Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Particles from space provide a new look inside cyclones
Cosmic rays that smash into the atmosphere make muons that are sensitive to changing air pressure inside storms.
- Astronomy
Most stars may have much more time to form planets than previously thought
Planet-making disks may survive around most young stars for 5 million to 10 million years — more than double a previous estimate.
- Astronomy
For the first time, astronomers saw dust in space being pushed by starlight
Images collected over 16 years reveal that dust expelled from a well-known binary star system is hurried on its way by light from those stars.
- Astronomy
A 3-D model of the Cat’s Eye nebula shows rings sculpted by jets
The Cat’s Eye is one of the most complex nebulae known. A 3-D reconstruction reveals the source of some of that complexity.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s DART mission successfully shoved an asteroid
Data obtained since the spacecraft intentionally crashed into an asteroid show that the impact altered the space rock’s orbit even more than intended.
- Astronomy
The James Webb Space Telescope spied the earliest born stars yet seen
The stars, found in the first released science image from the James Webb Space Telescope, probably winked into existence about 13 billion years ago.
- Planetary Science
Mars’ buried ‘lake’ might just be layers of ice and rock
Evidence grows that possible detections of liquid water buried near Mars’ south pole might not hold water.
- Planetary Science
Robin Wordsworth re-creates the atmosphere of ancient Mars
Robin Wordsworth studies the climates of Mars and other alien worlds to find out whether they could support life.
- Science & Society
Big questions inspire the scientists on this year’s SN 10 list
These scientists to watch study climate change, alien worlds, human evolution, the coronavirus and more.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s DART spacecraft just smashed into an asteroid — on purpose
If the first-ever attempt to knock a space rock off course works, it could provide a blueprint to protect Earth from a killer asteroid.
- Planetary Science
Here is the first direct look at Neptune’s rings in more than 30 years
In 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft took the first pics of Neptune’s rings. Now, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is providing a more detailed look.
- Astronomy
A protogalaxy in the Milky Way may be our galaxy’s original nucleus
Millions of ancient stars spanning about 18,000 light-years at the Milky Way’s heart are the kernel around which the galaxy grew, researchers say.
