Astronomers discover an Earth-sized “pi planet” with a 3.14-day orbit
The rocky world, with its baking-hot surface, is likely not habitable.
Kavli Institute
Astronomers may have found a signature of life on Venus
Evidence indicates phosphine, a gas associated with living organisms, is present in the habitable region of Venus’ atmosphere.
School of Science appoints 12 faculty members to named professorships
Those selected for these positions receive additional support to pursue their research and develop their careers.
A “bang” in LIGO and Virgo detectors signals most massive gravitational-wave source yet
A binary black hole merger likely produced gravitational waves equal to the energy of eight suns.
An unexpected origin story for a lopsided black hole merger
Researchers suggest a novel process to explain the collision of a large black hole and a much smaller one.
National Science Foundation announces MIT-led Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions
IAIFI will advance physics knowledge — from the smallest building blocks of nature to the largest structures in the universe — and galvanize AI research innovation.
Are we still listening to space?
Despite the planet’s seeming standstill, graduate students continue to use LIGO to identify astrophysical events.
Nergis Mavalvala named School of Science dean
Astrophysicist and associate head of the physics department will succeed Michael Sipser.
Lava oceans may not explain the brightness of some hot super-Earths
By making their own lava and cooled glass, scientists find these materials likely aren’t responsible for the unexpected glow of some exoplanets.
In a first, astronomers watch a black hole’s corona disappear, then reappear
A colliding star may have triggered the drastic transformation.
Nine MIT School of Science professors receive tenure for 2020
Professors earn tenure in the departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics.
Portable system boosts laser precision, at room temperature
“Light squeezer” reduces quantum noise in lasers, could enhance quantum computing and gravitational-wave detection.
Quantum fluctuations can jiggle objects on the human scale
Study shows LIGO’s 40-kilogram mirrors can move in response to tiny quantum effects, revealing the “spooky popcorn of the universe.”
TESS mission discovers massive ice giant
Neptune-sized planet may be remnant core of a much larger planet.
Astronomers detect regular rhythm of radio waves, with origins unknown
Signal from 500 million light years away is the first periodic pattern of radio bursts detected.