Space

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.

Astronomy

New images reveal how an ancient monster galaxy fueled furious star formation

Scientists were able to see the abundance of star-forming gas and dust in a giant galaxy from when the universe was less than 2 billion years old.

Planetary Science

The massive Mars dust storm is waning. Now, will Opportunity wake?

With a global dust storm on Mars finally passing, NASA hopes that its Opportunity rover will soon phone home.

Planetary Science

New Horizons has sent back the first images of Ultima Thule, its next target

NASA probe gets its first look at distant Kuiper Belt object

Planetary Science

OSIRIS-REx snaps first images of asteroid Bennu

OSIRIS-REx got its first glimpse of near-Earth asteroid Bennu. The probe will collect a sample from the asteroid and return it to Earth.