Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Planetary Science
New exoplanet: Big Earth or small Neptune?
NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has discovered a “cousin” of Earth 1,400 light-years away. But even though the new planet bears many similarities to Earth, experts say much about it remains a mystery.
- Astronomy
24-eyed telescope takes full-sky movies every night
The Evryscope, a 24-telescope array in northern Chile, will nearly continuously watch for changes in the southern sky.
- Astronomy
Young black holes evade detection
Supermassive black holes should be growing in the first billion or so years after the Big Bang, but astronomers can’t find them.
- Astronomy
Faint red stars can build water worlds drip by drip
Rocky planets around faint red stars have a hard time getting water, but they’re still probably the most common habitable locales in the Milky Way, new computer simulations suggest.
- Planetary Science
Quest to trace origin of Earth’s water is ‘a complete mess’
Understanding the origin of Earth’s water is hard enough, and it’s made harder by not knowing where all that water is hiding.
- Planetary Science
Mini moons may zip around Earth
Mini moons may buzz around Earth, and they make great targets for space missions.
- Astronomy
Cosmic threads may hide some of universe’s missing matter
Half the normal matter in the universe might be hiding in cosmic threads strung between clusters of galaxies.
- Planetary Science
Map of Ceres’ surface shows surprises
Clusters of craters on Ceres and smooth landscapes hint at an unusual past for the dwarf planet.
- Planetary Science
New results from Philae lander offer first close-up of a comet
Philae’s bouncy journey across comet 67P allowed it to check out two very different sites before taking a detailed look at both the inside and outside of the comet.
- Life
Encountering an unexpected Pluto and life’s complexity
Just as genetic analyses are revealing details of life’s long history, the New Horizons probe is bringing the fuzzy surface of Pluto into focus.
- Astronomy
Distant star has northern lights–like display
A dim star shows signs of auroral lights, the first detected on a body that’s not a planet or moon.
- Planetary Science
Pluto’s icy landscape comes into view
The New Horizons flyby reveals varied terrain and evidence of active geology on Pluto.
