Astronomy

Tech

SpaceX rocket explodes on Florida launchpad

SpaceX has lost a Falcon 9 rocket and its satellite payload in a standard prelaunch test.

Astronomy

Radio signal probably not from extraterrestrials

A possible radio signal from extraterrestrials probably originated a lot closer to home.

Astronomy

Signs of planet detected around sun’s nearest neighbor star

A planet roughly the size of Earth orbits within the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the sun.

Astronomy

Astronomers prepare for 2017 solar eclipse spectacle

With one year to go, researchers are making plans for studying both the sun and Earth during the August 2017 total solar eclipse.

Astronomy

Tabby’s star drama continues

Tabby’s star, already known for its bizarre flicking and fading, dimmed throughout the four years of Kepler’s primary mission.

Astronomy

Dark matter candidate particles are a no-show in Hitomi data

Before the Hitomi satellite broke apart, it captured data that cast further doubt on evidence of X-rays from dark matter particles in a galaxy cluster.

Astronomy

This year’s Perseid meteor shower will be especially flashy

This year’s Perseid meteor shower could produce up to 200 meteors per hour as Earth plows through the debris trail of comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.

Particle Physics

Cooling stars hint at dark matter particles

Stars that cool faster than expected can be explained by hypothetical particles called axions.

Astronomy

Magnetic fields in sun rise at 500 kilometers per hour

Magnetic fields within the sun rise up no faster than about 500 kilometers per hour, suggesting that the movement of gas is responsible for bringing these fields to the sun’s surface.

Astronomy

Kepler tally grows: 104 more exoplanets confirmed

Kepler space telescope adds another 104 planets to its growing census of worlds in our galaxy.

Astronomy

Black hole born without stellar parent, evidence suggests

A galaxy in the early universe might harbor the first known “direct collapse” black hole, one that forms when a cloud of gas collapses under its own weight without forming stars.

Astronomy

Asteroid Day is a chance to learn about space and plan for disaster

Asteroid Day on June 30 tries to raise awareness about the hazards of an asteroid impact and what we could do to stop it.