All Stories by Christopher Crockett
- Space
Galaxy count has just spiked
The universe may have hosted 2 trillion galaxies. That’s about 10 times as many as astronomers had thought were out there.
- Space
Smash hit? Comet mission comes to an end
Rosetta’s 12-year mission to a comet has come to a bittersweet end. The orbiter turned off its cameras, settled down on its rocky home and entered a deep and lasting sleep.
- Space
Lost lander spotted on comet’s surface
Scientists have spotted the missing comet lander. Philae landed in a shadow, which kept the sun from recharging its batteries.
- Space
Sun’s nearest stellar neighbor may have Earth-like planet
A planet roughly the size of Earth orbits within the “Goldilocks” zone of the Proxima Centauri. Only 4.2 light-years away, this star is the one closest to our sun.
- Planets
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is really, really hot
The Great Red Spot, a storm churning on Jupiter for at least 150 years, may be helping to keep the planet warm, a new study finds.
- Space
A new, nonexplosive source of black holes?
At least one black hole may have formed from the collapse of a cloud of gas, which is not the usual birthing scheme. This might even be how some of the earliest gargantuan black holes developed.
- Planets
New clues in search for Planet Nine
New details about Planet Nine, a hypothetical object on the edge of our solar system, might help scientists actually find it.
- Planets
That’s no moon: Earth’s tiny tagalong
A newly discovered asteroid appears to be orbiting Earth, like a new mini-moon. In fact, it’s really orbiting the sun.
- Space
Success! The Juno spacecraft is now orbiting Jupiter
After nearly five years, the probe has safely reached its target. Juno will spend 20 months in orbit around the planet so that scientists can probe the many mysteries of this gas giant.
- Planets
Juno’s knocking on Jupiter’s door
The Juno spacecraft will peer into Jupiter’s clouds and fly in close to its monstrous auroras.
- Physics
Gravity waves are seen again
Four months after scientists announced the first detection of gravity waves, another set of ripples in spacetime have emerged. The new ones come from the clash of mid-size black holes in the distant universe.
- Planets
Jupiter’s stormy weather runs deep
Jupiter is covered in swirling storms. A new 3-D map of the planet’s atmosphere shows those storms start far, far below the clouds.
