Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Planetary Science
Titan becomes even more enigmatic
Thick, rigid crust of ice encases Saturn's largest moon, perplexing scientists.
- Earth
Map tracks path of dust plume from Chelyabinsk meteor
Satellite data capture how the jet stream pushed particles through the planet's atmosphere.
- Planetary Science
Shergottite SHER-goh-tite n.
Shergottite is the most common kind of Martian meteorite.
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- Astronomy
‘Space beads’ push back origins of iron working
Ancient Egyptians used advanced techniques to make beads out of 'metal from the sky.'
- 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.
