Thursday 24 September 2026 · Edition of the day

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The Skeptic's Daily

The day's biggest stories, taken apart. For each one: what is actually established, what is only asserted, the questions worth asking — and a plausibility score for the central claim, given everything currently known.

Stories
2
Average plausibility
81%
How to read the score
It rates how well the core claim is evidenced — not how important the story is, nor whether it is good or bad news.
RegionAllGlobalAfricaNorth AmericaSouth AmericaAsia-PacificEuropeMiddle East
TopicAllPoliticsConflict & SecurityBusinessScienceHealth
01ScienceGlobal

Astronomers identify the youngest known exoplanet, still forming in its birth disk

A planet under a million years old challenges existing models of how giant planets form.

A team led by researchers in Chile reported the discovery of Elias 2-24 b, described as the youngest confirmed exoplanet, using archival Keck Observatory data. The findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. The Jupiter-mass planet appears to be actively accreting material from its host star's disk, complicating formation models that already struggled with previous record-holders around 5 million years old.

What holds up

  • ✓Publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters is confirmed via NASA Science's release.
  • ✓The data came from the W. M. Keck Observatory.

What doesn't yet

  • ?The age estimate relies on modeling assumptions the researchers acknowledge are imperfect.
  • ?Whether the object is a fully formed planet or a protoplanetary clump is still debated.

Ask before you share

  • →Will independent teams replicate the age estimate with different instruments?
  • →Does this favor core-accretion or disk-instability theories of planet formation?
  • →Could similar young planets be found around the other stars in the survey?

Sources & original reporting

  1. [1]NASA Science · Accessed 24 Sept 2026 · science.nasa.gov
02ScienceGlobal

Perseverance finds evidence of repeated water activity in Martian rock

Rocks in Jezero Crater's 'Margin Unit' appear to have interacted with water on at least three separate occasions.

NASA scientists reported on 21 September 2026 that data from the Perseverance rover's SuperCam instrument show an unexpectedly complex water history in Jezero Crater's Margin Unit. Researchers expected sedimentary rock but found igneous rock bearing chemical signatures of multiple encounters with water. The findings were published in Communications Earth & Environment.

What holds up

  • ✓The instrument readings and publication venue are confirmed by NASA's official release.
  • ✓The rover reached the Margin Unit in September 2023, a documented mission milestone.

What doesn't yet

  • ?Reading the record as three 'separate' episodes rather than one prolonged process is inference from indirect chemical data.
  • ?Implications for past habitability extrapolate beyond the direct findings.

Ask before you share

  • →Could a sample-return mission confirm this with laboratory analysis on Earth?
  • →What does this mean for Jezero's potential to preserve signs of past life?
  • →Are similar formations present elsewhere on Mars?

Sources & original reporting

  1. [1]NASA · Accessed 24 Sept 2026 · nasa.gov