All Stories by Ron Cowen
- Space
First triple near-Earth asteroid found
Astronomers have discovered the first known triple near-Earth asteroid.
- Space
Icy asteroids
New observations are further eroding the difference between asteroids and comets.
- Space
Ceres may be an asteroid impersonator
The largest asteroid in the solar system may not be an asteroid at all but a cometlike relative of Pluto that came in from the cold several billion years ago.
- Space
Central star is no dim bulb
Observing the dusty center of the Milky Way, astronomers have the second brightest star known in the galaxy
- Space
Saturn’s moon may host an ocean
The Cassini spacecraft has found what may be the strongest evidence yet that Saturn's tiny moon Enceladus has an ocean beneath its icy surface.
- Space
An early record-breaker
A remote galaxy is churning out up to 4,000 newborn stars a year, making it the star-forming champ among galaxies in the early universe.
- Planetary Science
Lunar liquid
A new analysis of moon rocks has revealed that the moon isn’t as bone dry as researchers had thought, whetting the appetite of scientists who seek a deeper understanding of how Earth’s only natural satellite arose and evolved.
- Physics
Large Hadron Collider
When the Large Hadron Collider powers up this fall, protons moving at almost the speed of light will collide with energies high enough, physicists hope, to solve matter’s biggest mysteries.
- Space
Messages from Mercury
Data collected by the MESSENGER spacecraft as it flew past Mercury last January has revealed the origin of the planet’s magnetic field, discovered evidence of early volcanic activity and provided a first look at the planet’s surface composition.
- Astronomy
Postcards from the edge
New data about the edge of the solar system offer surprises about how the sun interacts with our galaxy.
- Space
Martian soil hints at water, nutrients
The first chemical analysis of dirt by the Mars Phoenix Lander supports the notion that liquid water flowed on the Red Planet at some point.
- Space
Safe from black holes
The Large Hadron Collider could generate black holes, but they would be too tiny and short-lived to do any harm and would be no more malevolent than the cosmic rays constantly bombarding Earth, two new reports find.
