Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s rings explained
A huge shattered moon could have sprayed ice particles around the newborn planet.
- Space
Collider in the sky
Protons buffeted by stellar winds in the Eta Carinae star system are accelerated to energies comparable to the maximum power of the world’s biggest particle smasher.
- Space
Planet in the sky with diamonds
Scientists have discovered a Jupiter-sized orb with a mostly carbon atmosphere 1,200 light-years distant, the first time astronomers have detected such a world.
- Space
Crab nebula outbursts shock astronomers
Short-lived gamma-ray flares recently recorded from the Crab nebula supernova remnant, known for its steady emissions, are perplexing researchers and forcing them to consider new models for particle acceleration.
- Space
Beast at galaxy core sits, lacking spin
New observations suggest that the Milky Way's central black hole rotates slowly or not at all, reinforcing its image as a gentle gravitational giant.
- Space
Newfound planet stirs old debate
The discoverers of a fourth body orbiting a nearby star say its origins pose a challenge to existing theory, but some disagree.
- Space
It’s really full of stars
Astronomers find such an abundance of red dwarfs in eight nearby galaxies that they suggest the stellar population of the universe may be three times current estimates.
- Space
Cosmic rebirth
Circular patterns in the universe's pervasive background radiation suggest that the Big Bang was not the beginning of the universe, but only the latest of its incarnations.
- Space
How to use a pulsar to find Starbucks
Using stars as celestial beacons could be a backup if GPS ground stations failed.
- Space
A cometary blizzard
NASA's EPOXI mission encountered a snowstorm when it zipped by Comet Hartley 2.
- Space
It came from another galaxy
Extrasolar planet traces its origin outside the Milky Way to an ancient neighboring galaxy.
- Space
Cost overruns and delays add up to $6.5 billion for NASA’s next-gen space telescope
A new report finds that the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, will cost NASA at least $1.5 billion more than the $5 billion the agency estimated in 2008 and, to meet its scheduled 2015 launch date, will need $400 million of that additional money over the next two years.
