Reuters Science News Summary

New observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope suggest a catastrophic event occurred around Neptune billions of years ago, involving a Pluto-sized object that caused a celestial demolition derby.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Webb telescope finds ​signs of ancient disaster for Neptune's moons

New observations of ​some of Neptune's moons and rings ‌are providing ​evidence of a catastrophe that occurred billions of years ago around the solar system's outermost planet in which a Pluto-sized interloper caused a celestial demolition derby. Researchers ‌used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to examine the composition of three of Neptune's small inner moons — Proteus, Larissa and Galatea — and its inner dusty rings, and detected clay minerals that one might expect to find deep inside certain worlds ‌in the outer reaches of the solar system. These magnesium-rich minerals are known to exist on the ‌dwarf planet Ceres, which orbits in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and in some meteorites.

SpaceX's satellite ambitions squeeze out rivals reliant on its rockets

SpaceX is increasingly reserving space on its rockets to launch its own Starlink satellites, crowding out rival space companies that ⁠have long ​depended on Elon Musk's ⁠company to get their payloads into orbit. Starlink's share of SpaceX missions has grown year after year, rising from 54% of the Falcon 9 rocket's ⁠manifest in 2020 to about 79% so far in 2026, according to a Reuters analysis of launch data compiled by astrophysicist ​Jonathan McDowell.

Options market braces for $225 billion swing in SpaceX's value as earnings loom

Traders in the options market ⁠are braced for a swing of roughly $225 billion in the value of SpaceX shares following its first-ever earnings report on Tuesday, underscoring market anxiety ⁠over ​how the financials will look for Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company. Options are pricing a roughly 15% move in SpaceX shares in either direction, but with a bearish tilt, according to data from options analytics service ⁠ORATS.

Bezos Earth Fund, Re:wild launch $200 million drive to save species from extinction

The Bezos Earth Fund, established by Amazon ⁠founder Jeff Bezos, and Re:wild, ⁠co-founded by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, on Tuesday pledged an initial $200 million to support the recovery of critically endangered species. The Phoenix Species Project aims to help preserve 100 species ‌across 30 countries ‌through long-term funding and locally led conservation efforts involving Indigenous Peoples, ​local communities, scientists and governments.