Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
Hidden black holes
A new study has added to existing evidence that most of the monster black holes at the cores of galaxies are shrouded by dust.
- Astronomy
First Supper: X rays may mark eating habits of baby black holes
Astronomers have evidence that just minutes after their tumultuous birth, baby black holes emit powerful burps of X rays that may be fueled by material left over from their first meal.
- Planetary Science
Radar for rovers on future Mars trips?
Scientists are developing ground-penetrating radar equipment that could serve as geologists' helpers on future Mars-roving vehicles.
- Planetary Science
Enceladus: Small but feisty
Close-up observations of Saturn's tiny moon Enceladus reveal that its south pole is hotter than its equator and that the icy satellite continues to undergo eruptions.
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- Astronomy
Three’s Company: Asteroid 87 Sylvia and her two moons
Astronomers have for the first time discovered an asteroid with two moons, an indication that the rock is highly porous.
- Astronomy
Cosmic soot
Astronomers have found a group of complex organic compounds, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, from a time when the universe was less than one-third its current age.
- Astronomy
Cosmic Computing
The largest computer simulation of the universe ever compiled uses dark matter to shed light on the formation of galaxies and on the visible structure of the universe.
- Planetary Science
Bigger than Pluto: Tenth planet or icy leftover?
Astronomers have found a body larger and more distant than Pluto, the biggest object found in the solar system since Neptune and its moon Triton were discovered in 1846.
- Planetary Science
Cassini eyes youthful-looking Saturnian moon
On July 14, the Cassini spacecraft came within 175 kilometers of the south polar region of Saturn's bright, tiny moon Enceladus, revealing a tortured terrain of faults, folds, and ridges.
- Astronomy
Planet potential
Observations with the Submillimeter Array on Hawaii's Mauna Kea reveal that, despite their bombardment by a stellar bully, the disks in Orion have enough material to form planets.
- Astronomy
A new X-ray eye on the cosmos
To study some of the hottest regions in the universe, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency has launched the coldest instrument ever flown.
