An Infinite solar system
Professor Richard Binzel’s new Infinite Corridor installation models the solar system at scale.
E.T., we’re home
Existing laser technology could be fashioned into Earth’s “porch light” to attract alien astronomers, study finds.
Addressing the possibility of life on Mars
Mars expert John Grotzinger tells the story of exploration and the search for ancient life on the red planet at the annual Carlson Lecture.
Nuno Loureiro: Probing the world of plasmas
Physicist explores the behavior of the universe’s most abundant form of matter.
Software finds the best way to stick a Mars landing
Program users can tinker with landing and path planning scenarios to identify optimal landing sites for Mars rovers.
Professor Emeritus Bernard Burke, astrophysics pioneer, dies at 90
Former Astrophysics Division chair discovered radio noise from Jupiter and the first Einstein Ring, and developed tools to map the universe.
Book explores milestones of astronomical discovery
In “Dispatches from Planet 3,” Marcia Bartusiak illuminates overlooked breakthroughs and the people who made them.
Investigating Earth’s earliest life
Graduate student Kelsey Moore uses genetic and fossil evidence to study the first stages of evolution on our planet.
Sprawling galaxy cluster found hiding in plain sight
Bright light from black hole in a feeding frenzy had been obscuring surrounding galaxies.
Tiny ASTERIA satellite achieves a first for CubeSats
Measurement of an exoplanet transit demonstrates proof of concept that small spacecraft can perform high-precision photometry.
3Q: A bold mission to touch the sun
MIT’s John Belcher discusses the launch of the Parker Solar Probe, which will fly directly into the sun’s atmosphere.
Rebecca Masterson appointed AeroAstro principal research scientist
Mechanical engineer and instrument scientist on NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission is the first female principal research scientist in the department's history.
Taylor Perron named EAPS associate department head
Expert in landscape evolution will build upon the work of outgoing associate department head Tim Grove, supporting the EAPS education mission.
X-ray data may be first evidence of a star devouring a planet
New data may explain star’s mysterious dimming.
3Q: Janet Conrad on the first detection of a neutrino’s cosmic source
The “ghostly particle” is confirmed to have originated from a blazar, nearly 4 billion light years from Earth.