Space

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Earth

    How a ring of mountains forms inside a crater

    Rocks drilled from the Chicxulub crater linked to the demise of the dinosaurs reveal how mountainous peak rings form within large impact craters.

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  2. Astronomy

    Mysterious radio signals pack power and brilliance

    The brightest fast radio burst has been detected, while another team reveals a previous burst might have carried gamma rays as well as radio waves across space.

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  3. Astronomy

    Surprising number of meteoroids hit moon’s surface

    A new analysis of lunar images reveals over 200 new craters and about 47,000 undiscovered “splotches” on the moon.

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  4. Astronomy

    Interactive map reveals hidden details of the Milky Way

    Gleamoscope, an interactive map, lets you explore the Milky Way galaxy and the nearby universe in many different electromagnetic frequencies.

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  5. Astronomy

    Young planets carve rings and spirals in the gas around their suns

    New telescope images show rings and spiral arms in disks encircling young stars, suggesting the presence of actively growing planets.

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  6. Planetary Science

    X-ray mystery shrouds Pluto

    Chandra telescope detects seven X-ray photons coming from Pluto, suggesting that the solar wind runs into a tail of gas streaming from the dwarf planet.

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  7. Astronomy

    Readers unimpressed by Earth’s newest neighbor

    Exoplanet fatigue, runaway fish and more in reader feedback.

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  8. Earth

    ‘A Most Improbable Journey’ offers scientific take on human history

    Walter Alvarez’s “A Most Improbable Journey” gives readers a tour of “Big History,” linking human history to unpredictable cosmic, geologic and biological events.

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  9. Planetary Science

    Mars lander debris spotted

    The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged the impact site of the Schiaparelli Mars lander, missing in action since its October 19 descent.

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  10. Astronomy

    Uranus moon count: 27 and rising

    Two more moons might be lurking around Uranus, causing material in the planet’s rings to clump up, Voyager 2 data suggest.

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  11. Planetary Science

    Two unseen moons may circle Uranus

    Two more moons might be lurking around Uranus, causing material in the planet’s rings to clump up, Voyager 2 data suggest.

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  12. Planetary Science

    First peek under clouds reveals Jupiter’s surprising depths

    Jupiter’s colorful bands originate several hundred kilometers beneath the cloud tops, the Juno spacecraft reveals.

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