Space & Physics
Mysterious Faded Star Betelgeuse Has Started to Brighten Again
“Orion’s shoulder” had reached unprecedented dimness in mid-February, leaving astronomers befuddled
Stories by Davide Castelvecchi
Engineering
How Quickly Can Iran Make a Nuclear Bomb?
With an international deal in serious jeopardy, Iran is not racing to build nuclear weapons—but its capabilities are growing
Engineering
Watch Out for These Science Events in 2020
A Mars invasion, a climate meeting and human–animal hybrids are set to shape the research agenda
Space & Physics
Japan Will Build the World’s Largest Neutrino Detector
Cabinet greenlights $600-million Hyper-Kamiokande experiment, which scientists hope will bring revolutionary discoveries
Space & Physics
How Big Is the Proton? Particle-Size Puzzle Leaps Closer to Resolution
Precise measurement affirms that the particle’s radius is smaller than physicists once thought
Space & Physics
The Quest to Unlock the Secrets of the Baby Universe
Radio astronomers look to hydrogen for insights into the universe’s first billion years
Black Holes
Giant “Bubbles” Spotted around the Milky Way’s Black Hole
First major result from South Africa’s pioneering MeerKAT radio telescope reveals remnants of energetic explosions at the galaxy’s center
Space & Physics
New Space Telescope Will Map the Universe in High-Energy X-rays
A German-Russian mission called SRG will detect millions of supermassive black holes, many new to science, and hundreds of thousands of stars
Space & Physics
Gravitational Waves Hint at a Black Hole Eating a Neutron Star
LIGO and Virgo observatories have spotted ripples from what could be the first-ever detection of this long-sought event
Space & Physics
Japanese Space Probe Drops Explosive on Asteroid Ryugu
Hayabusa2 released the projectile to make a crater on the asteroid's surface
Space & Physics
Gravitational-Wave Hunt Restarts—with a Quantum Boost
Detailed data on space-time ripples are set to pour in from LIGO and Virgo’s upgraded detectors
The Sciences
Soap-Bubble Pioneer Is First Woman to Win Prestigious Math Prize
Abel-prize winner Karen Keskulla Uhlenbeck built bridges between analysis, geometry and physics
Computing
Forget Everything You Know about 3-D Printing—the "Replicator" Is Here
Rather than building objects layer by layer, the printer creates whole structures by projecting light into a resin that solidifies
Space & Physics
Physicists Lay Out Plans for a New Supercollider
The proposed facility would become the most powerful—and most expensive—collider ever built
Space & Physics
Holy Cow! Astronomers Agog at Mysterious New Supernova
An event known as "Cow" that has rocked astronomy since June likely offers a close look at the birth of a neutron star or black hole
Space & Physics
Europe Shows First Cards in €1-billion Quantum Bet
One of the most ambitious EU ‘Flagship’ schemes yet has picked 20 projects, aiming to turn weird physics into useful products
Computing
Here’s What the Quantum Internet Has in Store
Physicists say this futuristic, super-secure network could be useful long before it reaches technological maturity
Space & Physics
All Systems Go for Second-Ever Mission to Enter Mercury's Orbit
European and Japanese double probe, BepiColombo, will take seven years to reach the solar system’s innermost planet
Policy
CERN Suspends Italian Physicist Over Remarks Seen as Sexist
The University of Pisa and the European Research Council also said that they are opening investigations into Alessandro Strumia’s conduct
Space & Physics
Reimagining of Schrödinger's Cat Breaks Quantum Mechanics—and Stumps Physicists
In a multi-“cat” experiment the textbook interpretation of quantum theory seems to lead to contradictory pictures of reality, physicists claim
