Earth's Place in the Universe
- Planets
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.
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Teen makes sure bacteria stay hands-off
Germs are everywhere. One teen has designed a way to keep them from sticking to a surgeon’s gloves.
- 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.
- Space
Scientists Say: Wormhole
Scientists have predicted the presence of tunnels in space that connect two points in space and time. They are named for the shape they resemble.
- Climate
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.
- Physics
Cool Jobs: Solar sleuthing
No star is closer than the sun, and yet there’s much science still don’t know about how it actually works. These scientists are helping solve the mysteries.
- Physics
Spinning black holes may ‘sing’ during a collision
The massive black hole in the movie Interstellar would create a unique gravity-wave signal when gobbling a smaller partner.
- Climate
This planet’s lightning storms are like nothing on Earth
Radio waves from a faraway exoplanet could signal intense lightning storms there.
- Chemistry
Key sugar for life on Earth could have formed in space
Ribose, a sugar in RNA, may have formed in space and then rained down on a young Earth, a new study suggests.
- Chemistry
Dwarf galaxy spawned heavy elements
A study of nine stars in the dwarf galaxy Reticulum II found heavy elements. They had been produced after a violent stellar event sparked a chemical chain reaction.
- Space
Hurricane at this galaxy’s center is wicked fast
The gale-force winds around one quasar whip by at almost 200 million kilometers per hour. That’s 625,000 times faster than the strongest hurricanes on Earth.
- Earth
Cool Jobs: Mapping the unknown
Scientists find different ways of exploring places humans will never visit — and drawing maps to help us better understand such mysterious places.
