Researchers have discovered a rocky, Earth-sized exoplanet that is close enough for astronomers to study its atmosphere, according to the Associated Press. “While the scientists say the planet is too hot for life, it's still much cooler than the rocky fireballs known to orbit stars beyond our solar system.”
Prof. Matthew Evans speaks with New Scientist reporter Joshua Sokol about the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Evans relates that while every generation has told their students that they will detect gravitational waves, “I tell my grad students this, and I think it’s really true.”
Felicia Gans writes for The Boston Globe that the images and information gathered by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has changed the way that Prof. Richard Binzel and other scientists think about Pluto. “We had expected to be surprised by what Pluto had to offer, but this is beyond anything we imagined,” says Binzel.
CBS Boston reporter Susie Steimie writes about Prof. Richard Binzel’s work as a member of the NASA New Horizons team and his thoughts on the importance of the mission. “We hope by reaching this unreachable frontier that it inspires everyone especially the young kids. We think this is the Apollo moment of our generation,” says Binzel.
Prof. Richard Binzel speaks with WBUR's Doug Tribou about NASA’s New Horizons mission and what it was like to see the first images of Pluto captured by the spacecraft. “It just so exceeded any expectation of what Pluto might look like in terms of its complexity and diversity,” says Binzel.
Prof. Richard Binzel, a member of NASA’s New Horizon’s science team, discusses the magnitude of capturing up-close images and new information about Pluto with Boston Globe reporter Steve Annear. “It’s a milestone event in the human exploration of the solar system,’’ says Binzel.
Los Angeles Times reporter Deborah Netburn speaks with Prof. Richard Binzel about the information being gathered about Pluto by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. "We are trying to take these interpretations very slowly and carefully, especially as new and closer data are arriving,” Binzel explains.
Jonathan Amos reports for The BBC on new advanced laser interferometer gravitational observatory (LIGO) facilities that are part of a project headed by MIT and Caltech to detect gravitational waves resulting from extreme cosmic events: “Confirmation of the waves' existence should open up a new paradigm in astronomy,” writes Amos.
CBC News reports that MIT researchers have detected a circular ring of debris circulating the minor planet Chiron. “If true, Chiron would join Chariklo as the second centaur with such a halo. It would also become only the sixth ringed body in Earth's solar system,” CBC reports.
MIT researchers have found that the minor planet Chiron may have a system of rings, reports Monte Morin for the Los Angeles Times. The researchers observed Chiron passing in front of a bright star and observed that Chiron's shadow contained some features “that suggested something surrounding the centaur was blocking the light.”
MIT researchers have found that the high temperature of intracluster gas, which condenses to form stars, may be hindering the development of new stars, reports Jonathan O’Callaghan for the Daily Mail. The researchers hope to use the new findings to better understand how stars form in surrounding galaxies.
Asma Khalid profiles Professor Alan Guth for WBUR's “Visionaries” series, which features experts in a variety of fields. Guth reminisces about how a high school teacher fostered his interest in physics, his time as a student at MIT and his development of the theory behind why the universe expanded so quickly after the Big Bang.
Henry Hanks of CNN writes that MIT researchers have found that a protective field around Earth blocks high-energy electrons. “The phenomenon challenges existing theories that these electrons drift into the upper atmosphere and are destroyed by air molecules,” writes Hanks.
Researchers at the MIT Haystack Observatory have discovered that a phenomenon called “plasmaspheric hiss” prevents radiation from reaching Earth, reports Flora Graham for New Scientist. Graham explains that the plasmaspheric hiss is comprised of “very low-frequency electromagnetic waves,” which act like a radiation barrier.
Scientific American reporter Charles Choi writes that MIT researchers have uncovered evidence that magnetic fields played a role in forming the early solar system. "Magnetic fields can introduce viscosity into the disk, essentially making the gas in it more sticky," explains MIT graduate student Roger Fu.