Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Planetary Science
Comet 67P carries two ingredients for life: glycine, phosphorus
Two ingredients essential for all life, phosphorus and the amino acid glycine, have been found floating around a comet.
- Planetary Science
Seismic experiment might reveal thickness of Europa’s ice
Crashing an empty rocket fuel tank into the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, could help scientists figure out the thickness of the ice.
- Astronomy
Return of superstar supernova raises doubt about its identity
The brightest supernova on record is back for round two, and might not be a supernova after all.
- Planetary Science
Space experts say sending humans to Mars worth the risk
At a meeting in Washington, NASA and aerospace reps discuss the hopes and hurdles of landing a crew on Mars by the 2030s.
- Astronomy
Young sun’s super solar flares helped set early Earth up for life
Super solar flares may have provided early Earth with planet-warming and life-building molecules.
- Oceans
Ancient tsunamis reshaped Mars’ landscape
Ancient tsunamis generated by meteorite impacts may have reshaped ocean coastlines on Mars.
- Health & Medicine
Zika, psychobiotics and more in reader feedback
Readers respond to the April 2, 2016, issue of Science News with thoughts on Zika virus, planetary science, microbes in mental health and more.
- Astronomy
Fast-moving star duo is heading out of the Milky Way
A pair of hyperfast stars hurtling through a remote region of the Milky Way might have been orphaned after a long-ago galactic collision, a new study suggests.
- Astronomy
Stephen Hawking finds the inner genius in ordinary people
Ordinary people wrestle with big questions in science and philosophy in Genius, a new television series hosted by Stephen Hawking.
- Astronomy
Earth has nothing on this exoplanet’s lightning storms
Lightning storms far more intense than any on Earth might explain radio waves that once came from a planet 124 light-years away.
- Astronomy
Kepler telescope doubles its count of known exoplanets
NASA’s Kepler space telescope adds 1,284 planets to the roster of worlds known to orbit other stars in our galaxy.
- Planetary Science
Mercury’s stunning landscape mapped
First complete topographic map of Mercury reveals plains, craters and both the highest and lowest points on the planet.
