Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
Stellar Opposites: Sky survey reveals new halo of stars
The Milky Way galaxy possesses a distinct outer halo that orbits in the opposite direction from its inner halo and the rest of the galaxy.
- Planetary Science
A sunlike star’s early development
A new infrared portrait of an embryonic sunlike star reveals an early, crucial step in the process of planet formation.
- Planetary Science
Sister Planet: Mission to Venus reveals watery past
The Venus Express probe has found evidence that Venus once had more water than it does today, and has provided new measurements of the weather on Venus, proof of lightning on the planet, and signs of a formerly unknown hot spot near its south pole.
- Astronomy
One star, five planets
With the discovery of a fifth planet circling the nearby star 55 Cancri, astronomers have found the most abundant—and heaviest—planetary system beyond the sun's.
- Astronomy
Flare-Up: Comet Holmes’ surprise bloom
Comet 17P/Holmes abruptly brightened last month, blossoming into a naked eye object.
- Astronomy
Ray Tracing: Energetic cosmic rays linked to giant black holes
New observations suggest that ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays originate in the cores of nearby galaxies harboring supermassive black holes.
- Planetary Science
Chilled Out? Ice could lurk beneath Martian equator
An immense volume of ice-rich material may underlie a formation that extends about one-quarter of the way around Mars' equator.
- Astronomy
Gammas from Heaven
An orbiting gamma-ray observatory, set for launch next spring, will seek out the most violent events in the cosmos.
- Astronomy
Odd Couples: Big black holes challenge star theory
The discovery of a black hole almost 16 times as massive as the sun, and the possible discovery of an even heavier one, challenge theories of how such black holes form.
- Astronomy
Record-breaking supernova
A newly discovered supernova, 100 billion times as bright as the sun, is the most luminous ever recorded.
- Planetary Science
Portrait of a Martian crater
An ultrasharp image of part of Mars' Gale crater shows waterborne sediments and volcanic ash.
- Astronomy
Motion of two nearby galaxies clouds the picture
The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are not gravitationally bound to the Milky Way, but are relative newcomers passing by for the first time.
