Astronomy
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Space
NASA’s Parker probe reveals the sun’s rogue plasma waves and magnetic islands
Scientists have analyzed the Parker probe’s first data, giving a peek at what’s to come as the craft moves closer to the sun over the next few years.
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Space
How brightly the moon glows is a mystery, but maybe not for long
The best estimates for the moon’s brightness are still somewhat unsure. A new experiment is trying to fix that.
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Space
A newfound black hole in the Milky Way is weirdly heavy
A dark mass about 68 times as massive as the sun is locked in orbit with a star in our galaxy. Theory says that such black holes shouldn’t get so big.
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Astronomy
19 more galaxies mysteriously missing dark matter have been found
The finding reveals a population of dwarf galaxies that defy common wisdom about how these star systems form and evolve.
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Space
How two gamma-ray bursts created record-breaking high-energy photons
Light packing up to 1 trillion electron volts of energy bolsters a theory for how these cosmic explosions produce such high-energy radiation.
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Space
Realigning magnetic fields may drive the sun’s spiky plasma tendrils
Solar spicules emerge near counterpointing magnetic fields, hinting that self-adjusting magnetism creates these filaments, which may heat the corona.
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Space
Light leaking from a distant galaxy hints at a cosmic makeover’s origins
Ultraviolet light slips through a hole in a distant galaxy’s gas. Older galaxies might have used the trick to ionize most of the universe’s hydrogen.
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Space
Voyager 2 reveals the dynamic, complex nature of the solar system’s edge
With two spacecraft outside the sun’s magnetic bubble, researchers get a new look at the boundary between the sun and its galactic environment.
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Space
Strontium is the first heavy element detected from a neutron star merger
The discovery of strontium created inside a neutron star smashup gives the clearest picture yet of what goes on inside this chaotic environment.
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Space
A supermassive black hole shredded a star and was caught in the act
Astronomers have gotten the earliest glimpse yet of a black hole ripping up a star, a process known as a tidal disruption event.
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Space
With 20 new moons, Saturn now has the most of any solar system planet
The discovery brings Saturn’s moon tally to 82. The previous record-holder, Jupiter, has 79.
By Sofie Bates -
Physics
Physics Nobel awarded for discoveries about the universe’s evolution and exoplanets
Three scientists share the 2019 Nobel Prize in physics for revealing what makes up our cosmos and for finding the first planet orbiting a sunlike star.
By Emily Conover and Lisa Grossman