Topic
Space, astronomy and planetary science
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Dense stellar clusters may foster black hole megamergers
Black holes in these environments could combine repeatedly to form objects bigger than anything a single star could produce.
April 10, 2018 -
Brewing up Earth’s earliest life
Large concentrations of sulfites and bisulfites in shallow lakes may have set the stage for Earth’s first biological molecules.
April 8, 2018 -
Celebrating 50 years of transatlantic geodetic radio science
Researchers mark a silver anniversary for a space geodesy technique pioneered at MIT.
April 5, 2018 -
Lessons in NASA leadership
Johnson Space Center Director Ellen Ochoa and AeroAstro Professor Dava Newman share experiences as leaders of the U.S. space program.
April 5, 2018 -
Computer searches telescope data for evidence of distant planets
Machine-learning system uses physics principles to augment data from NASA crowdsourcing project.
March 29, 2018 -
Scientists detect radio echoes of a black hole feeding on a star
Signals suggest black hole emits a jet of energy proportional to the stellar material it gobbles up.
March 18, 2018 -
Astronomers detect earliest evidence yet of hydrogen in the universe
Emitted just 180 million years after Big Bang, signal indicates universe was much colder than expected.
February 28, 2018 -
Modeling the universe
MIT's Mark Vogelsberger and an international astrophysics team have created a new model pointing to black holes’ role in galaxy formation.
January 31, 2018 -
Prototypes for the new space age
The Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative shares results and next steps from its first zero gravity research mission.
January 26, 2018 -
Solar eclipse caused bow waves in Earth's atmosphere
MIT Haystack Observatory researchers find that the moon's shadow created long-predicted ionospheric bow waves during the August eclipse.
January 19, 2018 -
Two from AeroAstro named to Aviation Week's “20 Twenties” for 2018
Grad students Alexa Aguilar and Arthur J. Brown receive honor that recognizes outstanding student academic performance, civic contributions, and research.
January 17, 2018 -
Citizen scientists discover five tightly packed exoplanets
The planetary system’s dense configuration gives clues to its formation
January 11, 2018 -
Drug manufacturing that’s out of this world
Continuous-flow chemistry device used for drug production could find use in long-duration space missions.
January 5, 2018 -
Scientists observe supermassive black hole in infant universe
Findings present a puzzle as to how such a huge object could have grown so quickly.
December 6, 2017 -
Study sheds light on turbulence in astrophysical plasmas
Theoretical analysis uncovers new mechanisms in plasma turbulence.
December 1, 2017 -
Monitoring activity in the geosynchronous belt
New ORS-5 SensorSat satellite developed at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory is fulfilling a critical need for situational awareness in space.
November 29, 2017 -
Scientists detect comets outside our solar system
Team of professional and citizen scientists identifies tails of comets streaking past a distant star.
October 25, 2017 -
MIT researchers discuss the new "multi-messenger" era of astrophysics research
Mavalvala, Evans, Frebel, Katsavounidis, and Vitale discuss the science behind LIGO's observations of a neutron star collision.
October 18, 2017 -
3Q: Scott Hughes on cosmic distances and the future of gravitational wave astronomy
Professor of physics describes our understanding of the expansion of the universe through “standard sirens.”
October 16, 2017 -
LIGO and Virgo make first detection of gravitational waves produced by colliding neutron stars
Discovery marks first cosmic event observed in both gravitational waves and light.
October 16, 2017