Space
Sign up for our newsletter
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
-
SpaceA special place
Two proposed studies might determine whether dark energy is real or humans live in a special place in the cosmos
By Ron Cowen -
SpaceA new look at the gamma-ray sky
Explosions pouring out as much energy in seconds as the sun does in its entire lifetime. Invisible beams of radiation sweeping across the sky like giant searchlights. Supermassive black holes emitting powerful and highly variable jets of radiation. GAMMA GLOW Simulation of the high-energy sky that will be seen by GLAST. Sonoma State, NASA The […]
By Ron Cowen -
SpaceFlooring the cosmic accelerator
If cosmologist Will Percival of the University of Portsmouth in England is right, the universe will end about 60 billion years from now, when every molecule and atom will be torn asunder by a mysterious entity that opposes gravity’s pull and turns it into a cosmic push.
By Ron Cowen -
AstronomyHoning the Hubble
Astronomers are sharpening measurements of a familiar cosmic parameter to shed new light on dark energy, the mysterious entity that’s accelerating the universe’s rate of expansion.
By Ron Cowen -
AstronomyA Phoenix on Mars
A new robotic lander will search the north polar region of Mars for habitability.
By Ron Cowen -
SpaceSupermassive black hole says sayonara
Researchers have the first observational hint for the existence of an ejected supermassive black hole, fired by a gravitational rocket from the core of the galaxy in which it formed.
By Ron Cowen -
AstronomyMassive minis
Astronomers have discovered a puzzling group of galaxies in the early universe that are as tiny as babies but as massive as full-grown adults.
By Ron Cowen -
Planetary ScienceHop, skip and a jump
Less gravity on Mars means wind-driven grains of sand travel up to 10 times faster than those blowing along Earth’s surface, new analyses suggest.
By Sid Perkins -
SpaceSearching for superEarths
Astronomers are exploring a new family of planets beyond the solar system.
By Ron Cowen -
-
SpaceBlack hole once glowed brightly
More than 26,000 years ago, the Milky Way's central black hole suddenly but fleetingly increases its X-ray output.
By Ron Cowen -