Astrophysics

The "Automated Planet Finder" could make astronomers of us all

NASA's Kepler space telescope has identified a planet that is both similar in size to Earth and within the habitable zone of its sun

The Cherenkov Telescope Array will track high-energy photons to probe black holes, dark matter and relativity

The IceCube experiment has taken hits from three neutrinos carrying energies above the outlandishly high peta–electron volt range that suggest they may radiate from titanic explosions in the depths of space
 

                    Fatigue, that’s what. As a particularly frigid winter recedes across the north and east of the United States (we’ve become accustomed to milder weather in past years), the abuse suffered by asphalt roads is becoming apparent.

Excess gamma-ray light at the galactic center may indicate invisible dark matter particles
 

The stars in the nearby Segue 1 dwarf galaxy have fewer metals than any other galaxy known, suggesting the object is a relic from the baby universe
 

Gas from another galaxy is hitting our own, triggering the birth of bright new stars and adding fresh luster to the Milky Way

It’s not usually put like this, but the discovery of primordial gravitational waves two weeks ago has given us our first direct glimpse of a period before the big bang.

A decades-old paradox returns

The BICEP2 experiment’s potential discovery of spacetime ripples may provide support for the concept of many universes, but critics are unconvinced
 

The big bang findings strengthen the case for the multiverse and all but rule out a "cyclic universe"