Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
Readers tussle over top science stories of 2015
Readers tussle over the top spot in our top 25, questions about engineered vocal cords, and more in the February 20 Feedback.
- Astronomy
In all sorts of circumstances, life finds a way
Editor in Chief discusses the new marine habitats formed by human pollution and the alarming rise of the Zika virus.
- Planetary Science
Support grows for a return to ice giants Uranus and Neptune
Thirty years ago, Voyager 2 cruised past Uranus and then on to Neptune. Now planetary scientists think it’s time to go back.
- Science & Society
Soviets nailed first landing on moon
The first spacecraft to safely land on the moon touched down on the lunar surface in 1966.
- Astronomy
Largest rocky world found
A planet roughly half the size of Neptune might be 100 percent rock, making it the largest known rocky world.
- Astronomy
Odd star’s dimming not aliens’ doing
A star’s flickering light and century-long dimming have astronomers hunting for exocomet storms, prowling dust clouds and even alien engineers.
- Planetary Science
Computer simulations heat up hunt for Planet Nine
A giant planet in the far outer solar system could explain orbital oddities of bodies in the fringes of the Kuiper belt.
- Archaeology
Babylonians used geometry to track Jupiter’s movements
Babylonians took a geometric leap to track Jupiter’s movements long before European astronomers did.
- Cosmology
‘The Cosmic Web’ weaves tale of universe’s architecture
A new book chronicles the quest over the last century to understand how the universe is pieced together and how it came to be this way.
- Earth
Earth’s inner secrets divulged in ‘Into the Heart of Our World’
A scientific journey to the center of the Earth includes just as much excitement and mystery as Jules Verne’s classic novel, a new book demonstrates.
- Astronomy
Middleweight black hole suspected near Milky Way’s center
A gas cloud in the center of the galaxy might be temporarily hosting the second most massive black hole known in the Milky Way.
- Planetary Science
Time running out on comet lander
Philae’s days are numbered as temperatures on comet 67P drop and attempts to communicate with the lander fail.
