Astronomy
- Astronomy
The Neil Armstrong biopic ‘First Man’ captures early spaceflight’s terror
At a time when NASA is considering how to return astronauts to the moon, ‘First Man’ is a sobering reminder of how risky the first giant leap was.
- Astronomy
The first observed wimpy supernova may have birthed a neutron star duo
Scientists have spotted a faint, fast supernova for the first time, possibly explaining how pairs of dense stellar corpses called neutron stars form.
- Astronomy
If the past is a guide, Hubble’s new trouble won’t doom the space telescope
Hubble is in safe mode, but astronomers are optimistic that the observatory will keep working.
- Animals
What bees did during the Great American Eclipse
A rare study of bees during a total solar eclipse finds that the insects buzzed around as usual — until totality.
- Astronomy
‘Einstein’s Shadow’ explores what it takes to snap a black hole’s picture
The new book offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Event Horizon Telescope’s attempt to image a black hole.
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s ‘ring rain’ is a surprising cocktail of chemicals
NASA’s Cassini probe got a closeup view of the material falling from Saturn’s rings into the planet. The data could help illuminate the belts’ origins.
- Astronomy
Hubble may have spotted the first known exomoon
A single sighting with the Hubble Space Telescope seems to confirm that there’s a Neptune-sized moon orbiting exoplanet Kepler 1625b.
- Astronomy
We may not have found aliens yet because we’ve barely begun looking
A new calculation says SETI searches have combed the equivalent of a hot tub out of Earth’s oceans looking for extraterrestrial intelligence in space.
- Astronomy
Paula Jofré makes stellar connections
Astrophysicist Paula Jofré is a galactic archaeologist, mapping out generations of stars.
- Astronomy
Astronomers may have spotted the birth of a neutron star
Scientists say they’ve witnessed a type of neutron star called a pulsar being born in the wake of a massive supernova for the first time.
- Astronomy
Japan has launched a miniature space elevator
The Japanese space agency just launched a prototype space elevator to the International Space Station to test motion along a taut cable in space.
- Astronomy
The TESS space telescope has spotted its first exoplanet
TESS’s first exoplanet is twice Earth’s size and may have lots of water.
