Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Planetary Science
Mysterious bright spot on Ceres has a partner
A new image from the Dawn spacecraft finds two bright patches within a basin, possibly caused by an ice volcano.
- Astronomy
Monster black hole lurks in the early universe
A black hole weighing the same as 12 billion suns is the most massive one known in the early universe.
- Earth
Water’s unclear origins, shaky solutions to climate change and more reader feedback
Readers discuss the pitfalls of carbon storage, whether a recent movie got Alan Turing's story right and more.
- Oceans
‘Ocean Worlds’ chronicles the story of water on Earth and across the cosmos
Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams recount the history and predict the future of Earth’s oceans.
- Planetary Science
Space simulations of 1960s focused on survival
50 years ago, space simulations focused on survival. Now, quality of life is critical, too.
- Planetary Science
New Horizons spies two of Pluto’s moons
Nix and Hydra come into view on the 85th anniversary of Pluto’s discovery.
- Cosmology
The past according to Planck: Cosmologists got a lot right
New results from the Planck satellite largely support cosmologists’ theories, but leave the door open for new discoveries.
- Planetary Science
Dwarf planet Ceres comes into view
New images from the Dawn spacecraft reveal a landscape of craters and mysterious bright patches on the dwarf planet Ceres.
- Astronomy
Pair of stars buzzed the solar system 70,000 years ago
Astronomers discover a binary system that made the closest known flyby of the sun.
- Astronomy
Closest star approach to the sun
Astronomers discover a binary system that made the closest known flyby of the sun.
- Astronomy
Giant hydrogen cloud headed for Milky Way
A high-speed hydrogen cloud on a crash course with the Milky Way appears to be an exotic interloper, preliminary data suggest.
- Astronomy
Top 10 messages to send to E.T.
Fears that sending signals to alien civilizations would provoke an invasion shouldn't prevent transmitting important messages.
