Astronomy

  1. Astronomy

    Final flyby puts Cassini on a collision course with Saturn

    A “last kiss goodbye” with Saturn’s largest moon sent the Cassini spacecraft on its final trajectory into the planet’s atmosphere.

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  2. Astronomy

    Pluto’s pits, ridges and famous plain get official names

    From Adlivun to Voyager, the International Astronomical Union officially names 14 surface features on the dwarf planet.

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  3. Planetary Science

    Readers were curious about rogue planets, exomoons and more

    Readers had questions about rogue planets, human arrival in Australia, and exomoons.

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  4. Astronomy

    Tabby’s star is probably just dusty, and still not an alien megastructure

    New looks at older data on the weirdly flickering Tabby’s star muddy possible explanations — but it’s still probably not aliens.

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  5. Astronomy

    Star that exploded in 1437 tracked to its current position

    Astronomers have hunted down a star seen exploding in the year 1437 and traced it since, offering clues to the stages of a white dwarf.

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  6. Astronomy

    Rumors swirl that LIGO snagged gravitational waves from a neutron star collision

    Telescopes seem to be following up on a potential gravitational wave sighting.

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  7. Astronomy

    Here’s what the Science News family did for the eclipse

    On August 21, 2017, the path of a total solar eclipse went coast to coast across the United States. Here are our dispatches.

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  8. Science & Society

    Patience is one virtue scientists must embrace

    Acting Editor in Chief Elizabeth Quill discusses how being patient isn't always easy in scientific work.

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  9. Astronomy

    Inquiries about the moon’s twilight zone, and more reader feedback

    Readers had questions about the moon's tidal locking, quantum communication, microneedles and more.

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  10. Astronomy

    As Cassini’s tour of Saturn draws to a close, a look back at postcards from the probe

    As Cassini prepares to plunge to its death, we celebrate the spacecraft's discoveries and breathtaking images of Saturn, its rings and moons.

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  11. Astronomy

    These chip-sized spacecraft are the smallest space probes yet

    Space initiative dubbed Breakthrough Starshot sent the smallest spacecraft yet into orbit around Earth.

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  12. Astronomy

    On a mountain in Wyoming, the eclipse brings wonder — and, hopefully, answers

    Astronomy writer Lisa Grossman joined scientists on a mountain in Wyoming who were measuring the corona using four different instruments to try to figure out why it’s so hot.

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