Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Planetary Science
Juno transmits first intimate snapshots of Jupiter
Hurricane-like clouds spiral over Jupiter’s poles, new photos taken by NASA’s Juno spacecraft reveal.
- Tech
SpaceX rocket explodes on Florida launchpad
SpaceX has lost a Falcon 9 rocket and its satellite payload in a standard prelaunch test.
- Planetary Science
Water plays big role in shaping dwarf planet Ceres
Findings from the Dawn spacecraft turn up cryovolcanoes, ice patches and hydrated minerals on Ceres, supporting the idea that water helped shape the dwarf planet.
- Planetary Science
Water has played a big role in shaping dwarf planet Ceres
Findings from the Dawn spacecraft turn up cryovolcanoes, ice patches and hydrated minerals on Ceres, supporting the idea that water helped shape the dwarf planet.
- Astronomy
Radio signal probably not from extraterrestrials
A possible radio signal from extraterrestrials probably originated a lot closer to home.
- Planetary Science
Spacecraft reveal diversity in solar system’s landscapes
The latest generation of interplanetary spacecraft have revealed diverse landscapes on planets, asteroids and comets throughout the solar system.
- Planetary Science
Venus once possibly habitable, study suggests
Venus might have once been habitable and home to a shallow ocean.
- Planetary Science
Visits to Proxima Centauri’s planet are probably millennia away
A trip to Proxima Centauri’s planet would take millennia, even with alpha particle propulsion.
- Astronomy
Signs of planet detected around sun’s nearest neighbor star
A planet roughly the size of Earth orbits within the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the sun.
- Astronomy
Astronomers prepare for 2017 solar eclipse spectacle
With one year to go, researchers are making plans for studying both the sun and Earth during the August 2017 total solar eclipse.
- Astronomy
Tabby’s star drama continues
Tabby’s star, already known for its bizarre flicking and fading, dimmed throughout the four years of Kepler’s primary mission.
- Astronomy
Dark matter candidate particles are a no-show in Hitomi data
Before the Hitomi satellite broke apart, it captured data that cast further doubt on evidence of X-rays from dark matter particles in a galaxy cluster.
