Ron Cowen

All Stories by Ron Cowen

  1. Astronomy

    Extrasolar planet gets heavier

    An extrasolar planet that tightly orbits its parent star is heavier than astronomers had thought.

  2. Planetary Science

    To the moon, European style

    The European Space Agency launched its first lunar mission, which is scheduled to reach the moon in 2005 and will search for water that may lie in the moon's permanently shadowed craters.

  3. Astronomy

    Super Data: Hail the cosmic revolution

    Ten extremely distant supernovas recently discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope provide evidence that something is pushing objects in the cosmos apart at an ever-faster rate.

  4. Physics

    Cassini confirms Einstein’s theory

    En route to a 2004 rendezvous with Saturn, the Cassini spacecraft has verified a key prediction of Einstein’s theory of general relativity to an accuracy 50 times better than that of previous measurements.

  5. Planetary Science

    News Splash: Strong evidence of lakes on Titan

    Using Earth-based radar to penetrate the thick atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan, planetary scientists have the best evidence yet that the smog-shrouded moon has lakes or oceans of hydrocarbons over large stretches of its surface.

  6. Planetary Science

    Galileo’s Demise: A planetary plunge, by Jove

    Out of fuel and according to plan, the Galileo spacecraft ended an 8-year tour of Jupiter and its moons on Sept. 21, when it dove into the planet’s dense atmosphere.

  7. Planetary Science

    After the Tragedy

    NASA's plan to return the space shuttles safely to flight after the Columbia accident is coming under intense scrutiny.

  8. Astronomy

    Craft finds where sun’s corona gets its hots

    New findings may help explain an enduring solar riddle: Although the sun's outer atmosphere lies thousands of kilometers above the visible surface of the sun, it's about 1,000 times hotter.

  9. Astronomy

    A Low Note in Cosmos: Sounding out a new role for black holes

    Astronomers have for the first time detected sound waves generated by a black hole.

  10. Astronomy

    Solar system replica?

    Carefully monitoring the motion of a star 90 light-years from Earth, astronomers have found what may be the closest analog known to our solar system.

  11. Astronomy

    Lights out

    Astronomers who have conducted a detailed analysis of the colors of some 37,000 nearby galaxies conclude that the universe is gradually growing darker.

  12. Planetary Science

    A phoenix on Mars

    If all goes according to plan, a spacecraft will land on the north polar region of Mars in 2008 and scoop up samples of the icy terrain.