Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Space
EPOXI spacecraft encounters comet
Passing within 700 kilometers of the peanut-shaped Hartley 2 nets detailed pictures.
- Space
Magnetars may fuel briefer bursts
Rapidly spinning neutron stars could be the source of some short gamma-ray explosions, astronomers propose.
- Planetary Science
New rock type found on moon
Odd spots on the lunar farside could be ancient material that originated deep inside the moon.
- Space
Revealing the galaxy’s dark side
Observations of the Milky Way’s center detect gamma rays characteristic of the universe’s missing mass.
- Space
Neutron star breaks mass record
The new heavyweight champion in its stellar class rules out a number of exotic theories.
- Space
Spacecraft eavesdrops on distant stars
By listening to sound waves, researchers hope to learn about the age and composition of distant worlds.
- Planetary Science
Venus, erupting?
Lava flow suggests recent volcanism on Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor.
- Space
New cosmic distance record-holder
A faraway galaxy hails from a time when the 13.7-billion-year-old universe was a mere 600 million years old.
- Space
Existence of habitable exoplanet questioned
A Swiss team has failed to confirm what has recently been claimed to be the first planet outside the solar system that might be right for life.
- Space
CSI: Asteroid Belt
Astronomers hunt clues in the rubble of a recent collision between two space rocks.
- Planetary Science
A comet’s tail
Already under observation by astronomers, Hartley 2 will be visible in dark skies when it passes Earth on October 20.
- Space
Life may have started sky high
Simulations of the atmosphere on Saturn’s moon Titan suggest that basic chemical ingredients could have formed far above early Earth.
