LYING IN WAIT Huge tubs of water (one shown) at the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina reveal the tracks left as cosmic particles zip through them.
Steven Saffi
-
Magazine
In the Sept. 30 SN: Smog's health woes, secrets of the bat brain, slug slime inspires surgical glue, wild beer, Neandertal tar recipes, the sun's recent flare-ups and more.
Atom & Cosmos
Topic Image Rail
BLAZE OF GLORY Cassini burned up like a comet above Saturn’s cloud tops just before 5 a.m. PDT on September 15. This artist’s illustration shows what it may have looked like.
JPL-Caltech/NASA
The Cassini spacecraft took one final round of images on its farewell tour of the Saturnian system. This raw image, taken September 13 and received on Earth on September 14, showcases Saturn’s hallmark rings.
JPL-Caltech/NASA, Space Science Institute
Atom & Cosmos
-
Astronomy
News
Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays come from outside the Milky Way
The biggest cosmic ray haul ever points toward other galaxies as the source of the rays, not our own.Letters to the EditorReaders ponder mini-spacecraft and Canaanites’ genomes
Readers have questions about miniature spacecraft project and Canaanite genealogy. -
Cosmology
Science Visualized
Map reveals the invisible universe of dark matter
The Dark Energy Survey reports a new tally of the dark universe.News in Brief
Milky Way’s loner status is upheld
Galaxy surveys show the Milky Way lives in a vast cosmic void, which could help ease tensions between ways of measuring how fast the universe is expanding. -
Planetary Science
-
Particle Physics
Science TickerThe results from a slew of experiments are in: Dark matter remains elusive
Scientists continue the search for particles that make up the universe’s missing matter.News in Brief
Dark matter still remains elusive
Scientists continue the search for particles that make up the universe’s missing matter. -
Exoplanets
News
Fewer big rogue planets roam the galaxy, recount shows
Jupiter-mass planets without parent solar systems are less common than astronomers thought, a new study suggests.News
Kepler shows small exoplanets are either super-Earths or mini-Neptunes
The final catalog from the Kepler space telescope splits Earthlike exoplanets into two groups and pinpoints 10 new rocky planets in the habitable zone. -
Astrobiology
News
Potential ingredient for alien life found on Titan
The atmosphere and oceans of Saturn’s moon Titan contain vinyl cyanide, a compound predicted to form cell-like bubbles.Letters to the EditorReaders weigh in on ET and the meaning of life
All about aliensNew telescopes and spacecraft will soon help researchers scour our galaxy for signs of extraterrestrial life. But what might aliens look like? And if they do exist, why haven’t they returned our calls? These are just some of the questions addressed in the Science News special report “In Search of Aliens” (SN: 4/30/16, p. 24).
