Space
- Space
Metamaterials mock the heavens
Proposed materials offer a way for physicists to study black holes and chaotic planetary orbits in the laboratory.
- Astronomy
New images and spectra from a rejuvenated Hubble
Newly released images provide graphic evidence that repairs have transformed the Hubble Space Telescope into a brand new observatory.
By Ron Cowen - Earth
Atmospheric rollercoaster followed Great Oxidation Event
Analyses of chromium isotopes in banded iron formations suggest oxygen levels fell for a period after the Great Oxidation Event.
By Sid Perkins - Space
Panel reports on human spaceflight
Panel suggests how to get human spaceflight program off the ground.
By Ron Cowen - Planetary Science
Celestial population boom
Large meteoroids are probably more common than telescopic surveys suggest, new analyses find.
By Sid Perkins - Space
The Status Quark
Murray Gell-Mann reflects on matter’s building blocks and scientists’ resistance to new ideas.
- Space
Particle imbalance may upset the apple cart
An asymmetry that the standard model of particle physics may not account for hints at the existence of a new and massive elementary particle.
By Ron Cowen - 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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