Space
- Astronomy
The Milky Way’s most massive star cluster may have eaten a smaller cluster
Observations of newfound stars suggest how the gathering of stars at the galaxy’s core grew so big.
- Space
A ‘lake’ on Mars may be surrounded by more pools of water
Radar data hint at patches of liquid water beneath Martian polar ice, but some urge caution in interpreting results.
- Space
A new moon radiation measurement may help determine health risks to astronauts
China's lunar lander measured radiation at the moon’s surface, finding the daily dose is 2.6 times as high as inside the International Space Station.
- Space
Hope for life on Venus survives for centuries against all odds
Early scientists often assumed that Venus, though hotter than Earth, hosted life.
- Space
EHT data show turbulence makes the glowing ring around M87’s black hole wobble
Event Horizon Telescope data spanning nearly a decade reveal that the appearance of the supermassive black hole inside galaxy M87 changes over time.
- Space
Stellar winds hint at how planetary nebulae get their stunning shapes
Observations of red giant stars reveal that planets or even other stars may influence the shape of a nebula’s cloud of dust and gas.
- Planetary Science
Rosetta data reveal an invisible ultraviolet aurora around comet 67P
Solar wind electrons smash water molecules in the comet’s coma to make the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s version of the northern lights.
- Space
Neutrinos could reveal how fast radio bursts are launched
Highly magnetized stellar corpses called magnetars may be the source of two different cosmic enigmas: fast radio bursts and high-energy neutrinos.
- Space
How do you clean up clingy space dust? Zap it with an electron beam
An electron beam is the newest addition to a suite of technologies for cleaning sticky and damaging lunar dust off surfaces.
- Space
Phosphine gas found in Venus’ atmosphere may be ‘a possible sign of life’
Astronomers have detected a stinky, toxic gas in Venus’ clouds that could be a sign of life, or some strange unknown chemistry.
- Space
Dark matter clumps in galaxy clusters bend light surprisingly well
Cosmologists have found one more way to be confused by dark matter.
- Space
A weirdly warped planet-forming disk circles a distant trio of stars
The bizarre geometry of a disk of gas and dust around three stars in the constellation Orion could be formed by “disk tearing” or a newborn planet.
