Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Space
NASA’s Parker probe has spotted the Geminid meteor showers’ source
For the first time, we’ve spotted the trail of space debris responsible for the Geminid meteor shower.
- Space
Electric charges on dust grains may help explain how planets are born
In an experiment, glass beads clung together like protoplanetary dust particles when shaken and flung more than 100 meters skyward.
- Space
NASA’s Parker probe reveals the sun’s rogue plasma waves and magnetic islands
Scientists have analyzed the Parker probe’s first data, giving a peek at what’s to come as the craft moves closer to the sun over the next few years.
- Space
How brightly the moon glows is a mystery, but maybe not for long
The best estimates for the moon’s brightness are still somewhat unsure. A new experiment is trying to fix that.
- Space
A newfound black hole in the Milky Way is weirdly heavy
A dark mass about 68 times as massive as the sun is locked in orbit with a star in our galaxy. Theory says that such black holes shouldn’t get so big.
- Astronomy
19 more galaxies mysteriously missing dark matter have been found
The finding reveals a population of dwarf galaxies that defy common wisdom about how these star systems form and evolve.
- Planetary Science
Ribose, a sugar needed for life, has been detected in meteorites
Samples of rocks that fell to Earth contain a key molecular ingredient of RNA, part of life’s genetic machinery.
- Space
How two gamma-ray bursts created record-breaking high-energy photons
Light packing up to 1 trillion electron volts of energy bolsters a theory for how these cosmic explosions produce such high-energy radiation.
- Space
Realigning magnetic fields may drive the sun’s spiky plasma tendrils
Solar spicules emerge near counterpointing magnetic fields, hinting that self-adjusting magnetism creates these filaments, which may heat the corona.
- Space
NASA gave Ultima Thule a new official name
The distant world briefly visited by New Horizons is now called Arrokoth, a Powhatan word that means “sky.”
- Space
Light leaking from a distant galaxy hints at a cosmic makeover’s origins
Ultraviolet light slips through a hole in a distant galaxy’s gas. Older galaxies might have used the trick to ionize most of the universe’s hydrogen.
- Space
Voyager 2 reveals the dynamic, complex nature of the solar system’s edge
With two spacecraft outside the sun’s magnetic bubble, researchers get a new look at the boundary between the sun and its galactic environment.
