Study: Life might survive, and thrive, in a hydrogen world
When searching for extraterrestrial life, astronomers may want to look at planets with hydrogen-rich atmospheres.
Event Horizon Telescope observes a black hole-powered jet
MIT Haystack Observatory researchers coauthor a paper announcing the observation of a surprising structure in a distant quasar, 3C 279.
The billion-year belch
Michael Calzadilla and colleagues describe a violent black hole outburst that provides new insight into galaxy cluster evolution.
A sign that aliens could stink
A molecule that’s known for its smelly and poisonous nature on Earth may be a sure-fire sign of extraterrestrial life.
Is there dark matter at the center of the Milky Way?
A new analysis puts dark matter back in the game as a possible source of energy excess at the galactic center.
New instrument extends LIGO’s reach
Technology “squeezes” out quantum noise so more gravitational wave signals can be detected.
Phoenix cluster is cooling faster than expected
With increasingly advanced data, Michael McDonald and colleagues study a galaxy cluster bursting with new stars.
Putting the “bang” in the Big Bang
Physicists simulate critical “reheating” period that kickstarted the Big Bang in the universe’s first fractions of a second.
Astronomers use giant galaxy cluster as X-ray magnifying lens
New lens technique spots tiny dwarf galaxy in the first, super-energetic stages of star formation.
This is how a “fuzzy” universe may have looked
Scientists simulate early galaxy formation in a universe of dark matter that is ultralight, or “fuzzy,” rather than cold or warm.
Computing and the search for new planets
MIT planetary scientists partner with computer scientists to find exoplanets.
3Q: Scientists shave estimate of neutrino’s mass in half
Joseph Formaggio explains the discovery that the ghostly particle must be no more than 1 electronvolt, half as massive as previously thought.
TESS team is awarded NASA's Silver Achievement Medal
The honor recognizes the "stellar achievement" of the people behind the exoplanet-seeking satellite.
Scientists detect tones in the ringing of a newborn black hole for the first time
Results support Einstein’s theory and the idea that black holes have no “hair.”
Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics awarded to Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration for black hole observation
Nearly 30 MIT-affiliated researchers will share in the prize, while David Jay Julius ’77 wins Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences; assistant professor of physics Max Metlitski shares New Horizons prize with Xie Chen PhD ’12 and Michael Levin PhD ’06.