of where and when to launch. [15]

   How it works

   Launch engineers call the stretch of sea or land a rocket may safely fly over its range. [15]

   A floating pad can sail to the stretch of ocean a mission needs, the companies say. [15]

   Seen it before

   A food truck can park where the hungry crowd is; a restaurant cannot move.

   Kratos signed for launches from 2027 onward, but nothing can be counted as earned until the platform is built and a rocket leaves it.

   The idea, in story 04: Why a rocket maker's long order book is not yet money in the bank →

   The truth

   • Who gains Seagate Space — It now has a named customer for its first floating platform, as building starts. [15]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How much Kratos's floating-pad deal is worth.

     Neither company gave a value for the deal or a price for the platform. [15]

   What comes next

   Kratos plans its first mission from the platform in 2027, with more launches each year after. [15]

4. 08

   Why Uranus has a lopsided magnetic field

   What happened

   • Scientists in the US and UK may have explained the odd magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune. [16]
   • Uranus's field is tilted 59 degrees from its spin, and Neptune's is tilted 47 degrees. [16]
   • Earth's field has a clear north and south pole, like a bar magnet. [16]
   • Deep inside, water can break into charged pieces, and the material may carry electricity better the deeper it goes. [16]
   • Earth's tilt drifts about 1 degree in 50 years, Yan says. [16] In the models, the giants' tilt can swing tens of degrees within decades. [16]

   Who is involved

   The study, led by Chi Yan of the University of Texas at Austin, used computer models. [16]

   How it unfolded

   Only Voyager 2 has visited them, passing Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in 1989. [16]

   1. 1986 Voyager 2 passes Uranus
   2. 1989 Voyager 2 passes Neptune

   Why it matters

   NASA has made a new mission to Uranus a priority, for the early 2040s. [16]

   How it works

   Planetary scientists call this a dynamo: a stirred liquid that carries electricity makes a magnetic field. [16]

   Inside Earth, the stirred liquid is molten iron. [16] Inside Uranus, it is water and other ices under crushing pressure. [16]

   Seen it before

   A bike lamp's dynamo makes light only while the wheel is turning.

   The truth

   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether the new Uranus model is right.

     It is fitted to Voyager 2 readings from about 40 years ago, and NASA's next Uranus mission is not due until the early 2040s. [16]

5. 09

   A planet vanishes from view

   What happened

   • A giant planet about 1,000 light-years away has stopped crossing in front of its star, as seen from Earth. [17]
   • NASA's TESS space telescope watched it from April 2019 until March 2026, when the dips in starlight stopped. [17]
   • It circles its star every 8.25 days. [17] That makes it a hot Jupiter: a giant planet very close to its star. [17]
   • Its arrivals had drifted, coming up to 6 hours early or late. [17]
   • Astronomers say a hidden second planet is pulling on it, tilting its orbit out of line with the star. [17]

   Who is involved

   The study came out on 9 November; Samuel Yee of the University of California, Los Angeles, is on the team. [17]

   How it unfolded

   1. Apr 2019 TESS starts watching
   2. Mar 2026 the dips stop

   Why it matters

   It may show that such giants drift slowly inward rather than being flung close to their stars. [17]

   How it works

   Astronomers call a planet's crossing in front of its star a transit: the star dims a little as it passes. [17]

   When the orbit tilts, the planet passes above or below the star, so no dip shows. [17]

   Seen it before

   A moth flying in front of a lamp casts a shadow; a moth flying above it does not.

   What comes next

   It should not cross its star again for at least 30 years. [17]

6. 10

   A telescope maps distant hydrogen

   What happened

   • Astronomers using MeerKAT, a radio telescope run by South Africa's radio astronomy observatory, measured how distant hydrogen clumps. [18]
   • The team calls it the first direct measurement of the large-scale pattern of cosmic hydrogen. [18]
   • The signal they caught left its source 4.5 billion years ago. [18]
   • The hydrogen signal is about 10,000 times fainter than the radio noise in front of it. [18]
   • The team used each of MeerKAT's 64 dishes as its own telescope, to cover the sky faster. [18]

   How it unfolded

   Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, and stars and galaxies formed from it. [18]

   Why it matters

   The hydrogen followed the same web-like pattern as galaxies, so the method could change how scientists map the universe. [18]

   How it works

   Astronomers call it intensity mapping: adding up faint glow from many galaxies instead of picking out each one. [18]

   MeerKAT's dishes read the 21-cm radio glow that hydrogen gives off, summed over large patches of sky. [18]

   Seen it before

   From a plane at night you see a city's glow before you can pick out any single street light.

   Good news

   • Astronomers using MeerKAT, South Africa's radio telescope, measured the pattern of hydrogen across distant space directly for the first time.
7. 11

   A Moon greenhouse is planned

   What happened

   • Germany's space agency, DLR, is working with NASA and Canada's space agency on greenhouses for the Moon. [19]
   • They would grow fresh food for astronauts on long stays. [19]
   • A test version will be built on Earth first, joined to a pretend living area. [19]

   Who is involved

   • DLR Germany
   • NASA US
   • CSA Canada

   How it unfolded

   DLR ran a greenhouse in Antarctica from 2018 to 2023, near a German research station. [19] It grew about 1 tonne of vegetables with no soil or sunlight. [19]

   Astronauts on the International Space Station have already grown lettuce, Chinese cabbage and chilli peppers. [19]

   1. Now design and testing
   2. 2032 decision on building it

   Why it matters

   The Moon has almost no air, little water and harsh radiation, so crops cannot just be planted there. [19]

   How it works

   Life-support engineers call this a closed loop: what one part gives off, another part uses.

   Here, the plan joins the greenhouse to the crew's living area so each can supply the other. [19]

   Seen it before

   In a fish tank with plants, the fish feed the plants and the plants clean the water.

   The truth

   • Nobody knows yet

     How much money a Moon greenhouse would need from the three agencies.

     No cost is given, and the three partners will decide only by 2032 whether to build it. [19]

   What comes next

   The three partners plan to decide by 2032 at the latest whether and how to build it. [19]

8. 12

   A start-up says it can fly new parts faster

   What happened

   • Lyra Systems, a start-up in California, came out of hiding on 10 November with a US Air Force research deal. [20]
   • The 5-year agreement aims to get new space technology onto test flights faster. [20]
   • Lyra uses AI software to match the military's needs to parts already on sale. [20]

   How it unfolded

   A US government audit in July found big defence programmes take more than 12 years on average to deliver. [20]

   Why it matters

   Lyra's founder, Tanmayi Sai, says defence budgets and private money have both more than doubled. [20] Flown missions have barely moved, she says. [20]

   How it works

   The space industry calls the gap where tested parts never reach a real mission the valley of death. [20]

   Sai says money is no longer the problem; the slow work of fitting a part into a mission is. [20]

   Seen it before

   A science fair project can win a prize and still never become something shops sell.

   The truth

   • The claims about speed come from Lyra itself, which has not yet flown a mission. [20]
9. 13

   A Starlink dish gets a battery

   What happened

   • SpaceX announced the Starlink Mini 2, a laptop-sized satellite internet dish with a built-in battery. [21]
   • Some US users say it costs $999, with a year of travel service included. [21]
   • SpaceX says the battery lasts up to 4.5 hours. [21]
   • It is 23.1 mm thick, down from 38.5 mm for the first Mini. [21]
   • Orders are open only by invitation, for some US customers. [21]

   Who is involved

   Starlink is SpaceX's own network of internet satellites. [1]

   Why it matters

   It is sealed against dust and water, so with its battery it can work outdoors away from a plug. [21]

   How it works

   Engineers call a battery you can change while a device keeps running hot-swappable. [21]

   So a spare battery can be slotted in to keep the dish online past 4.5 hours. [21]

   Seen it before

   Some cordless drills take a spare battery, so the work goes on while one charges.

   The truth

   • The $999 price comes from users' screenshots of invitations, not from SpaceX. [21]
10. 14

    Tiny whirlpools may heat the Sun's outer air

    What happened

    • Katariina Nykyri, a physicist at Embry-Riddle university, says tiny whirlpools may heat the Sun's corona, its outer layer. [22]
    • The corona is far hotter than the Sun's surface, and why has long puzzled scientists. [22]
    • She works out that each holds about 2 septillion ergs, a unit of energy solar scientists use. [22]
    • Millions of them form and fade every few minutes. [22]

    How it unfolded

    A big solar telescope on Maui, in Hawaii, spotted whirlpools of hot gas a few dozen km across this year. [22]

    Why it matters

    It is one of several new ideas fed by fresh data from solar missions, Universe Today says. [22]

    How it works

    Physicists call the snapping of tangled magnetic lines magnetic reconnection. [22]

    Each whirlpool squeezes magnetic lines together until they snap, turning stored energy into heat. [22]

    Seen it before

    A twisted rubber band stores energy and lets it out all at once when it snaps.

    The truth

    • This is one scientist's calculation in a paper, not a measurement of heat reaching the corona. [22]
11. 15

    A dead star's jet seen in cold gas

    What happened

    • Japanese astronomers found a giant jet of gas from LMC P3, an object in the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy. [23]
    • LMC P3 pairs a giant star with the dense leftover of an exploded star, a black hole or neutron star. [23]
    • The jet stretches 26 light-years, about as far as Earth is from the star Vega. [23]
    • The jet's gas is 35 to 60 kelvin, warmer than the 15 kelvin of the gas around it. [23]

    Who is involved

    They used ALMA, a set of radio dishes in Chile, to look at cold gas around it. [23]

    Bhuvana Gadikere Rajendra of Gifu University led the team, with Yasuo Fukui of Nagoya University. [23]

    • Yasuo Fukui Nagoya University
    • Bhuvana Gadikere Rajendra Gifu University

    Why it matters

    The warm gas suggests a fast particle jet is heating it, which could explain the object's gamma rays. [23]

    How it works

    Astronomers call a dead star that feeds on a living partner and fires jets a microquasar. [23]

    The dense object pulls gas off the giant star, which swirls round it and throws out jets near light speed. [23]

    Seen it before

    Water spiralling down a plughole speeds up as it nears the drain.

    The truth

    • Nobody knows yet

      Whether LMC P3's dense object is a black hole or a neutron star.

      The jet makes a black hole more likely, Universe Today says, but it does not settle the question. [23]