Ron Cowen

All Stories by Ron Cowen

  1. Astronomy

    ExtraSolar

    Astronomers hope that new tools will enable them to capture the first image of one of the 300 known planets orbiting distant stars.

  2. Space

    Twinkle, twinkle little planet

    Scientists could use scattered light to identify habitable extrasolar planets.

  3. Space

    Rocky cores form first

    A theorist says new extrasolar findings prove that the standard model of planet formation is correct.

  4. Astronomy

    Otherworldly triple play

    Astronomers have discovered the first known system of three superEarths beyond the solar system.

  5. Space

    Before the beginning

    A new analysis suggests that the universe exists within a bigger space.

  6. Space

    Sizing up black holes

    ST. LOUIS—Astronomers are all wound up over a new method for sizing up supermassive black holes found at the cores of galaxies. The method allows researchers for the first time to estimate the weight of these black holes in spiral galaxies up to 8 billion light-years away, or halfway across the universe, reports Marc Seigar […]

  7. Space

    Outsiders look in

    Astronomers stitch together the most detailed infrared picture of the inner Milky Way.

  8. Space

    Potential future fireworks

    Already bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, the star epsilon Aurigae may be trembling at the brink of a powerful outburst.

  9. Space

    Better view of the Milky Way

    New studies revise the structure of the Milky Way, exchanging the old map of a four-armed spiral galaxy for a two-arm version. The makeover also includes the discovery of a smaller, short, gaseous arm that is a long-sought counterpart to a similar arm near the galaxy’s center.

  10. Planetary Science

    Small exoplanet discovered

    Astronomers have discovered the smallest planet known that is beyond the solar system and orbits an ordinary parent body.

  11. Planetary Science

    Dispatch from Mars, Sol 4

    The good news is a tentative sighting of ice by the Mars Phoenix Lander. The bad news is the discovery of a glitch in the system that will analyze soil samples.

  12. Planetary Science

    Rarin’ to go

    After a day’s delay, the robotic arm on the Mars Phoenix Lander is free of its shackles and is preparing to dig for ice.