Astronomy
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AstronomyReaders were curious about pendulum saws, laser tweezers and more
Readers had questions about Bronze Age pendulum saws, dark matter, lazer tweezers and more.
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AstronomyThe sun shrinks a teensy bit when it’s feeling active
The radius of the sun gets slightly smaller during periods of high solar activity, researchers say.
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Particle PhysicsIf real, dark fusion could help demystify this physics puzzle
Fusing dark matter particles might explain why galaxy cores have evenly distributed dark matter.
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AstronomyTake a virtual trip to an alien world
NASA’s Exoplanet Travel Bureau website lets you view what alien landscapes might look like.
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AstronomyA neutron star crash may have spawned a black hole
The neutron collision that took the astronomical community by storm last year probably created a black hole, researchers say.
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AstronomyTwo-faced star reveals a pulsar’s surprising bulk
An ultramassive pulsar is frying its stellar companion so that the star shows two different temperatures.
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AstronomyAstronomers scrutinized last year’s eclipse. Here’s what they’ve learned
Astronomers observed the 2017 total solar eclipse from the ground and the air, and found some never-before-seen features of the sun’s atmosphere.
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AstronomyPluto’s demotion ignores astronomical history
A historical review of asteroids’ planetary status suggests Pluto’s demotion was not justified.
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AstronomyPlasma rain in the sun’s atmosphere falls in surprising places
Scientists found rain in the sun’s corona where they didn’t expect it, which could help solve the mystery of why the corona is so hot.
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AstronomyMaverick asteroid might be an immigrant from outside the solar system
A space rock’s backward orbit could be a hint of unusual origins.
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CosmologyThese stars may have been born only 250 million years after the Big Bang
Scientists find evidence that stars were forming just 250 million years after the universe was born.
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AstronomyThe recipes for solar system formation are getting a rewrite
A new understanding of exoplanets and their stars is rewriting the recipes for planet formation.