Space
We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
A faint glow found between galaxies could be a beacon for dark matter
Intracluster light may help reveal where dark matter resides within galaxy clusters.
- Astronomy
New Horizons may have seen a glow at the solar system’s edge
New Horizons may have seen a hydrogen wall just past the edge of the solar system, where the solar wind meets the stuff of interstellar space.
- Astronomy
Astronomers saw the first mass eruption from a star that’s not the sun
The first coronal mass ejection observed fleeing another star was as massive as scientists expected, but carried less energy.
- Astronomy
Hopes dim that gamma rays can reveal dark matter
A mysterious glow of gamma rays coming from the center of the Milky Way probably isn’t a sign of dark matter.
- Astronomy
Next to its solar twins, the sun stands out
Our sun has subtly different chemistry from its peers, which may help pinpoint stars with systems like our own.
- Astronomy
How the Parker probe was built to survive close encounters with the sun
Scientists had to get creative in testing the technology for the Parker Solar Probe, using huge mirrors, dust tunnels and even reams of paper.
- Planetary Science
What does Mars’ lake mean for the search for life on the Red Planet?
A lake spotted hiding under Martian ice could support life, but finding out if anything lives there could be challenging.
- Physics
A star orbiting a black hole shows Einstein got gravity right — again
For the first time, general relativity has been confirmed in the region near a supermassive black hole.
- Planetary Science
Mars (probably) has a lake of liquid water
A 15-year-old Mars orbiter has spotted signs of a salty lake beneath the Red Planet’s south polar ice sheets.
- Physics
The Planck satellite’s picture of the infant universe gets its last tweaks
Scientists have released the last big result from the cosmic microwave background experiment Planck.
- Particle Physics
One particle’s trek suggests that ‘spacetime foam’ doesn’t slow neutrinos
Neutrinos and light travel at essentially the same speed, as predicted.
- Astronomy
Move over, Hubble. This sharp pic of Neptune was taken from Earth
A new strategy at the Very Large Telescope lets astronomers take space telescope–quality pictures from the ground.
