Space & PhysicsMay 15, 2019
From the Lunar Far Side, China’s Rover Reveals the Moon’s Hidden Depths
The Chang’e-4 mission appears to have found material excavated from a frozen magma ocean far below the lunar surface
Stories by Jonathan O'Callaghan
Jonathan O’Callaghan is an award-winning freelance space journalist from the U.K., currently based in Bangkok, covering astronomy, astrophysics, commercial spaceflight and space exploration. His work regularly appears in publications including Scientific American, The New York Times, New Scientist and many more. Follow him on Bluesky.
Space & PhysicsMay 13, 2019
SpaceX’s Starlink Could Cause Cascades of Space Junk
Plans for thousands of new communications satellites would revolutionize global telecommunications but also raise risks of disaster in Earth orbit
Space & PhysicsMay 3, 2019
An Exomoon Eludes Astronomers—for Now
Researchers may have already glimpsed the first-known exomoon—a satellite of a planet orbiting another star; but confirmation of that potential discovery could be many years away
Space & PhysicsApril 4, 2019
A Heavy-Metal Planet Orbiting a Dead Star May Foretell Our World's End
The iron core of what was once a world has been found around a white dwarf star, shedding light on the final days of planetary systems—including our own
The SciencesMarch 13, 2019
Would New Physics Colliders Make Big Discoveries or Wander a Particle Desert?
Around the globe, imminent decisions on proposed next-generation experiments are set to shape particle physics for decades to come
The SciencesMarch 11, 2019
Sound by the Pound: Surprising Discovery Hints Sonic Waves Carry Mass
Some sounds might possess a tiny but measurable amount of negative gravitational mass
Space & PhysicsFebruary 22, 2019
In Search of Life’s Origins, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 Spacecraft Lands on an Asteroid
The mission to Asteroid Ryugu could return samples of the space rock to Earth in 2020
Space & PhysicsFebruary 12, 2019
Astronomers Traverse the Globe to Shadow “Lucky Stars”
A surge in occultation science is allowing astronomers to study the sun’s asteroids, planets and moons like never before
AstronomyDecember 10, 2018
Voyager 2 Spacecraft Enters Interstellar Space
After a journey of more than four decades, Voyager 2 has passed beyond the sun’s influence
Space & PhysicsDecember 7, 2018
China Launches First-Ever Mission to the Moon’s Farside
In late December or early January the Chang’e 4 spacecraft will touch down at a site near the lunar south pole within the solar system’s largest-known impact crater
Quantum PhysicsOctober 29, 2018
“Schrödinger’s Bacterium” Could Be a Quantum Biology Milestone
A recent experiment may have placed living organisms in a state of quantum entanglement
Space & PhysicsOctober 1, 2018
Can We Find the Home of Our First Interstellar Visitor?
The most detailed study yet identifies four candidates for ‘Oumuamua’s cosmic birthplace