Space Articles

‘Ruler’ to measure space

By Stephen Ornes / April 16, 2012
Scientists study the energetic echoes of the Big Bang to learn more about the size and shape of the universe. Credit: E.M. Huff; SDSS-III; South Pole Telescope. Graphic by Zosia Rostomian.

Study of energy waves formed during the Big Bang supports Einstein’s prediction that a strange, invisible force is pushing the universe apart

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Worlds beyond the solar system

By Stephen Ornes / February 22, 2012
The discovery of exoplanets — worlds beyond our solar system — is heating up, and scientists are racing to find the first Second Earth. Credit: ESA/C. Carreau

Planet hunters have found hundreds of exoplanets, but none just like Earth

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Surprise ions

By Stephen Ornes / February 21, 2012
clusterinspace

A high-flying satellite reveals a crowd of charged particles in the magnetosphere

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Moon twinkles

By Stephen Ornes / February 9, 2012
When softball-sized meteorites smash into the moon, they create bright flashes of light, researchers recently discovered. The origin of the light flashes has perplexed scientists for years. Credit: NASA

Flashes of light on the moon’s surface come from cooling, superhot liquid

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Mapping the invisible

By Stephen Ornes / February 1, 2012
dark matter

Astronomers don’t know what dark matter is, but they have mapped where it’s hiding

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Distant ‘Goldilocks’ world

By Stephen Ornes / December 21, 2011
Kepler-22b

Planet-hunters find a just-right world outside the solar system

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Europa’s watery underworld

By Stephen Ornes / December 7, 2011
europa

Jupiter’s smooth, icy moon may hide giant lakes beneath the surface

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A shock to the solar system

By Stephen Ornes / November 30, 2011
After a massive star explodes, it sends out a powerful wave of energy and matter. In 2002, the Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of a supernova shock wave moving from left to right through space. Credit: Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), W. Blair (JHU) and D. Malin (David Malin Images), NASA

Scientists suspect a nearby exploding star ignited the formation of the sun and planets

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Ripples in one of Saturn’s rings

By Stephen Ornes / October 26, 2011
Saturn's Rings

Scientists study pattern created by 600-year-old comet crash

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Double sunsets on a distant world

By Stephen Ornes / October 5, 2011
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Astronomers discover for the first time a planet circling two stars

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