Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Space
The historic ‘Wow!’ signal may finally have a source. Sorry, it’s not aliens
One of the best possible signs of extraterrestrial communication may have an astrophysical explanation — albeit a weird one.
- Astronomy
The nearest midsized black hole might instead be a horde of lightweights
Astronomers recently reported that the Milky Way star cluster Omega Centauri hosts an elusive type of black hole. A new study says it does not.
- Astronomy
A distant quasar may be zapping all galaxies around itself
Star formation has ceased within at least 16 million light-years of the quasar. A similar phenomenon may have fried the Milky Way when it was young.
- Space
Astronauts actually get stuck in space all the time
Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams join more than a dozen astronauts who’ve been stranded in space by mechanics, weather or geopolitics since the 1970s.
- Space
Scientists want to send endangered species’ cells to the moon
Climate change is threatening Earth’s biodiversity banks. It might be time to build a backup on the moon.
- Astronomy
Some meteors leave trails lasting up to an hour. Now we may know why
A new survey of meteors that leave persistent trails found that speed and brightness don’t matter as much as atmospheric chemistry.
- Space
Scientists are getting serious about UFOs. Here’s why
UFOs have been rebranded as UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena). Probably not aliens, they might impact national security and aircraft safety.
- Space
Moonquakes are much more common than thought, Apollo data suggest
The discovery of 22,000 previously unseen moonquakes, plus a new idea of what causes them, could help us better prepare for trips there.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s Perseverance rover finds its first possible hint of ancient life on Mars
The NASA Mars rover examined a rock containing organic compounds and “leopard spots” that, on Earth, are associated with microbial life.
- Astronomy
The North Star is much heavier than previously thought
Polaris is about five times as massive as the sun, new observations reveal. That’s around 50 percent heavier than what an earlier study found.
- Space
A planet needs to start with a lot of water to become like Earth
Rocky planets around fiery stars could hide their water for later use, but it takes 3 to 8 times the amount in our world’s oceans to end up Earthlike.
- Planetary Science
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot may be less than 200 years old
An analysis of images spanning hundreds of years suggests a dark spot spied in the late 1600s and early 1700s is distinct from the Red Spot seen today.
