Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
Seven Earth-sized planets entered the spotlight this year
The discovery of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a single cool star fuels a debate over what counts as good news in the search for life outside the solar system.
- Astronomy
New Horizons’ next target might have a moon
New Horizons’ next target, Kuiper Belt object MU69, may have a small moon.
- Planetary Science
Jupiter’s massive Great Red Spot is at least 350 kilometers deep
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has measured the depth of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot for the first time.
- Earth
Watching this newborn island erode could tell us a lot about Mars
The birth and death of a young volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean may shed light on the origins of volcanoes in Mars’ wetter past.
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s rings mess with the gas giant’s atmosphere
Data from Cassini’s shallow dives into Saturn’s ionosphere show that this charged layer in the atmosphere interacts with the planet’s rings.
- Astronomy
Most complete map of Titan reveals connected seas and cookie-cutter lakes
The latest map of Titan, based on all the data from the Cassini spacecraft, displays new details about the moon’s lakes and seas.
- Astronomy
The most distant quasar ever spotted hails from the universe’s infancy
The new record-holder for faraway quasars comes from a period of rapid change in the universe.
- Astronomy
We still don’t know where the first interstellar asteroid came from
Astronomers are tracking stars to see if one of them launched the first interstellar asteroid at Earth.
- Physics
Collision illuminates the mysterious makeup of neutron stars
Scientists size up neutron stars using gravitational waves and light.
- Astronomy
Here’s what really happened to Hanny’s Voorwerp
Glowing clouds of gas known as Hanny’s Voorwerp offer a way to study galaxies and black holes in the distant past.
- Astronomy
Here is Cassini’s last broad look at the Saturn system
Two days before plunging into Saturn, Cassini took a mosaic image of the gas giant, its rings and its moons.
- Astronomy
The Arecibo Observatory will remain open, NSF says
The iconic Arecibo radio telescope has survived Hurricane Maria and dodged deep funding cuts.
