Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
Nostalgic Voyager documentary relives first exploration of the solar system
A new TV documentary is a tender tribute to Voyagers 1 and 2, which launched 40 years ago and were the first spacecraft to visit the outer solar system.
- Planetary Science
What Curiosity has yet to tell us about Mars
Curiosity has revealed a lot about Mars in the last five years. But NASA’s rover still has work to do on the Red Planet.
- Astronomy
The solar system’s earliest asteroids may have all been massive
A team of astronomers says the original asteroids all came in one size: extra large.
- Science & Society
Your solar eclipse experience can help science
The Aug. 21 total solar eclipse offers a rare opportunity for crowdsourced data collection on a spectacular celestial phenomenon.
- Planetary Science
Evidence mounts for an ocean on early Venus
Not long after its birth, Venus may have rocked a water ocean, new simulations suggest.
- Space
Potential ingredient for alien life found on Titan
The atmosphere and oceans of Saturn’s moon Titan contain vinyl cyanide, a compound predicted to form cell-like bubbles.
- Astronomy
Astronomers may have found an exomoon, and Hubble is going to check
A distant object may be the first exomoon detected.
- Astronomy
Half of the Milky Way comes from other galaxies
A galaxy may swipe up to half of its atoms from other galaxies, making the Milky Way mostly extragalactic stuff, new simulations suggest.
- Astronomy
Balloons will broadcast the 2017 solar eclipse live from on high
Astrophysicist Angela Des Jardins is coordinating the first-ever livestream of a solar eclipse filmed from balloons.
- Planetary Science
More hints of Martian hot springs may hold promise for Mars 2020 mission
An analysis of ridges in a crater of Margaritifer Terra on Mars offers evidence of ancient hot springs and also hints at the potential for finding signs of life.
- Astronomy
‘Making Contact’ chronicles an astronomer’s struggle to find E.T.
For decades, astronomer Jill Tarter led the hunt for extraterrestrial intelligence, as detailed in a new biography.
- Astronomy
Fewer big rogue planets roam the galaxy, recount shows
Jupiter-mass planets without parent solar systems are less common than astronomers thought, a new study suggests.
