Astronomy
Dust and a cold spell on Betelgeuse could explain why the giant star dimmed
Scientists had two options to explain Betelgeuse’s weird behavior in late 2019. They chose both.
Space
More Stories in Space
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AnimalsMouse sperm thrived despite six years of exposure to space radiation
A space station experiment suggests future deep-space explorers don’t need to worry about passing the effects of space radiation on to their children.
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AstronomyAn arc of galaxies 3 billion light-years long may challenge cosmology
Dubbed “the Giant Arc,” the purported structure is much larger than expected in a cosmos where matter is thought to be evenly distributed.
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PhysicsAuroras form when electrons from space ride waves in Earth’s magnetic field
New lab results confirm that auroras are triggered by disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field called Alfvén waves.
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Planetary ScienceNASA will be heading back to Venus for the first time in decades
Two newly selected missions, VERITAS and DAVINCI+, will explore the history of the planet's water and habitability.
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LifeEven hard-to-kill tardigrades can’t always survive being shot out of a gun
A recent experiment put tardigrades’ indestructibility to the test by firing the critters at speeds up to 1,000 meters per second.
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AstronomySome fast radio bursts come from the spiral arms of other galaxies
Tracking five brief, bright blasts of cosmic radio waves to their origins suggests their sources form quickly in regions with lots of star formation.
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Planetary ScienceLaser experiments suggest helium rain falls on Jupiter
Compressing a hydrogen and helium mixture with lasers shows that the two elements separate at pressures found within gas giant planets.
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Science & SocietyA new memoir tells the life story of NASA ‘hidden figure’ Katherine Johnson
"My Remarkable Journey" gives the backstory of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, the central character of the 2016 film "Hidden Figures."
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AstronomyRecord-breaking light has more than a quadrillion electron volts of energy
Hundreds of newly detected gamma rays hint at cosmic environments that accelerate particles to extremes.