All Stories by Christopher Crockett
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SpaceNASA’s MAVEN probe shows how wind circulates in Mars’ upper atmosphere
By using the MAVEN spacecraft to track winds in the Martian thermosphere, researchers hope to better understand how the atmosphere leaks into space.
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SpaceNASA’s Parker probe reveals the sun’s rogue plasma waves and magnetic islands
Scientists have analyzed the Parker probe’s first data, giving a peek at what’s to come as the craft moves closer to the sun over the next few years.
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SpaceA newfound black hole in the Milky Way is weirdly heavy
A dark mass about 68 times as massive as the sun is locked in orbit with a star in our galaxy. Theory says that such black holes shouldn’t get so big.
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Astronomy19 more galaxies mysteriously missing dark matter have been found
The finding reveals a population of dwarf galaxies that defy common wisdom about how these star systems form and evolve.
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Planetary ScienceRibose, a sugar needed for life, has been detected in meteorites
Samples of rocks that fell to Earth contain a key molecular ingredient of RNA, part of life’s genetic machinery.
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SpaceHow two gamma-ray bursts created record-breaking high-energy photons
Light packing up to 1 trillion electron volts of energy bolsters a theory for how these cosmic explosions produce such high-energy radiation.
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SpaceRealigning magnetic fields may drive the sun’s spiky plasma tendrils
Solar spicules emerge near counterpointing magnetic fields, hinting that self-adjusting magnetism creates these filaments, which may heat the corona.
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SpaceNASA gave Ultima Thule a new official name
The distant world briefly visited by New Horizons is now called Arrokoth, a Powhatan word that means “sky.”
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SpaceLight leaking from a distant galaxy hints at a cosmic makeover’s origins
Ultraviolet light slips through a hole in a distant galaxy’s gas. Older galaxies might have used the trick to ionize most of the universe’s hydrogen.
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SpaceVoyager 2 reveals the dynamic, complex nature of the solar system’s edge
With two spacecraft outside the sun’s magnetic bubble, researchers get a new look at the boundary between the sun and its galactic environment.
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Planetary ScienceAccolades, skepticism and science marked Science News’ coverage of Apollo
Science News’ coverage of the Apollo program stayed focused on the science but also framed the moon missions in the broader social and political context of the era.
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Planetary ScienceSaturn 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.