Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
Pioneer 10’s puzzling motion: a lot of hot air
The slow-down of the Pioneer spacecrafts may be caused in part by the way they radiate heat, new data shows.
- Astronomy
BOOK LIST | Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them
Pickover, who has authored 40 books on many aspects of science and mathematics, discusses how the works of great minds from Archimedes to Stephen Hawking have changed humankind’s understanding of the universe. BIG IDEAS, AND BIG THINKERS, IN COSMOLOGY Oxford University Press, 2008, 514 p., $27.95.
- Astronomy
Solving a cosmic ray conundrum
Astronomers say they have solved a puzzle about the most energetic particles that smash into Earth.
- Planetary Science
Caught in the Act? Images may reveal planetary birth
Astronomers, for the first time, have imaged dusty clumps surrounding young stars that could be planets in the making.
- Planetary Science
Gassy Geysers: Cassini surveys Saturn’s moon
NASA's Cassini spacecraft had a close encounter with the giant vapor plume gushing from Saturn's tiny moon Enceladus.
- Planetary Science
Titan may harbor underground ocean
Observations by the Cassini spacecraft hint that Saturn's smog-shrouded moon Titan may harbor a global ocean of water and ammonia 100 kilometers below its surface.
- Astronomy
In the Beginning: More early clues for life at home, out there
Astronomers move closer to understanding how life arose on Earth and how it could arise elsewhere.
- Astronomy
From Dark Matter to Light
Recent surveys of the shapes, colors, and masses of galaxies have put a new focus on the nitty-gritty of galaxy formation—the complicated physics of the interaction of gas.
- Astronomy
State of the Universe: Microwave glow powers cosmic insights
Radiation left over from the Big Bang offers researchers unprecedented cosmic understanding.
- Astronomy
Supernova Outbreak: X rays signal earliest alert
Thanks to a lucky break and an overactive galaxy, astronomers report the earliest detection yet of a normal supernova—the explosive death of a massive star.
- Astronomy
Web Special: Supernova Outbreak—X rays signal earliest alert
MARCH 5 — Thanks to a lucky break and an overactive galaxy, astronomers report the earliest detection yet of a normal supernova—the explosive death of a massive star. Advance article from March 8 issue.
- Astronomy
Urgently Wanted—Star Counters
Through March 8, an organization known as GLOBE at Night is asking for help tallying celestial bodies in the constellation Orion. Designed as a teaching aid, this star-counting program aims to emphasize the loss-of-darkness throughout the globe, a problem which hinders ground-based astronomy. Students, families, and the general public can report their results online by […]
