Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
A Phoenix on Mars
A new robotic lander will search the north polar region of Mars for habitability.
- Space
Supermassive black hole says sayonara
Researchers have the first observational hint for the existence of an ejected supermassive black hole, fired by a gravitational rocket from the core of the galaxy in which it formed.
- Astronomy
Massive minis
Astronomers have discovered a puzzling group of galaxies in the early universe that are as tiny as babies but as massive as full-grown adults.
- Planetary Science
Hop, skip and a jump
Less gravity on Mars means wind-driven grains of sand travel up to 10 times faster than those blowing along Earth’s surface, new analyses suggest.
- Space
Searching for superEarths
Astronomers are exploring a new family of planets beyond the solar system.
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- Space
Black hole once glowed brightly
More than 26,000 years ago, the Milky Way's central black hole suddenly but fleetingly increases its X-ray output.
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- Planetary Science
BOOK LIST | Titan Unveiled
Astronomer Lorenz and science writer Mitton provide the details of what we know so far about Saturn’s moon. TITAN UNVEILED Princeton University Press, 2008, 243 p., $29.95
- 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.
