Astronomers detect ancient lonely quasars with murky origins
The quasars appear to have few cosmic neighbors, raising questions about how they first emerged more than 13 billion years ago.
Q&A: How the Europa Clipper will set cameras on a distant icy moon
MIT Research Scientist Jason Soderblom describes how the NASA mission will study the geology and composition of the surface of Jupiter’s water-rich moon and assess its astrobiological potential.
An interstellar instrument takes a final bow
The Plasma Science Experiment aboard NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft turns off after 47 years and 15 billion miles.
Mars’ missing atmosphere could be hiding in plain sight
A new study shows Mars’ early thick atmosphere could be locked up in the planet’s clay surface.
Bridging the heavens and Earth
EAPS PhD student Jared Bryan found a way to use his research on earthquakes to help understand exoplanet migration.
A wobble from Mars could be sign of dark matter, MIT study finds
Watching for changes in the Red Planet’s orbit over time could be new way to detect passing dark matter.
Study: Early dark energy could resolve cosmology’s two biggest puzzles
In the universe’s first billion years, this brief and mysterious force could have produced more bright galaxies than theory predicts.
3 Questions: Evidence for planetary formation through gravitational instability
Assistant Professor Richard Teague describes how movement of unstable gas in a protoplanetary disk lends credibility to a secondary theory of planetary formation.
When the lights turned on in the universe
By studying ancient, supermassive black holes called quasars, Dominika Ďurovčíková is illuminating an early moment when galaxies could first be observed.
Study: Rocks from Mars’ Jezero Crater, which likely predate life on Earth, contain signs of water
The presence of organic matter is inconclusive, but the rocks could be scientists’ best chance at finding remnants of ancient Martian life.
Scientists pin down the origins of the moon’s tenuous atmosphere
The barely-there lunar atmosphere is likely the product of meteorite impacts over billions of years, a new study finds.
Roadmap details how to improve exoplanet exploration using the JWST
Scientists created the step-by-step guide to unlock the potential of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope for identifying habitable worlds in the universe.
Astronomers spot a highly “eccentric” planet on its way to becoming a hot Jupiter
The planet’s wild orbit offers clues to how such large, hot planets take shape.
MIT ARCLab announces winners of inaugural Prize for AI Innovation in Space
The challenge asked teams to develop AI algorithms to track and predict satellites’ patterns of life in orbit using passively collected data