Space
- Space
Mars shows signs of recent activity
The surface of Mars had abundant liquid water as well as volcanic activity during the past 100 million years, a new study of the Martian atmosphere suggests.
By Ron Cowen - Astronomy
Mars organics get new lease on life
More than three decades after the Viking mission failed to find compounds necessary for carbon-based life, a new analysis suggests they could actually be present at detectable levels in the planet’s soil.
By Ron Cowen - Space
Changing one of nature’s constants
A controversial new study suggests that an immutable value that governs the strength of the electromagnetic force varies along different directions.
By Ron Cowen - Space
Still no Earths, but getting closer
Two newly discovered planetary systems shed light on the likelihood of producing terrestrial planets.
By Ron Cowen - Space
Solar system older than estimated
A meteorite’s age has pushed back the estimated time of the solar system’s formation by almost 2 million years.
- Space
Moon shrinks
New pictures expand evidence of the moon’s shrinkage over the past billion years.
- Planetary Science
Worldwide slowdown in plant carbon uptake
A decade of droughts has stifled the increasing growth of terrestrial vegetation.
By Sid Perkins - Space
Mining for Missing Matter
In underground lairs, physicists look for the dark stuff.
By Ron Cowen - Astronomy
Celestial wish list
A panel of astronomers ranks proposed astrophysics projects for the coming decade.
By Ron Cowen - Space
Twinkle, twinkle, little dot
A faint object was once thought to be the first extrasolar planet to be photographed. Then it wasn’t. But now it may go down in the history books after all.
By Ron Cowen - Tech
The people’s pulsar
Thousands of volunteers help discover a neutron star by donating the processing power in their idle home computers.
-