Space & Physics: When supernovas hit Earth

May 29—Too-close-for-comfort supernovas, "sandblasting" lunar rockets, and nasty space weather that may mess with migratory animals are on this week's shortlist, but our top stories aren't all so gloomy. In good news, Voyager 1 is back in action, and scientists have reported new breakthroughs for black holes and for Venus. Enjoy! --Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space and Physics

Top Stories

Solar Storms Are Probably Messing with Wildlife Migrations Solar storms that create auroras affect Earth's magnetic field and may cause migratory species, such as many whales and birds, to lose their way Melissa Hobson, contract writer

Superstorm-Spawning Sunspot Cluster Is Facing Earth Again. What's Next? The massive sunspot region that gave Earthlings stunning auroral displays earlier in May is back from its trip around the far side of the sun Meghan Bartels

A Mystery about the Universe's First Black Holes May Be Solved at Last Astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan predicted that black holes can form without the help of stars. New observations support her theory Zack Savitsky

Voyager 1's Revival Offers Inspiration for Everyone on Earth Instruments may fail, but humanity's most distant sentinel will keep exploring, and inspiring us all Saswato R. Das

Rocket 'Sandblasts' Could Pose Major Risk on Moon, New Studies Warn A new theory tested on Apollo-era data suggests that high-speed moon dust could pose engineering hazards—and diplomatic headaches Michael Greshko

Surprising Supernova Scars Cover the Earth A supernova showering Earth with radioactive debris is a surprisingly common cosmic occurrence Phil Plait

Volcanoes on Venus Might Be Erupting Right Now Scientists have found signs of fresh flowing lava on Venus in decades-old data from NASA's Magellan spacecraft Sharmila Kuthunur; SPACE.com

The Science of Heliophysics Demands Its Moment in the Sun NASA's head of heliophysics explains how we weathered the worst solar storm of a generation—and discusses the challenges we face in preparing for the next one Lee Billings

Next-Generation Cosmic Observatory Hits South Pole Stumbling Block Cosmic Microwave Background Stage 4, a top-priority project for U.S. astrophysics, was designed to make breakthrough observations of the universe's very earliest moments. Now the U.S. government says it can't currently support the project's construction at the South Pole Meghan Bartels

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