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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Astronomy

    Yes, there really is a black hole on the loose in Sagittarius

    Astronomers now agree: They’ve spotted the first isolated stellar-mass black hole ever seen.

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  2. Planetary Science

    Check out some of the weird rocks that have turned up on Mars

    Some of the unusual rocks carry stories about water on Mars. One has hints of long-gone microbes. All tell of a dynamic, complex planet.

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  3. Space

    Fermenting miso in orbit reveals how space can affect a food’s taste

    A miso test on the International Space Station shows fermenting food is not only possible in space, it adds nuttier notes to the Japanese condiment.

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  4. Astronomy

    A nebula’s X-ray glow may come from a destroyed giant planet

    Decades of constant X-ray emission from the Helix Nebula’s white dwarf suggest debris from a Jupiter-sized planet steadily rains upon the star.

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  5. Space

    ‘Star Wars’ holds clues to making speedier spacecraft in the real world

    Controlled fusion, solar sails or ion engines could someday help spaceships travel between star systems.

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  6. Space

    JWST spots the earliest sign yet of a distant galaxy reshaping its cosmic environs

    The galaxy, called JADES-GS-z13-1, marks the earliest sign yet spotted of the era of cosmic reionization at 330 million years after the Big Bang.

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  7. Cosmology

    A map of 14 million galaxies and quasars deepens a dark energy mystery

    The DESI experiment shocked cosmologists with a hint that dark energy varies over time. Now, with more data, the conclusions hold up.

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  8. Space

    The nearest single star to Earth has four small planets

    Last year, astronomers announced that a planet orbits Barnard’s star. Now, researchers have confirmed the existence of three more.

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  9. Space

    Two astronauts stuck in space for 9 months have returned to Earth

    Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore’s extended stay in the International Space Station will add to what we know about how space affects health.

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  10. Cosmology

    New baby pictures of the universe deepen a cosmic mystery

    Cosmic microwave background data support cosmology’s standard model but retain a mystery about the universe’s expansion rate.

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  11. Space

    The Blue Ghost lander just witnessed a lunar eclipse — from the moon

    The privately-owned lander turned its cameras toward Earth as our planet cast its shadow over the moon. It’s not the first spacecraft to do so.

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  12. Chemistry

    A new iron compound hints ‘primordial’ helium hides in Earth’s core

    Earth’s core could contain helium from the early solar system. The noble gas tucks into gaps in iron crystals under high pressure and temperature.

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