Friday, 25 May, 2012

New pix from Mars show sand dunes on the move. Mars has been dry for 1.5 billion years; could massive erosion be due to wind? Yes, says a new report that tracked dunes with precise new images. Surprise: dunes move as fast on Mars as on Earth!

Neutrinos are odd: Extremely difficult to see, they travel through mass with scarcely a trace. A 1-billion ton detector in South Pole ice is now counting neutrinos, intent on understanding their origin and role in the universe, and even spotting echoes of the Big Bang.

With space shuttles in museums, what is the near-term American plan to return to space? Can other countries or private companies fill the gap?

A new report on the ancient universe shows that most galaxies – even all of them – had a black hole at the center, much like modern galaxies. We can understand why a black hole would need to be surrounded by millions of stars, but why should galaxies require black holes?

Experiment finds Earth “dragging” spacetime, as Einstein predicted. Einstein knew his physics. Bending light, gravity lenses, shifting spacetime, spinning neutron stars: he called them all.

Titanic explosion shows one of the biggest bangs since the Biggest Bang, spreads useful elements through the universe. Finally revealed: anti-matter is working for you!

A planet newly found in the southern sky is perilously close to its star, orbiting in less than 1 Earth day. Within 10 years, this planet may force a new understanding of star-guts.

400 years ago, Galileo discovered the moons of Jupiter. We discover water from 11 billion years ago, volcanoes at Titan, a moon of Saturn, and good reasons to shun light pollution.

The Long Goodbye: 30 years after blast-off, two Voyager spaceships have reached the edge of the solar system. Meet the missions that revolutionized the study of planets and moons.

It’s a boom time for studying Mars, and the perfect time for the be-all, end-all summer vacation. Ride a robot rover. Dune-buggy an unearthly dune field. Even meet-and-greet a real live Martian! All aboard for Mars!