Space

Astronomy

Astronomers may have spotted the birth of a neutron star

Scientists say they’ve witnessed a type of neutron star called a pulsar being born in the wake of a massive supernova for the first time.

Planetary Science

The first rovers to explore an asteroid just sent photos home

Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft has deployed a pair of rovers to the surface of asteroid Ryugu.

Astronomy

Japan has launched a miniature space elevator

The Japanese space agency just launched a prototype space elevator to the International Space Station to test motion along a taut cable in space.

Astronomy

The TESS space telescope has spotted its first exoplanet

TESS’s first exoplanet is twice Earth’s size and may have lots of water.

Planetary Science

The ghosts of nearly two dozen icy volcanoes haunt dwarf planet Ceres

The slumped remains of 21 ice volcanoes suggest that the dwarf planet Ceres has been volcanically active for billions of years.

Physics

Nuclear pasta in neutron stars may be the strongest material in the universe

Simulations suggest that the theoretical substance known as nuclear pasta is 10 billion times as strong as steel.

Astronomy

Jocelyn Bell Burnell wins big physics prize for 1967 pulsar discovery

Astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell speaks about winning the Breakthrough Prize, impostor syndrome and giving back.

Planetary Science

Saturn has two hexagons, not one, swirling around its north pole

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft spied a vortex growing high over Saturn’s north pole, whose hexagonal shape mirrors a famous underlying cyclone.

Astronomy

Readers’ interest piqued by Parker Solar Probe, general relativity and more

Readers had questions about NASA's Parker Solar Probe, Einstein's general relativity theory and underwater cables used as earthquake sensors.

Astronomy

To boldly go where no robot explorer has gone before

Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses the importance of robotic space missions for scientific research.

Planetary Science

Jupiter’s magnetic field is surprisingly weird

New results from NASA’s Juno spacecraft reveal different magnetic behavior in the planet’s northern and southern hemispheres.

Astronomy

‘Accessory to War’ probes the uneasy alliance between space science and the military

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang’s ‘Accessory to War’ grapples with the millennia-old partnership between space science and warfare.