Earth's Place in the Universe
- Space
Scientists Say: Comet
Comets are small solar system objects. When they pass close to their sun, their melting gases and water give them a tail.
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Scientists consider how to visit the closest exoplanet
Even at only a little more than four light-years away, a trip to our closest exo-world could take some tens of thousands of years — unless we’re willing to settle for virtual visits.
- Space
Women in STEM reach for the stars
What does science look like? These astronomers, astrophysicists and planet hunters are out of this world.
- 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
Some white dwarf stars point to possible dark matter
Certain white-hot stars are cooling too fast for scientists to explain — unless they consider the presence of “axions.” These never-seen, but suspected particles could be shuttling away the extra energy from these cooling dwarf stars.
- 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.
- Chemistry
Oxygen-rich air emerged super early, new data show
Scientists had thought animals were slow to emerge because they would have needed oxygen-rich air to breathe. A new study finds that plentiful oxygen may have developed early. So animals may have been late on the scene for another reason.
- 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.
- Earth
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.
- Planets
By Jove! Juno-cam sends back first postcard
After a long and quiet trek through space, the Juno spacecraft showed it weathered the trip fine and is ready to get on with its business: probing what makes Jupiter tick.
