Astronomy

  1. Computing

    Concerns about drones, how to hunt exoplanets and more reader feedback

    Readers discuss the potential impacts of human-made fliers and muse about the advantages a poker-playing computer program has over human opponents.

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  2. Astronomy

    Remote star clusters discovered on edge of Milky Way

    Two newly discovered star clusters are the first ever seen at the remote edges of the Milky Way.

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  3. Astronomy

    Hubble telescope sees quadruple

    A galaxy bends light to create four images of the same supernova.

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  4. Astronomy

    Supernova hurls star out of the galaxy

    The fastest-moving star to leave the Milky Way might have been launched by a nearby exploding star.

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  5. Astronomy

    Hundreds of galaxies seen in a new 3-D view of the universe

    A new instrument lets astronomers measure the distances to hundreds of galaxies at once, looking back across the age of the universe.

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  6. Astronomy

    Planet collisions may have rearranged crowded solar systems

    Solar systems discovered by Kepler with just one or two worlds may be remnants of planet families that were once far more crowded.

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  7. Astronomy

    Monster black hole lurks in the early universe

    A black hole weighing the same as 12 billion suns is the most massive one known in the early universe.

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  8. Planetary Science

    Space simulations of 1960s focused on survival

    50 years ago, space simulations focused on survival. Now, quality of life is critical, too.

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  9. Cosmology

    The past according to Planck: Cosmologists got a lot right

    New results from the Planck satellite largely support cosmologists’ theories, but leave the door open for new discoveries.

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  10. Astronomy

    Pair of stars buzzed the solar system 70,000 years ago

    Astronomers discover a binary system that made the closest known flyby of the sun.

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  11. Astronomy

    Closest star approach to the sun

    Astronomers discover a binary system that made the closest known flyby of the sun.

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  12. Astronomy

    Giant hydrogen cloud headed for Milky Way

    A high-speed hydrogen cloud on a crash course with the Milky Way appears to be an exotic interloper, preliminary data suggest.

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