Space
- Astronomy
To determine stars’ physical traits, Kepler sees the light
Measuring stellar brightness can yield useful estimates of stars' size and evolutionary stage, and help in the hunt for planets.
- Astronomy
Pictures of young star show unusual outbursts
Ejections from stellar newborn move faster and in different directions than astronomers thought.
- Planetary Science
NASA gives up on fixing Kepler
Space telescope’s days as a premier planet hunter are over.
- Space
Belief in multiverse requires exceptional vision
If you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist. That’s an old philosophy, one that many scientists swallowed whole. But as Ziva David of NCIS would say, it’s total salami. After all, you can’t see bacteria and viruses, but they can still kill you. Yet some scientists still invoke that philosophy to deny the scientific status […]
- Astronomy
Magnetic field of black hole measured
Pulsar near Milky Way’s center makes first assessment of this type possible.
- Space
Long the stuff of fantasy, wormholes may be coming soon to a telescope near you
For decades now, black holes have been the rock stars of popular astrophysics, both fact and fiction. Physicists rely on them to explain all sorts of mysterious astrophenomena, and black holes have been essential plot devices in various films, from Star Trek (2009) to Galaxy Quest (1999) to (obviously) The Black Hole (1979). But black […]
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s tides drive icy moon’s plumes
Enceladus' chilly jets ebb and flow in time with its planet's tug.
- Planetary Science
Cassini photo puts Earth in perspective
Probe captures planet from 1.4 billion kilometers away.
- Space
Mars meteorite reveals its age
Long difficult to estimate, date of space rocks' formation emerges with new technique.
- Cosmology
Gold seen in neutron star collision debris
Material ejected in gamma-ray bursts may be a main source of the heavy elements.
- Astronomy
Milky Way’s black hole pulling in gas cloud
Galaxy's maw begins to tear apart and change the velocity of an approaching object.
- Planetary Science
Neptune gets 14th moon
Images from Hubble Space Telescope reveal tiny, dark satellite orbiting blue-green gas giant.
