Astronomy
- Astronomy
Comets caught zooming around nearby star
The young star Beta Pictoris hosts at least two families of comets, which might mirror our solar system’s past.
- Astronomy
A musician composes a solar soundtrack
Robert Alexander combines life long passions of both music and astronomy to uncover solar secrets.
- Planetary Science
Comet Siding Spring makes close pass by Mars
Mars appears to have survived its close encounter with comet Siding Spring mostly unscathed.
- Astronomy
Second stop planned for mission to Pluto
Scientists identify three possible targets for the New Horizons probe after it visits the former planet.
- Astronomy
Comet-crazed, and for good reason
Coming to the edge of knowledge, especially about what’s out in space, fires the imagination.
- Astronomy
Rosetta readies for its close rendezvous with a comet
The Rosetta spacecraft and its lander Philae are ready to make history in a risky rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
- Astronomy
Cosmic jets re-created in a lab
Physicists have recreated in a lab the plasma jets that erupt from young stars and black holes.
- Astronomy
Nearby galaxy might explain what tore apart universe’s hydrogen
A local galaxy is leaking enough ultraviolet light to ionize surrounding hydrogen, which could explain how the earliest galaxies transformed the universe.
- Astronomy
High-energy radiation from stellar explosions explained
The dance of a stellar duo might explain why some novas emit gamma rays.
- Planetary Science
Sun may make most of the water on moon’s surface
A constant stream of particles from the sun bombarding the moon's surface may be the source of most lunar water.
- Planetary Science
Asteroid impact did not form the moon’s largest plain
The moon's vast flatland — called Oceanus Procellarum — may have been formed through tectonic-like activity billions of years ago, scientists say.
- Chemistry
Interstellar chemical resembles building blocks of life
A molecule detected in the space between stars resembles amino acids, suggesting those building blocks of life share a similar origin.
