382 results
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General relativity reshaped our universe
Our cosmos is home to space-bending beasts, dramatic collisions and mysterious forces.
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Shaking up Earth
Plate tectonics explained geologic wonders and natural hazards – and sparked questions about past and future life.
- Space
Electric charges on dust grains may help explain how planets are born
In an experiment, glass beads clung together like protoplanetary dust particles when shaken and flung more than 100 meters skyward.
- Astronomy
The first planet Kepler spotted has finally been confirmed 10 years later
Astronomers had dismissed the first exoplanet candidate spotted by the Kepler space telescope as a false alarm.
- Space
A proposed space telescope would use Earth’s atmosphere as a lens
One astronomer has a bold solution to the high cost of building big telescopes.
- Astronomy
Moons that escape their planets could become ‘ploonets’
If giant planets in other star systems lose their moons, the freed objects could become “ploonets,” and current telescopes may be able to find them.
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Scientists who aren’t afraid to range across disciplines
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses 10 early- and mid-career scientists who are making cross-disciplinary connections.
- Astronomy
Gaps in gas disks around stars may not always mark newborn planets
New research has prompted a rethink of the theory that gaps in planet-forming disks around young stars mark spaces where planets are being created.
- Astronomy
Less than a year after launch, TESS is already finding bizarre worlds
The TESS exoplanet hunter has spotted eight confirmed worlds in its first four months, and several of them are really weird.
- Space
As NASA’s Spitzer telescope’s mission ends, here’s a look back at its discoveries
For more than 16 years, the Spitzer Space Telescope has witnessed the births and deaths of stars, charted the Milky Way, found faraway worlds and more.
- Astronomy
Skepticism grows over whether the first known exomoon exists
New analyses of the data used to find the first discovered exomoon are reaching conflicting results.
- Astronomy
The planet-hunting Kepler space telescope is dead
The Kepler space telescope is officially out of fuel and will hunt planets no more, NASA announced.
