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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Astronomy

    Spaceships could use blinking dead stars to chart their way

    Timing signals from five pulsars allowed scientists to pinpoint an experiment’s place in space.

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  2. Astronomy

    Trio of dead stars upholds a key part of Einstein’s theory of gravity

    A cosmic test fails to topple the strong equivalence principle.

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  3. Astronomy

    Pollution is endangering the future of astronomy

    Astronomers discuss multiple threats from pollution that will make it harder to observe the night sky.

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  4. Astronomy

    See a 360-degree visualization of the center of the Milky Way

    A 360-degree simulation, made with data from several telescopes, shows the center of the Milky Way as seen from the galaxy’s supermassive black hole.

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  5. Planetary Science

    Shallow ice sheets discovered on Mars could aid future astronauts

    Exposed water ice on steep Martian slopes suggest there’s a lot within a meter or two of the surface.

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  6. Planetary Science

    Hubble telescope ramps up search for Europa’s watery plumes

    Astronomers are redoubling their efforts to confirm that the icy moon Europa spews water from its south pole.

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  7. Astronomy

    Fast radio bursts may be from a neutron star orbiting a black hole

    A repeating fast radio burst has twisted waves, suggesting its home has an unusually strong magnetic field.

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  8. Life

    Readers wrangle with definition of ‘species’

    Readers asked about the definition of "species," a new atomic clock and how a neutron star collision produces heavy elements.

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  9. Science & Society

    We’ll be watching the skies, plus a lot more, this year

    Acting Editor in Chief Elizabeth Quill predicts 2018 could be a year full of important space discoveries.

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  10. Planetary Science

    How to keep humans from ruining the search for life on Mars

    As the race to put humans on Mars heats up, researchers worry they are running out of time to find life on the Red planet.

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  11. Astronomy

    White dwarf’s inner makeup is mapped for the first time

    The first map of the internal composition of a white dwarf star shows these stellar corpses contain more oxygen than expected, challenging stellar evolution theories.

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  12. Planetary Science

    NASA is headed to Earth’s outermost edge

    NASA’s upcoming GOLD mission will study the charged border between Earth and space.

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