Astronomy
- Science & Society
Science puzzles no longer so puzzling
This year, researchers solved the riddle of mysterious radio bursts, the Erdös discrepancy problem and an elusive acid.
- Astronomy
Equipment failure pushes back Mars lander mission
The launch of the Mars InSight lander is suspended until at least 2018 because of a faulty seismometer.
- Planetary Science
Equipment failure delays Mars mission
A leaky instrument will push back launch of the Mars InSight lander by at least two years.
- Astronomy
New recipe found for making supermassive black hole
The universe’s first supermassive black holes may have formed directly from gas in colliding galaxies, new simulations suggest.
- Tech
SpaceX rocket blasts to space and back, sticks the landing
A Falcon 9 rocket section lands after launching a set of satellites during a successful test of SpaceX’s reusable rocket parts.
- Tech
SpaceX rocket sticks its landing
A Falcon 9 rocket section lands after launching a set of satellites during a successful test of SpaceX’s reusable rocket parts.
- Astronomy
Exoplanets need right stuff to be habitable
The elemental makeup of a star can reveal whether planets in its solar system could support sustained plate tectonics, a requirement for Earth-like life, researchers propose.
- Physics
Pulsar pair ripples spacetime
A pair of pulsars gives scientists the best evidence so far for gravitational waves, which have yet to be detected directly.
- Physics
General relativity caught in action around black hole
X-rays enable scientists to spot a black hole twisting the surrounding fabric of spacetime, just as Einstein’s theory predicts.
- Cosmology
Debate grows over whether X-rays are a sign of dark matter
The dwarf galaxy Draco, which is chock-full of dark matter, doesn’t emit a band of X-rays that researchers hoped were produced by the mysterious invisible stuff.
- Planetary Science
It’s a new planet! It’s an unknown star! It’s — oops!
A couple of unexpected wandering points of light in the sky could be new planets or even a dim star orbiting the sun, but researchers have plenty of reasons to be skeptical.
- Astronomy
LISA Pathfinder to pave way for gravitational wave detection
The successful launch of the LISA Pathfinder mission marks the first step toward testing techniques needed to build a space-based gravitational-wave detector.
