Topic
Space, astronomy and planetary science
-
Dead X-ray satellite reveals “quiet” center of massive galaxy cluster
Scientists find gas at center of Perseus cluster travels much more slowly than expected.
July 6, 2016 -
Klaus Biemann, professor emeritus of chemistry, dies at 89
Regarded as the father of organic mass spectrometry, longtime MIT professor solved many problems in protein structure.
June 9, 2016 -
Scientists observe supermassive black hole feeding on cold gas
Findings suggest two dining styles for black holes.
June 8, 2016 -
A method to image black holes
New algorithm could stitch together astronomical measurements made across the globe.
June 6, 2016 -
Rainer Weiss wins Kavli Prize in Astrophysics
LIGO inventor shares award for direct detection of gravitational waves.
June 2, 2016 -
Rainer Weiss awarded the Shaw Prize in Astronomy
Physics professor emeritus shares prize with Caltech's Kip Thorne and Ronald Drever for designing the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory.
June 1, 2016 -
LIGO researchers awarded Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
Team that detected gravitational waves to share $3 million prize.
May 4, 2016 -
First temperature map of a “super-Earth” reveals lava world
Exoplanet lacks atmosphere, is covered in rivers of magma.
March 30, 2016 -
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