Space
-
Space
Another clue in the case for dark matter
New data from the Fermi spacecraft fail to debunk a sister craft's possible finding of dark matter's mark.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
They’re calling Obama the ‘science guy’
Speakers at a science forum offered support for the thesis that researchers have found a big ally in the new president.
By Janet Raloff -
Space
MESSENGER’s second pass
New studies detail the latest findings about Mercury from the MESSENGER spacecraft, including the discovery of the second largest crater known on the planet and a surprisingly strong interaction between the sun’s magnetic field and that of the planet.
By Ron Cowen -
Space
Most distant known object in the universe
Astronomers have discovered a gamma-ray burst emanating 13.035 billion light-years from Earth, making it the universe's most distant known object.
By Ron Cowen -
Earth
A little air pollution boosts vegetation’s carbon uptake
Aerosols bumped up world’s plant productivity by 25 percent in the 1960s and 1970s, new research suggests.
By Sid Perkins -
Space
Smallest exoplanet yet is found
Finding a planet just under twice Earth's size puts astronomers closer to discovering an Earth counterpart.
By Ron Cowen -
Space
Blob may signal monster galaxy feeding
Researchers have found a giant blob of gas and stars, the fourth most distant object known in the universe. The blob may offer the earliest snapshot of a very young galaxy caught in the act of gobbling up material for growth.
By Ron Cowen -
Planetary Science
Antarctic ecosystem holds unusual microbes
Long isolated deep under a glacier, life thrives in dark, salty water by breathing iron and eating sulfates.
By Sid Perkins -
Space
Massive solar flares captured in 3-D
Distance between orbiting STEREO craft allows better imaging of coronal mass ejections.
By Sid Perkins -
Space
Heavyweight galaxies in the young universe
New observations of full-grown galaxies in the young universe may force astrophysicists to revise their leading theory of galaxy formation, at least as it applies to regions where galaxies congregate into clusters.
By Ron Cowen -
Space
Planet hidden in Hubble archives
A new way to process images reveals an extrasolar planet that had been hiding in an 11-year-old Hubble picture.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Planck by Planck
The launch of the European Space Agency’s Planck mission, set for late April or early May, will put into orbit a new tool —the microwave equivalent of polarized sunglasses — that may offer a view of the dawn of time.
By Ron Cowen