Space
- Planets
New Horizons data reveal first global maps of Pluto and Charon
Astronomers have made new charts of Pluto and its moon Charon. They show high peaks, deep depressions and strange ridges.
- Earth
An ancient cold snap causes heated debate
Despite criticism from fellow scientists, some researchers won’t let go of the idea that a comet caused a prehistoric cold snap.
- Physics
Scientists traced an incoming neutrino back to its galactic birthplace
The high-energy particle was born in a blazar 4 billion light-years away, scientists now report.
- Space
The Parker Solar Probe aims to touch the sun
The Parker Solar Probe is about to make a historic voyage to the sun.
- Microbes
Finding living Martians just got a bit more believable
What might a real Martian look like? Scientists have a better idea after identifying a buried liquid lake on the Red Planet.
- Physics
Mars appears to have a lake of liquid water
A 15-year-old Mars orbiter has spotted signs of a salty lake beneath the Red Planet’s southern polar ice sheets.
- Planets
Thick atmosphere boosts how fast Venus spins
The thick atmosphere on Venus can change by a few minutes every day how long it takes the planet to rotate.
- Physics
An active sun is a somewhat smaller sun
The sun grows and contracts a little over cycles lasting around 11 years, new data show. Changes in the strength of its magnetic fields may help explain this.
- Planets
Pluto’s heart has dunes of methane ice
Pluto’s heart-shaped plains are striped with sand dunes. The sand is made of methane ice.
- Space
Scientists Say: Nebula
Nebulae are huge dust clouds in space. Some come from dying stars. Others are places where stars are born.
- Chemistry
Diamonds and more suggest unusual origins for asteroids
Inside a meteorite, scientists found sulfur and iron wrapped in tiny diamonds. Those gems hint the rock formed inside a long-lost planet.
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