Space
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We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Space
It’s only a seltzer moon
Plumes spewing from the south pole of Saturn’s Enceladus may have carbonated source, a new analysis suggests.
By Ron Cowen - Space
Why Mars is a lightweight
Two new models of the early solar system try to explain why the Red Planet failed to grow as large as Earth or Venus.
By Ron Cowen - Space
First it’s there, then it’s knot
Discovered just a year ago, a tangle of atoms at the edge of the solar system disappears before astrophysicists’ eyes, leaving questions behind.
By Ron Cowen - Space
Distant world could support life
For the first time, astronomers detect a planet beyond the solar system with the potential to be habitable.
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- Space
Glowing auroras ring Saturn
A new movie documents changes in Saturn’s lights over nearly two days on the planet.
By Ron Cowen - Space
Particles in cahoots
Physicists have discovered curious connections in subatomic debris produced by the world’s largest particle collider.
By Ron Cowen - Planetary Science
Life’s cold start
Primordial molecules could have replicated themselves in a slushy place, new experiments suggest.
- Space
An uncomfortable silence
At NASA meeting, answers to questions about cost overruns on the Hubble’s successor prove difficult to come by.
By Ron Cowen - Earth
Back to the moon’s future
New crater and composition measurements from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter are helping scientists understand the moon’s history and scout for future landing sites.
- Space
Between the sheets
The detection of layered minerals in a young star’s planet-forming region suggests an origin for Earth’s oceans.
By Ron Cowen - Space
Asteroids miss with astronomers
Close brushes with small objects like the ones that swept past Earth on Wednesday are actually fairly common.
By Ron Cowen