Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
A celestial loner might be the first known rogue black hole
The object could be the first isolated stellar-mass black hole identified in the Milky Way — or it might be an unusually heavy neutron star.
- Astronomy
New Gaia data paint the most detailed picture yet of the Milky Way
Gaia’s new data can tell us about galaxies the Milky Way has swallowed, the young solar system and asteroids that could hit Earth.
- Planetary Science
Samples of the asteroid Ryugu are scientists’ purest pieces of the solar system
Samples Hayabusa2 brought to Earth from asteroid Ryugu are far fresher than similar types of meteorites that scientists have found.
- Astronomy
A newfound, oddly slow pulsar shouldn’t emit radio waves — yet it does
The highly magnetic neutron star rotates three times slower than the previous record holder, challenging the theorical understanding of these objects.
- Space
50 years ago, the United States and Soviet Union joined forces for science
In 1972, U.S. and Soviet leaders agreed to work together on science. Now, Russia’s war in Ukraine is straining that decades-long partnership.
- Astronomy
The Solar Orbiter spacecraft spotted a ‘hedgehog’ on the sun
In its closest flyby yet of the sun, the Solar Orbiter came within 48 million kilometers of our star, revealing new details.
- Planetary Science
Ice at the moon’s poles might have come from ancient volcanoes
Volcanic eruptions billions of years ago probably released enough water vapor to have deposited ice at the lunar poles, a study finds.
- Plants
These are the first plants grown in moon dirt
The first attempt to grow plants in Apollo samples from the moon shows the promise and potential struggles of farming in lunar soil.
- Astronomy
Pulsars may power cosmic rays with the highest-known energies in the universe
Earth is pelted by energetic particles from space. The source might be the magnetic remains of massive stars, a new study suggests.
- Cosmology
A century ago, Alexander Friedmann envisioned the universe’s expansion
Alexander Friedmann saw that Einstein’s equations predicted multiple cosmic scenarios, including a Big Bang.
- Science & Society
Why some scientists want serious research into UFOs
Science grapples with unknown phenomena all the time. Investigating UAP and whether they're related to aliens shouldn't be different, researchers say.
- Particle Physics
High-energy neutrinos may come from black holes ripping apart stars
Where extremely energetic neutrinos originate from is a mystery. A new study supports the idea that “tidal disruption events” are one source.
