Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Planetary Science
How a vaporized Earth might have cooked up the moon
A high-speed collision turned the early Earth into a hot, gooey space doughnut, and the moon formed within this synestia, a new simulation suggests.
- Cosmology
Here’s when the universe’s first stars may have been born
The first stars lit the cosmos by 180 million years after the Big Bang, radio observations suggest.
- Astronomy
Watch an experimental space shield shred a speeding bullet
Engineers tested how well a prototype shield for spacecraft would stand up to space debris by shooting it with a solid aluminum pellet.
- Cosmology
Remembering Joe Polchinski, the modest physicist who conceived a multiverse
String theorists lament the death of Joe Polchinski, one of their field’s most esteemed and respected thinkers.
- Life
A rare rainstorm wakes undead microbes in Chile’s Atacama Desert
Microbial life in Chile’s Atacama Desert bursts into bloom when moisture is available.
- Planetary Science
Readers weigh in on human gene editing and more
Readers debated feeling morally obligated to edit their kid's genes and had questions about exoplanets.
- Astronomy
An amateur astronomer caught a supernova explosion on camera
An amateur astronomer has caught a supernova explosion on camera.
- Space
Americans would welcome alien life rather than fear it
Americans would probably take the discovery of extraterrestrial microbes pretty well.
- Astronomy
James Webb Space Telescope challenges artists to see in infrared
Astronomy artists face new challenges in translating James Webb’s invisible data into visuals.
- Planetary Science
What will it take to go to Venus?
Undeterred by funding woes, scientists are scraping together ideas to tackle heat, pressure and acidity challenges of landing on Venus.
- Astronomy
Readers ask about supernovas, dark energy and more
Readers had questions about a supernova that continuously erupts, the difference between dark energy and dark matter, and more.
- Astronomy
SpaceX just launched its biggest rocket for the first time
SpaceX just launched the Falcon Heavy — the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V — for the first time.
