Space
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Space
Extrasolar planets at full tilt
Violent interactions between planets may have played a key role in shaping the architecture of many extrasolar planet systems. The sun’s planetary system may have escaped or recovered from such a catastrophe.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Comet dust harbors life’s building blocks
Samples collected from a comet’s halo suggest comets could have carried amino acids to the early Earth
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Tech
Scientists propose lab-grade black holes
Creating tiny, artificial black holes could help uncover what happens to particles on the edge of full-sized black holes.
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Space
Half the boom better than no boom at all
The Large Hadron Collider will begin colliding protons at half of the designed energy this November, with plans to repair the faulty sections of the accelerator at the end of 2010.
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Space
Titan may host prebiotic brew
Saturn’s moon Titan may harbor a prebiotic mix of chemicals similar to those present at the dawn of life on Earth.
By Ron Cowen -
Planetary Science
Stars go kaboom, spilling cosmic secrets
Astronomers hope type 1a supernovas will help in quest to explain dark energy.
By Ron Cowen -
Space
Galaxies going green
An unusual group of green, pea-shaped galaxies may be nearby analogs of remote galaxies undergoing a high rate of star formation.
By Ron Cowen -
Earth
Comet likely culprit in Tunguska blast
Analysis of shuttle plume movement suggests Tunguska event could have caused clouds over London.
By Sid Perkins -
Space
Rotation may solve cosmic mystery
Astronomers propose a new explanation for the formation of the darkest galaxies in the universe.
By Ron Cowen -
Space
Evidence mounts for liquid interior of a Saturn moon
Cassini researchers find additional support in the moon's plumes.
By Ron Cowen -
Earth
Lopsided lights
Simultaneous snapshots reveal that northern and southern auroras aren’t always alike.
By Sid Perkins -
Space
Jupiter takes it on the chin
Images reveal that an object has recently bashed into Jupiter, 15 years after the first of 21 chunks of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 struck the giant planet and created a memorable display of dark spots, waves and plumes.
By Ron Cowen