Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Planetary Science
Martian aurora, high-altitude dust clouds surprise scientists
Surprise auroras and mystery dust clouds dance in the Martian atmosphere, NASA’s newest Mars orbiter discovers.
- Astronomy
Fast-spinning young Earth pulled the moon into a yo-yo orbit
The early moon’s orbit created a cycle between lunar phases unlike the one seen nowadays.
- Astronomy
Super-Earths may form in two ways
Rocky planets much heavier than Earth may form in different ways.
- Planetary Science
Aurora shift confirms Ganymede’s ocean
New observations confirm the presence of a liquid saltwater ocean beneath the surface of Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede.
- Planetary Science
Chinese rover reveals moon’s layers
Radar imaging done by China’s Yutu lunar rover reveals that the moon’s geological history could be more complex than once thought.
- Planetary Science
Titan’s vast seas may drive methane cycle
A phenomenon similar to Earth’s hydrological cycle on Saturn’s largest moon Titan may create different lake compositions, similar to the salinity difference between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
- Planetary Science
Rosetta probe to start listening for the lost lander Philae
The European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe will start listening for a signal from the lost lander Philae, missing in action since its landing on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko on November 12.
- Astronomy
As many as nine new dwarf galaxies found outside Milky Way
A bevy of newly discovered satellite galaxies around the Milky Way could help astronomers study how galaxies form and the nature of dark matter.
- Planetary Science
Something’s cooking on Enceladus
A trail of silicon-rich particles in one of the rings of Saturn points to possible hydrothermal activity on Enceladus.
- 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.
- Cosmology
In era of collaboration, individual initiative can still pay off
A risky venture to study cosmic ray particles offers no guarantee of success, but it may help answer two of the biggest questions in physics.
- 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.
