Space

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We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Tech

    Two satellites collide in Earth orbit

    In an unprecedented collision, two large satellites crashed into each other in low-Earth orbit on February 10.

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  2. Space

    About-face: A look at the moon’s farside

    Researchers have for the first time mapped the gravitational field of the moon’s farside — the lunar half that is permanently turned away from Earth.

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  3. Chemistry

    New money for undergraduate research

    A new program will foster interdisciplinary physical-science research at predominantly undergraduate colleges.

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  4. Space

    Early galaxy bulges in the middle

    By tracing star birth in a galaxy that existed when the universe was less than 1 billion years old, researchers have captured what appears to be the formation of a key galactic component — a central concentration of stars known as the bulge.

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  5. Space

    Smallest known transiting planet discovered

    Astronomers have found the smallest known extrasolar planets that is blocking light from its parent star. The discovery could help reveal information about the structure of planets that may resemble Earth.

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  6. Earth

    The Solar System’s Big Bang

    Finding signs of a lost beginning.

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  7. Space

    Big black holes may not stop star birth

    New study suggests models may have given these supermassive beasts too much credit.

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  8. Earth

    Oldest zircon fine-tunes history of moon’s formation

    Mineral bit provides clues about when our cosmic companion formed its crust.

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  9. Space

    Whiff of Martian methane offers lively possibilities

    The definitive discovery in Mars’ atmosphere of methane — often, but not always, a compound hinting at life — introduces the possibility of underground organisms.

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  10. Space

    Tuned in to new noise from the cosmos

    Unexplained radio noise may be signals from the early universe.

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  11. Space

    In the young universe, black holes may have formed first

    Findings pose a possible answer to long-standing question of when the black holes at galactic centers formed.

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  12. Space

    Astronomers get burst of details from early universe

    Unusually bright afterglow records what a galaxy was like soon after Big Bang.

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