Topic
Space, astronomy and planetary science
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3 Questions: The origin of the cosmos’ heaviest elements
Unique galaxy offers clues to the extreme conditions that yield the heavies of the periodic table.
March 21, 2016 -
Testimony: LIGO has “cracked open” a new window to the universe
MIT’s David Shoemaker testifies before Congress on the significance of LIGO.
February 26, 2016 -
Letter regarding the first direct detection of gravitational waves
February 11, 2016 -
Gravitational waves detected 100 years after Einstein’s prediction
LIGO opens a new window on the universe with the observation of gravitational waves from colliding black holes.
February 11, 2016 -
Scientists make first direct detection of gravitational waves
LIGO signal reveals first observation of two massive black holes colliding, proves Einstein right.
February 11, 2016 -
Q&A: Rainer Weiss on LIGO’s origins
MIT physicist developed the concept for LIGO as a teaching exercise.
February 11, 2016 -
Students’ project a contender for a hitchhike to the moon
AeroAstro team turns to MIT crowdsourcing to fund entry in NASA space launch competition.
February 5, 2016 -
Getting real — on Mars
Sydney Do, a PhD student in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, is adding authenticity to a virtual Mars experience.
January 26, 2016 -
Space: The here-and-now frontier
MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics launches a new generation of innovators.
January 19, 2016 -
Student-built instrument headed to asteroid and back
Created by MIT students, REXIS has been integrated onto NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
January 8, 2016 -
Most distant massive galaxy cluster identified
Formed in the first 4 billion years of the universe, cluster is 1,000 times more massive than the Milky Way.
January 7, 2016 -
3 Questions: Anna Frebel on searching for the oldest stars
New book details astronomers’ hunt for clues to the early universe.
December 3, 2015 -
New exoplanet in our neighborhood
Though likely uninhabitable, planet is rocky, Earth-sized, and near enough for study of its atmosphere.
November 11, 2015 -
Interplanetary architecture
Faculty and students grapple with 3-D printing a habitable structure on Mars.
October 15, 2015 -
Amanda Bosh promoted to senior lecturer
Astronomer and planetary scientist has been a steady source of inspiration for students and community members interested in observational astronomy.
September 25, 2015 -
Advanced LIGO set to begin science operations
The world's most sensitive gravitational-wave detector is scheduled to go online this week, after seven years of enhancement.
September 17, 2015 -
Advice to students in planetary science: “Start young!”
MIT astronomer Richard Binzel describes lengthy preparation for this year’s successful flyby of Pluto.
September 11, 2015 -
Pluto Revealed! An update from New Horizons
Professor Richard Binzel, NASA New Horizons science team co-PI, shares mission results on Sept. 9.
September 4, 2015 -
Celebrating 10 years of the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research at MIT
August 4, 2015 -
New Horizons data hint at underground ocean
Ice flows and water ice mountains spied by NASA spacecraft support the idea that an interior ocean may be driving geologic activity on Pluto.
July 29, 2015