Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
NASA’s TESS spacecraft launches to begin its exoplanet search
After reaching its orbit in about two months, the telescope will start scanning nearby stars telltale dips in light that signal a passing planet.
- Planetary Science
This meteorite’s diamonds hint that it was born in a lost planet
Bits of metal nestled inside diamonds suggest the space rock could have formed in a Mars-sized protoplanet in the early solar system.
- Astronomy
Delayed launch of NASA’s next exoplanet hunter is now set for tonight
NASA’s next exoplanet hunter, TESS, launches today to seek planets in 85 percent of the sky.
- Space
Lasers squeezed iron to mimic the conditions of exoplanet cores
In the first experiment to measure what exoplanets might be like on the inside, scientists hit iron with 176 lasers at once.
- Astronomy
With the launch of TESS, NASA will boost its search for exoplanets
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite will set the stage for the next chapter of exoplanet exploration.
- Physics
Einstein’s general relativity reveals new quirk of Mercury’s orbit
A tiny effect of general relativity on Mercury’s orbit has been calculated for the first time.
- Particle Physics
The search for mysterious dark matter underdogs steps up
Dark matter particles called axions are finally being put to the test.
- Astronomy
Dark matter isn’t interacting with itself after all
Hints that a distant galactic collision knocked dark matter askew fizzled with new observations.
- Paleontology
Readers debate dinosaur designation and more
Readers had questions about the dino family tree and Venus' habitability.
- Astronomy
A dozen new black holes found in Milky Way’s center
Twelve small black holes spotted in the Milky Way’s center suggest thousands more in the galaxy’s inner region.
- Cosmology
Why the Nobel Prize might need a makeover
In Losing the Nobel Prize, astrophysicist Brian Keating discusses the downsides of science’s top honor.
- Astronomy
A Chinese space station will fall to Earth this weekend
The Chinese space agency’s first space station is coming back to Earth this weekend. It probably won’t cause damage, but it will cause fireworks.
