All Stories by Ron Cowen
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- Planetary Science
Survivor: Extrasolar planet escapes stellar attack
An extrasolar planet survived after its aging parent star ballooned into a red giant that almost engulfed it.
- Astronomy
Bloated planet
A newly discovered exoplanet is the largest and lowest-density such object yet found.
- Astronomy
Major merger
Four galaxies are ramming into each other in one of the biggest cosmic collisions ever recorded.
- Planetary Science
A different view of Uranus’ rings
The rings of Uranus are now tilted edge on to Earth, revealing small, inner rings made of fine dust.
- Astronomy
Killer Collision: Dino demise traces to asteroid-family breakup
The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago was a wayward fragment from a violent collision in the asteroid belt.
- Astronomy
Dawn of a Disk: Water vapor pours down on embryonic star
Infrared observations show water vapor pouring down on a planet-forming disk around a young star.
- Astronomy
Separation Anxiety: Cosmic collision may shed light on dark matter
The debris from an ancient collision of galaxy clusters seems to show cosmic dark matter behaving in a puzzling way.
- Planetary Science
Geyser gawker: Plans for a closer look at Enceladus
The Cassini spacecraft will change course to take a close look next March at plumes of water vapor emanating from the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
- Planetary Science
Idiosyncratic Iapetus
The strange appearance of Saturn's moon Iapetus suggests that it was frozen in shape soon after birth, providing a glimpse into conditions in the early solar system.
- Astronomy
Veiled black holes
Many X ray sources in the sky could be active galactic nuclei smothered by gas and dust that blocks their emission of visible and ultraviolet light.
- Planetary Science
Deep Impact and Stardust: Still on assignment
Two sturdy NASA spacecraft have new assignments, studying comets and looking for exoplanets.
