Quantum fluctuations can jiggle objects on the human scale
Study shows LIGO’s 40-kilogram mirrors can move in response to tiny quantum effects, revealing the “spooky popcorn of the universe.”
TESS mission discovers massive ice giant
Neptune-sized planet may be remnant core of a much larger planet.
Astronomers detect regular rhythm of radio waves, with origins unknown
Signal from 500 million light years away is the first periodic pattern of radio bursts detected.
Capturing stardust
Danielle Frostig, a physics graduate student, is developing an instrument to study how the heaviest elements in the universe are produced.
Citizen scientists spot closest young brown dwarf disk yet
Discovery made through the Disk Detective project could help the search for new planets.
Lincoln Laboratory decommissions Lincoln Experimental Satellite–9
After more than 44 years of providing satellite communications, the LES-9 workhorse retires from service with a record of groundbreaking technical achievement.
When baby planets melt
MIT scientists identify first magmas generated in solar system’s building blocks, unexpectedly answering questions about meteorites and formation of rocky planets.
To catch an interstellar visitor, use a solar-powered space slingshot
MIT research proposal for rendezvous missions with interstellar objects selected for NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program.
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.
Professor Emeritus Ulrich Becker, who made major contributions to particle physics, dies at 81
Longtime MIT physicist and mentor created instruments that advanced high-energy physics, including the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the J particle.
Origins of Earth’s magnetic field remain a mystery
The existence of a magnetic field beyond 3.5 billion years ago is still up for debate.
Titan’s missing river deltas and an Earthly climate connection
Samuel Birch, a new Heising-Simons Foundation 51 Pegasi b Fellow at MIT, will investigate the surfaces of outer solar system objects.
Five MIT payloads deployed on the International Space Station
A cohort of transdisciplinary researchers will study the effects of sustained microgravity.
Kazunori Akiyama receives 2020 Young Astronomer Award
Awards program annually recognizes three early-career scientists under 35 who have made outstanding contributions to astronomy.