Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Planetary Science
Surprises lurk inside a Saturn moon
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft finds possible ocean or football-shaped core inside Mimas.
- Planetary Science
MAVEN gives first look at Mars’ escaping atmosphere
Bits of Mars have been caught in the act of floating off into space.
- Quantum Physics
Hawking radiation spotted within sonic black hole
Lab-created sonic black hole emits energy as famed physicist Stephen Hawking predicted, though the experiment may not be definitive.
- Cosmology
Answers to questions posed by cosmology to philosophy
Tough questions about the philosophy of cosmology have answers; they just might not be right.
- 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.
- Chemistry
Lasers wrest oxygen from carbon dioxide
By zapping oxygen molecules off carbon dioxide, an experiment hints that Earth may have had breathable air long before the dawn of plants.
- 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.
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- 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.
- Planetary Science
Daily winds shift sands of Martian dune field
Martian winds may stir the Red Planet's sands more often than scientists thought.
- 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.
