Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
Cosmic antimatter hints at origins of huge bubbles in our galaxy’s center
An excess of positrons in Earth’s vicinity supports the idea that the Fermi bubbles were burped by the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole long ago.
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s icy rings are probably heating its atmosphere, giving it an ultraviolet glow
Detecting similar emission from a distant world could help astronomers find other planets that boast bright and beautiful rings.
- Astronomy
The first black hole portrait got sharper thanks to machine learning
A machine learning technique filled in data gaps in the image of M87’s black hole, resulting in a thinner ring.
- Science & Society
The Smithsonian’s ‘Lights Out’ inspires visitors to save the fading night sky
The exhibition examines how light pollution harms astronomy, ecosystems and human cultures. But it also offers hope.
- Planetary Science
Venus has almost 50 times as many volcanoes as previously thought
Where are there NOT volcanoes on Venus? A new map of the planet unveils a veritable volcanic bonanza.
- Astronomy
A stream of cold gas is unexpectedly feeding the far-off Anthill Galaxy
The finding suggests that early galaxies might have gained more of their bulk from streams of cold gas instead of in violent galaxy collisions.
- Planetary Science
Planets without stars might have moons suitable for life
Thanks to gravitational squeezing by their host planets, some moons of rogue planets could stay warm for over a billion years, simulations suggest.
- Planetary Science
Baby Jupiter glowed so brightly it might have desiccated its moon
During its infancy, Jupiter may have glowed about 10 thousand times brighter than it does today, which may explain why its moon Io is completely dry.
- Astronomy
A neutron star collision may have emitted a fast radio burst
Astronomers spotted both a fast radio burst and gravitational waves from a cosmic smashup in the same part of the sky and at about the same time.
- Astronomy
The biggest planet orbiting TRAPPIST-1 doesn’t appear to have an atmosphere
TRAPPIST-1b is hotter than astronomers expected, suggesting there’s no atmosphere to transport heat around the planet.
- Math
Here’s a peek into the mathematics of black holes
The universe tells us slowly rotating black holes are stable. A nearly 1,000-page proof confirms it.
- Space
‘Off-Earth’ asks how to build a better future in space
As humans prepare to live in space someday, ethics should be as much of guide as science and technology, an astrophysicist argues in a new book.
