Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Space
Crushed space rocks hint at exoplanets’ early atmospheric makeup
Experiments that heat crushed-up meteorites are helping astronomers understand what to look for in exoplanet atmospheres.
- Astronomy
Astronomers spotted a rare galaxy shutting down star formation
A distant galaxy harbors an active black hole and active star formation at the same time – an unusual coincidence.
- Space
The first magnetar flare detected from another galaxy was tracked to its home
An outburst from the super magnetic remains of a star suggests similar eruptions are behind some of the most powerful explosions in the universe.
- Space
The most ancient supermassive black hole is bafflingly big
The farthest known quasar challenges ideas about how the first supermassive black holes in the universe formed.
- Space
The Parker Solar Probe will have company on its next pass by the sun
The probe is about to make another close pass of the sun. This time, Solar Orbiter, BepiColombo and others will be watching too.
- Space
Here are the highlights from a busy year in space launches
Satellites, Mars rovers and astronauts launched into space in 2020.
- Science & Society
These science claims from 2020 could be big news if confirmed
Scientific findings reported this year that still need more proof include potential signs of life on Venus and Earth’s oldest parasites.
- Space
How future spacecraft might handle tricky landings on Venus or Europa
Scientists are getting inventive with ways to touch down on these worlds, where landers will face obstacles not seen elsewhere in the solar system.
- Astronomy
The Milky Way’s central black hole may have turned nearby red giant stars blue
A powerful blast from the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way’s center may explain the lack of large, red stars there.
- Space
This new image reveals a sunspot in unrivaled detail
An image taken by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope — the largest solar observatory on Earth — provides the best look yet at a sunspot.
- Space
Top 10 questions I’d ask an alien from the Galactic Federation
An interview with E.T. would be a journalist’s dream, but it’s not very likely.
- Astronomy
Enormous X-ray bubbles balloon from the center of the Milky Way
Images from the the eROSITA telescope reveal X-ray–emitting blobs surrounding gamma-ray bubbles.
