Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Space
Space junk falls back to Earth faster as sunspot numbers climb
A new study links the sun's 11-year cycle to accelerated orbital loss, with debris falling faster once sunspot numbers near their cycle peak.
- Planetary Science
A small object past Pluto may have a thin atmosphere
A brief stellar eclipse suggests the tiny 2002 XV93 has a thin atmosphere — a first for any solar system body farther from the sun than Pluto.
- Planetary Science
Uranus has weird rings. Astronomers now know the source of two of them
The Nu ring seems to be fed by unknown rocky bodies, whereas the Mu ring appears rich in water ice and linked to the moon Mab.
- Astronomy
The earliest evidence of the first stars may lie in a distant gas clump
James Webb data reveal pristine gas irradiated by energetic light some 450 million years after the Big Bang — a sign it may house primordial stars.
- Astronomy
Clouds of water ice thread stellar nurseries in the Milky Way
NASA’s SPHEREx mapped water ice across vast regions of the galaxy, confirming that an essential molecule for life on Earth abounds in space.
- Space
Artemis II ends its historic lunar journey
After looping around the moon, the Artemis II crew — and their capsule’s heat shield — passed the mission’s final major test: coming home.
- Cosmology
Exploding black holes could explain an antimatter mystery
Shock waves from tiny black holes in the early universe could explain how antimatter became so rare while matter is common.
- Space
Even before splashdown, Artemis II is delivering a scientific treasure trove
The Artemis II moon flyby may be over, but the hunt for scientific treasures in the trove of data collected is just starting.
- Space
The first-ever ‘Earthset’ image marks another Artemis II milestone
As NASA’s Orion spacecraft slipped behind the farside of the moon, the astronauts captured the crescent of Earth setting over the moon’s horizon.
- Space
Artemis II: NASA’s Orion heads home after a historic loop around the moon
The record-setting astronauts had a front-row view of the farside of the moon, an eclipse and perhaps a re-creation of the famous Earthrise.
- Space
Artemis II sends humans around the moon for first time since Apollo
NASA’s Artemis II astronauts are on their way to the moon, testing the Orion spacecraft for future lunar landings and a planned moon base.
- Planetary Science
A comet may have flipped its spin and entered into a death spiral
Gases jetting out of Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresák may have caused it to reverse its spin in 2017, possibly leading to its eventual destruction.
