Science Today — Nov. 12, 2025: Severe Auroras Sweep the Globe, Blue Origin Targets New Glenn Launch, Webb Spots Organic “Life Seeds” Beyond the Milky Way, Three Earth‑Size Worlds Found in a Two‑Sun System, Enceladus’ Ocean Looks Long‑Lived, and Earth’s Hidden Geology Fuels Ocean Volcanoes

Roundup of the biggest science stories breaking on November 12, 2025. From a rare G4 geomagnetic storm lighting up the skies to fresh clues about life-friendly chemistry and planetary formation, here’s what matters — and why.

At a glance

Space weather goes extreme: NOAA confirms G4 (Severe) geomagnetic storm levels, with widespread aurora sightings and more possible tonight. ^[1]
Launch watch: Blue Origin is targeting 2:50–4:17 p.m. ET (19:50–21:17 UTC) for today’s New Glenn attempt carrying NASA’s ESCAPADE twin Mars probes. ^[2]
Webb chemistry firsts: JWST detects complex organic molecules — including acetic acid — in ice around a young star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the first such detections beyond the Milky Way. ^[3]
Three Earth‑size planets, two suns: Astronomers identify three Earth‑size worlds in a compact binary system (TOI‑2267), with planets transiting both stars — a first. ^[4]
An ocean world that endures: New peer‑reviewed work shows Enceladus is losing heat from both poles, supporting a stable, long‑lived ocean that could be habitable. ^[5]
Deep‑Earth surprise: A study in Nature Geoscience finds continents can peel from below, seeding the oceanic mantle and helping power volcanoes far from plate boundaries. ^[6]

1) A rare G4 geomagnetic storm paints the skies — and could return tonight

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center reports that G4 (Severe)geomagnetic storm levels were reached at 01:20 UTC on Nov. 12. Forecasters say CME (coronal mass ejection) impacts are ongoing, and G1–G4 conditions are possible through the night, meaning another widespread aurora display remains on the table. ^[7]

If you’re sky‑watching, NOAA’s Aurora Dashboard is the authoritative real‑time tool to check visibility and short‑term predictions. Early reports today include unusually far‑south sightings in the U.S. and a Bureau of Meteorology G4 alertfor the southern lights over Australia, underscoring the storm’s intensity. (As always, dark, cloud‑free skies and a clear view toward the pole improve your odds.) ^[8]

For context, this episode follows multiple X‑class flares earlier this week — including the year’s strongest (X5.1) — which set up today’s storm and fuel the auroral fireworks. ^[9]

2) Blue Origin targets today for New Glenn — ESCAPADE’s ride to Mars

After weather scrubs, Blue Origin is aiming for an 87‑minute launch window starting 2:50 p.m. ET (19:50 UTC)today for the NG‑2 flight of its New Glenn heavy‑lift rocket, carrying NASA’s ESCAPADE mission: twin small satellites that will map how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment. Spaceflight Now’s live blog tracks last‑minute status; Blue Origin’s mission page confirms the window and webcast timing. ^[10]

Why it matters: ESCAPADE is a low‑cost, first‑of‑its‑kind dual‑orbiter study that complements NASA’s MAVEN and could sharpen our understanding of atmospheric escape — key both for Mars’ past climate and for protecting future crews from space weather. Mission teams expect arrival in 2027 after a “launch‑and‑loiter” trajectory that uses an Earth flyby before the cruise to Mars. ^[11]

The launch is also pivotal for New Glenn as Blue Origin builds flight heritage. A weather‑related scrub earlier in the week pushed the attempt to Nov. 12, and the company coordinated with regulators to secure the daytime window amid broader FAA constraints during the federal shutdown. ^[12]

3) Webb finds “life’s building blocks” frozen in alien starlight beyond the Milky Way

A JWST team reports the first detections outside our galaxy of several complex organic molecules in ice — including acetic acid — around a forming star (ST6) in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The result, led by University of Maryland/NASA researchers and published in ApJ Letters, indicates that prebiotic chemistry can flourish in low‑metallicity, harsh radiation environments resembling the early universe. That pushes the origin story for life’s ingredients further back — and into more varied settings — than many models assumed. ^[13]

Why it matters: Before Webb, methanol was the only complex organic confirmed in ices near protostars. Seeing richer chemistry in ices — the raw material for comets and planets — strengthens the idea that some worlds may start life’s journey already stocked with organics. ^[14]

4) Three Earth‑size planets in a two‑sun system — with transits around bothstars

In a discovery that reshapes exoplanet playbooks, an international team finds three Earth‑size planets in the binarysystem TOI‑2267 — and, crucially, transits are observed around both stars. That makes TOI‑2267 the first known binary where planets transit each component, a configuration once thought too dynamically messy to sustain compact, rocky systems. The work, based on NASA TESS data and extensive ground‑based follow‑up (including SPECULOOS/TRAPPIST), is published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. ^[15]

Beyond its novelty, TOI‑2267 offers a natural lab for testing how planets form and remain stable in the tug‑of‑war of two suns. Expect rapid follow‑ups to probe masses, densities, and possible atmospheres. ^[16]

5) Enceladus’ global ocean looks stable — and that boosts habitability

Building on Cassini’s legacy, scientists have now measured heat loss at Enceladus’ north pole for the first time, adding to known south‑polar heat. The global heat‑loss budget (~≤54 GW) closely balances predicted tidal heating (≈50–55 GW) — a key requirement for an ocean that stays liquid over geologic time. The study, “Endogenic heat at Enceladus’ north pole,” appears in Science Advances; the University of Oxford summarized the findings this week. ^[17]

Why it matters: Thermal balance implies long‑term ocean stability, raising the astrobiological stakes for this icy moon. Several outlets today highlight the habitability angle and the newly constrained ice‑shell thickness consistent with a global ocean. ^[18]

6) Earth is slowly “peeling” its continents from below — fueling volcanoes in the open ocean

A Nature Geoscience study led by University of Southampton researchers proposes that as continents rift, slow mantle waves can strip fragments from the deep continental “roots” and sweep them sideways into the oceanic mantle. Those infiltrating slivers help feed volcanic activity far from plate boundaries and explain puzzling chemical fingerprints in ocean‑island lavas. Fresh field data from the Indian Ocean corroborate the model. ^[19]

Geophysically, it’s a big shift: volcanoes in the broad ocean basins don’t need only classic deep plumes; they can also be nourished by recycled continental material peeled off over tens of millions of years. ^[20]

7) Also today: Comet news and polar ocean geology

New comet C/2025 V1 (Borisov) — not to be confused with 3I/ATLAS — made its closest approach on Nov. 11(~64 million miles). It’s faint and telescopic, but its path sparked chatter about “nearly interstellar” dynamics. Early takes caution against over‑interpreting its orbit. ^[21]
Arctic seafloor exploration: Nature reports Chinese researchers have mapped an unexplored stretch of an Arctic Ocean ridge, with hopes of finding exotic hydrothermal ecosystems. These sites can host novel microorganisms and shed light on deep‑sea biogeochemistry. ^[22]

How to follow the big stories tonight

Auroras: Use NOAA’s Aurora Dashboard for real‑time visibility and short‑term models (look north/south, find dark skies, and try wide‑aperture, ~5–15s exposures if you’re photographing). ^[23]
New Glenn/ESCAPADE: Track Blue Origin’s mission page and Spaceflight Now’s live blog for countdown and weather updates; window opens 19:50 UTC. ^[24]

Sources & further reading (selected)

NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center — G4 storm reached; watches and overnight outlook. ^[25]
Blue Origin & Spaceflight Now — New Glenn NG‑2/ESCAPADE launch window and live coverage. ^[26]
University of Maryland via ApJ Letters — JWST organic molecules in LMC ices (incl. acetic acid). ^[27]
ScienceDaily/Univ. of Liège; A&A — Three Earth‑size planets in binary TOI‑2267; transits around both stars. ^[28]
Science Advances & University of Oxford — Enceladus heat flow and ocean stability. ^[29]
ScienceDaily/Nature Geoscience — Continents “peeling” from below fuel ocean volcanism. ^[30]

Editor’s note: This roundup reflects developments published or updated on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 (UTC) across major journals, agencies, and newsrooms. We prioritize primary sources and official outlets; times are given in UTC where applicable.

What Is an Aurora?