Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- 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.
- Planetary Science
Evidence mounts for hidden ninth planet
A new analysis of bodies in the Kuiper Belt strengthens the case for an unseen planet lurking in the outer regions of our solar system.
- Climate
Atmospheric tides alter rainfall rate
Atmospheric tides caused by the moon’s gravitational pull ever-so-slightly alter rainfall rates on Earth by producing rises and falls in atmospheric pressure.
- Science & Society
Human evolution, biomimicry and more go on display
A new human evolution gallery and a lecture series on Europa are among science events to explore in February 2016.
