Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Space
Measuring the weakest of forces
Precise measurements could be used to map tiny fluctuations in the surface properties of materials.
- Space
Mediterranean microfossils offer hope for finding life on Mars
A discovery in sulfate minerals on Earth suggests the possibility of similar signs of life on the Red Planet.
- Space
Frozen asteroid
Scientists publish two new studies showing evidence of ice on object in asteroid belt.
- Space
Life in the sticky lane
Tropical asphalt lake could be analog for extraterrestrial microbial habitat.
- Astronomy
Hubble’s new instant classic
NASA has released a stunning image of a nearby star-forming region to celebrate the telescope's 20th birthday.
- Space
Solar-staring spacecraft captures novel views of sun’s violence
NASA has released the first images recorded by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the first craft to examine the sun’s entire disk at high resolution and over a multitude of wavelengths.
- Space
Not your grandfather’s space program
President Obama offers a new plan that would send humans to orbit Mars during the mid-2030s.
- Space
Famous Martian meteorite younger than thought
The famous fragment of Mars, once proposed to hold signs of extraterrestrial life, is still pretty old. But the rock appears to have formed about 400 million years later than earlier analyses indicated.
- Space
Stormy weather on Saturn
Astronomers have for the first time glimpsed lightning storms on Saturn.
- Space
Backward planets may have flipped into place
Reversed orbits among ‘hot Jupiters’ decreases chance of Earthlike neighbors.
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- Space
Newfound neighbor to solar system is a cool slacker
Researchers have found the closest brown dwarf to Earth and the coolest yet seen, raising the possibility that the nearest starlike body to the solar system may be a brown dwarf rather than a star.
