Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- 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.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s InSight lander has recorded the largest Marsquake yet
The magnitude 5 temblor, detected May 4, will help scientists learn more about the Red Planet’s interior.
- Astronomy
We finally have an image of the black hole at the heart of the Milky Way
Observations from the Event Horizon Telescope reveal the turbulent region around our home galaxy’s black hole, Sagittarius A*, in new detail.
- Astronomy
The sun’s searing radiation led to the shuffling of the solar system’s planets
As the young sun’s radiation evaporated gas from its surrounding disk, it triggered a jumbling of the giant planets’ orbits, simulations suggest.
