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.
Mars 2020: The search for ancient life is on
Researchers in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences will help direct Mars 2020 rover sample acquisition.
How to deflect an asteroid
MIT engineers devise a decision map to identify the best mission type to deflect an incoming asteroid.
Study reveals details of “golf ball asteroid”
A tilted orbit may explain the asteroid Pallas’ highly cratered surface.
Three from MIT graduate from NASA astronaut training
Chari, Hoburg, and Moghbeli, all with ties to the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, among the first class to graduate under agency’s Artemis program.
Making physics and astronomy more welcoming to African-American students
Report co-chaired by MIT professor cites need for “sweeping changes” in academic culture.
Scientists pin down timing of lunar dynamo’s demise
Findings suggest the moon’s magnetic field was produced by the fallout of a crystallizing iron core.