Space
We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
Possible perp found in mystery of Milky Way’s missing galaxy pals
Billions of years of supernovas could explain why galaxies like the Milky Way have so few tiny companions and why those companions have so little mass.
- Planetary Science
Earth has a tiny tagalong, and no, it’s not a moon
Asteroid 2016 HO3 is a quasisatellite of Earth — orbiting the sun while never wandering far from our planet.
- Planetary Science
Ancient meteorite granules still mystify scientists
Shock waves might have formed the oldest solid fragments in the solar system, though interplanetary lightning isn’t entirely off the table.
- Physics
More events needed to pin down gravitational waves backstory
As more black hole collisions are found, researchers hope to piece together how and where these destructive duos form.
- Astronomy
Bulging stars mess with planet’s seasons
On planets orbiting rapidly rotating stars, the seasons can get a little strange.
- Space
Readers weigh in on ET and the meaning of life
Reader feedback from the June 25, 2016, issue of Science News
- Planetary Science
Juno is closing in on Jupiter
After 5 years of travel, Juno will soon reach Jupiter and begin its up close investigations of the giant planet.
- Planetary Science
The 43-year history of journeys to Jupiter, in one graph
With the arrival of Juno, nine spacecraft will have flown past or orbited Jupiter over the last 43 years.
- Astronomy
Molecular handedness found in space
Propylene oxide in an interstellar cloud sets up a testing ground for understanding why life chooses one type of mirror-image molecule over another.
- Physics
Second gravitational wave signal detected
LIGO has spotted a second set of ripples in the fabric of spacetime.
- Astronomy
Limestone world gobbled by planet-eating white dwarf
Debris from a shredded planet points to a world that was once covered in calcium carbonate.
- Planetary Science
Long-lost ‘extinct’ meteorite found
A newly discovered meteorite, nicknamed Öst 65, may have originated from the same collision that formed L chondrites, one of the most abundant groups of meteorites on Earth.
