Ron Cowen

All Stories by Ron Cowen

  1. Planetary Science

    G Whiz! Craft identifies source of faint Saturnian ring

    The Cassini spacecraft has discovered the source of particles that make up Saturn's G ring.

  2. Astronomy

    Shedding light on the precursor to a supernova

    A supernova lights up its surroundings, revealing evidence of what made the star explode.

  3. Astronomy

    Heavenly Chemistry: Astronomers announce astrophysical anion

    Astronomers' discovery of a rare negatively charged organic molecule sheds light on conditions in interstellar gas clouds, where amino acids, sugars, and other prebiologic compounds form.

  4. Planetary Science

    Saturn’s retinue: 60 and counting

    A little moon, two kilometers across, is Saturn's 60th satellite.

  5. Planetary Science

    Hyperion’s hydrocarbons

    New observations by the Cassini spacecraft indicate the presence of ice and solid carbon dioxide on Saturn's moon Hyperion, and suggest an explanation for the orb's spongelike appearance.

  6. Astronomy

    Shattering Find? Comet fragments show surprising uniformity

    Close observations of fragments of a comet indicate that its interior was remarkably similar to its surface, meaning that repeated solar heating didn't much change its outer layers.

  7. Planetary Science

    Dust delays Martian rover

    A dust storm has delayed the descent of the Mars rover Opportunity into Victoria crater.

  8. Astronomy

    Passages

    By observing the minieclipses known as transits, when a distant planet passes in front of its parent star, astronomers are learning more about the size, composition, and temperature of exoplanets.

  9. Planetary Science

    Eris dwarfs Pluto

    Ex-planet Pluto suffers another demotion, as observations show that it's much less massive than Eris, another distant denizen of the outer solar system.

  10. Planetary Science

    Shifting Ocean: Tipsy Mars may explain undulating shoreline

    Evidence that Mars once had a vast ocean gains support from a proposal that the planet was tipped halfway over on its side several billion years ago.

  11. Astronomy

    Galactic Émigré: Incoming dwarf galaxy could feed its larger kin

    A dwarf galaxy at the periphery of the giant Andromeda galaxy may be a pristine building block for forming galaxies in the modern-day universe.

  12. Astronomy

    Crash will determine solar system’s fate

    The solar system already lies in the suburbs of the Milky Way, but the sun and its planets will be yanked even farther away about 5 billion years from now.