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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Astronomy

    ‘Oumuamua may be a comet, not an asteroid

    The solar system’s first known interstellar visitor doesn’t appear to be the asteroid that scientists thought it was.

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  2. Physics

    Einstein’s general relativity reigns supreme, even on a galactic scale

    Scientists have made the most precise test of Einstein’s theory of gravity at great distances.

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  3. Physics

    To combat an expanding universe, aliens could hoard stars

    An advanced alien civilization might combat the impact of dark energy by harvesting stars.

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  4. Astronomy

    On Jupiter, lightning flashes from storms swirling at the poles

    After almost 40 years, scientists have discovered that Jupiter has lightning that is similar to lightning on Earth — it just happens in a different place.

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  5. Planetary Science

    Venus’ thick atmosphere speeds up the planet’s spin

    Venus’ thick atmosphere can push on mountains on the surface, changing its rotation period by a few minutes every day.

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  6. Astronomy

    Magnetic fields may be propping up the Pillars of Creation

    Scientists made a map of the magnetic field within the Pillars of Creation, a star-forming area depicted in an iconic Hubble Space Telescope image.

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  7. Astronomy

    In 1968, scientists thought they were close to detecting gravity waves

    Despite an unverified discovery in 1968, spacetime ripples remained elusive for nearly 50 years.

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  8. Astronomy

    Swirling gases reveal baby planets in a young star’s disk

    A new technique pinpointed three planets forming around a young star about 330 light-years from Earth.

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  9. Planetary Science

    The Mars rover Opportunity is sleeping, not dead, NASA says

    Opportunity is hunkered down in a deep sleep on Mars to ride out what’s looking to be a long dark dust storm.

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  10. Astronomy

    Readers were curious about pendulum saws, laser tweezers and more

    Readers had questions about Bronze Age pendulum saws, dark matter, lazer tweezers and more.

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  11. Planetary Science

    Opportunity rover waits out a huge dust storm on Mars

    NASA’s Opportunity rover is in low-power mode to preserve battery life while a vast dust storm blankets part of the Red Planet.

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  12. Astronomy

    The sun shrinks a teensy bit when it’s feeling active

    The radius of the sun gets slightly smaller during periods of high solar activity, researchers say.

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