Astronomy
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s ‘ring rain’ is a surprising cocktail of chemicals
NASA’s Cassini probe got a closeup view of the material falling from Saturn’s rings into the planet. The data could help illuminate the belts’ origins.
- Astronomy
Hubble may have spotted the first known exomoon
A single sighting with the Hubble Space Telescope seems to confirm that there’s a Neptune-sized moon orbiting exoplanet Kepler 1625b.
- Astronomy
We may not have found aliens yet because we’ve barely begun looking
A new calculation says SETI searches have combed the equivalent of a hot tub out of Earth’s oceans looking for extraterrestrial intelligence in space.
- Astronomy
Paula Jofré makes stellar connections
Astrophysicist Paula Jofré is a galactic archaeologist, mapping out generations of stars.
- Astronomy
Astronomers may have spotted the birth of a neutron star
Scientists say they’ve witnessed a type of neutron star called a pulsar being born in the wake of a massive supernova for the first time.
- Astronomy
Japan has launched a miniature space elevator
The Japanese space agency just launched a prototype space elevator to the International Space Station to test motion along a taut cable in space.
- Astronomy
The TESS space telescope has spotted its first exoplanet
TESS’s first exoplanet is twice Earth’s size and may have lots of water.
- Physics
Nuclear pasta in neutron stars may be the strongest material in the universe
Simulations suggest that the theoretical substance known as nuclear pasta is 10 billion times as strong as steel.
- Astronomy
Jocelyn Bell Burnell wins big physics prize for 1967 pulsar discovery
Astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell speaks about winning the Breakthrough Prize, impostor syndrome and giving back.
- Astronomy
Readers’ interest piqued by Parker Solar Probe, general relativity and more
Readers had questions about NASA's Parker Solar Probe, Einstein's general relativity theory and underwater cables used as earthquake sensors.
- Astronomy
To boldly go where no robot explorer has gone before
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses the importance of robotic space missions for scientific research.
- Astronomy
‘Accessory to War’ probes the uneasy alliance between space science and the military
Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang’s ‘Accessory to War’ grapples with the millennia-old partnership between space science and warfare.
