Astronomy
-
AstronomyImpact may have transformed Mars
Three teams suggest that a huge object slammed into Mars, giving the planet an unusually dualistic topography.
-
AstronomyGalaxy Zoo’s blue mystery (part 2)
Featured blog: The enigmatic "Voorwerp" may be a dwarf galaxy lit by the ghostly echoes of a long-gone quasar.
By Janet Raloff -
AstronomyExtraSolar
Astronomers hope that new tools will enable them to capture the first image of one of the 300 known planets orbiting distant stars.
By Ron Cowen -
PhysicsGalaxy Zoo’s blue mystery (part I)
A Dutch science teacher found a novel celestial object that had eluded the notice of astronomers.
By Janet Raloff -
AstronomyOtherworldly triple play
Astronomers have discovered the first known system of three superEarths beyond the solar system.
By Ron Cowen -
AstronomyAccidental astrophysicists
MATH TREK: The mathematicians thought they'd just extended a fundamental result in algebra, but it turns out that they'd also proven a conjecture in astrophysics.
-
-
AstronomyNot a ripple
Another null result for gravitational waves. But findings from LIGO still reveal new information about the Crab Pulsar.
-
Science & SocietyConfirmed: Big Dipper to Get Doritos
A European astronomy group beamed a video of a Doritos sacrifice to the god of salsa at a possible alien race in a star system associated with the Big Dipper.
By Janet Raloff -
HumansDoritos in Space
Today, a huge European radar-transmitter system sent an ad for a cheesy snack radiating out into space.
By Janet Raloff -
Planetary ScienceShake, shake, shake
Instrument succeeds in capturing first soil sample, allowing Mars Phoenix Lander team to begin scientific studies.
-
AstronomyFrom planet to plutoid
Pluto and its dwarf planet neighbors are christened plutoids, the International Astronomical Union rules.