Technology
Israeli Spacecraft Fails to Make First Private Lunar Landing
Private organization SpaceIL’s Beresheet lander crashes down on the moon following engine and communications problems
Stories by Lee Billings
Black Holes
At Last, a Black Hole’s Image Revealed
The Event Horizon Telescope captures one of the universe’s most mysterious objects
Space & Physics
Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientific Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says
In conversation, the 2019 Templeton Prize winner does not pull punches on the limits of science, the value of humility and the irrationality of nonbelief
Space & Physics
‘Oumuamua, Our First Interstellar Visitor, May Have Been a Comet After All
New research flags jets of water vapor—rather than alien technology—as the source of the mysterious object’s anomalous motions
Space & Physics
Lunar De-Light! How to View 2019’s Sole Total Eclipse of the Moon
On January 20, stargazers across the Americas will have stunning views of a historic celestial event
Space Exploration
Finding Alien Life May Require Giant Telescopes Built in Orbit
Scientific American reports on new efforts from NASA and other federal agencies seeking to service and assemble large structures—such as life-finding telescopes—in space...
Space & Physics
A Frozen Super-Earth May Orbit Barnard’s Star
At just six light years away, the candidate planet would be the second-closest world known beyond our solar system—and a prime target for future studies
Space & Physics
The Milky Way’s Monster, Unveiled
Astronomers have revealed never before seen features of our galaxy’s mysterious supermassive black hole
Space & Physics
Clara Is a Story of Exoplanets, Existential Longing—and Real Science
A conversation with the director and a science advisor behind a new film on the search for extraterrestrial life
Space & Physics
Astronomers Tiptoe Closer to Confirming First Exomoon
Signals seen by the Hubble Space Telescope suggest a Neptune-size moon may orbit a gas-giant planet around a star some 8,000 light-years from Earth
Space & Physics
"Optical Tweezers" and Tools Used for Laser Eye Surgery Snag Physics Nobel
The award’s recipients include the first female physics laureate in 55 years
Space & Physics
Pulsar Discoverer Jocelyn Bell Burnell Wins $3-Million Breakthrough Prize
The award recognizes not only the astrophysicist’s transformative discovery, but also her subsequent work to promote equality and diversity in science
Quantum Physics
String Theory May Create Far Fewer Universes Than Thought
Some physicists claim that the popular landscape of universes in string theory may not exist
Space & Physics
Deep within Mars, Liquid Water Offers Hope for Life
Radar observations have revealed what appears to be a buried lake on Mars, the first ever stable reservoir of liquid water found on the planet
Space & Physics
Giant Black Hole Swallows a Star and Belches Out a Superfast Particle Jet
A decade-long international effort to track a star’s death by black hole could lift the veil on galaxy formation in the early universe
Climate Change
Alien Anthropocene: How Would Other Worlds Battle Climate Change?
The problem would likely plague every technological civilization throughout the universe, says astrophysicist Adam Frank
Space & Physics
Astronomers Spot Potential "Interstellar" Asteroid Orbiting Backward around the Sun
The three-kilometer-wide object is near Jupiter; future spacecraft could visit if its status is confirmed
Space & Physics
Cosmic Conflict: Diverging Data on Universe’s Expansion Polarizes Scientists
A disagreement between two canonical measures of intergalactic distances could signal a renaissance in physics—or deep flaws in our studies of cosmic evolution
Space & Physics
Mars Lander Will Peer Inside the Red Planet
The InSight Mission will look at Mars's seismic activity and latent heat to find out more about how planets get made--and how humans might live there.
The Milky Way, Revealed as Never Before
As a major new catalogue of our galaxy's stars from the Gaia space mission reverberates through the scientific community, astronomers are rushing to make revolutionary discoveries
