Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Planetary Science
A modest Plutonian proposal
Flagstaff, Echidna, Spock. Naming conventions for the landscapes of Pluto and its moons are proposed ahead of the arrival of the New Horizons probe.
- Astronomy
Cyanides around young star signal complex organic chemistry
Abundances of cyanide compounds around a young star match those found in comets in our solar system.
- Science & Society
One anniversary to celebrate, one to contemplate
In this issue, both feature articles focus on anniversaries, though of two very different kinds.
- Astronomy
Celebrating 25 years of the Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope has served for more than two decades as the sharpest eyes ever to peer into the universe.
- Astronomy
The art of astronomy
Astronomer Zoltan Levay uses the Hubble Space Telescope to create stunning images of cosmic landscapes.
- Astronomy
Saturday’s lunar eclipse will be total, but brief
A brief total lunar eclipse on April 4 favors observers from western North America to Australia.
- Planetary Science
Minisatellites could detect dangerous asteroids, researchers propose
Five tiny telescopes orbiting the sun could provide early warning for an Earth-bound asteroid, though other researchers disagree.
- Astronomy
Primordial stars left their imprint on dwarf galaxy
A smattering of stars in a dwarf galaxy outside the Milky Way witnessed explosions from the first generation of stars.
- Earth
Spot the northern lights with Aurorasaurus
Crowdsourced Aurorasaurus project uses Twitter to track the northern lights.
- Astronomy
Fountains of spewing gas provide look at megastar formation
Fountains of gas erupt from a young massive star, giving astronomers a play-by-play on how stellar heavyweights form.
- Astronomy
‘Supernova sweeping’ cleans up a galaxy’s gas
Supernovas might sweep the remaining gas out of a galaxy after a supermassive black hole triggers the end of star formation.
- Astronomy
Enigmatic 17th century nova wasn’t a nova at all
A nova observed in 1670 was actually two stars colliding, new evidence suggests.
