![An array of images of protoplanetary disks with bright suns at the centers surrounded by rings, arcs, filaments and spirals.]](https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/06/Planet-Formation_520x292-520x292.jpg)
astronomy
Astronomers Reimagine the Making of the Planets
Observations of faraway planets have forced a near-total rewrite of the story of how our solar system came to be.
Hidden Structure
The Cosmologist Who Dreams in the Universe’s Dark Threads
Cora Dvorkin discovered new possibilities for what dark matter could be. Now she’s devising unorthodox ways to identify it.
crystals
Toward a Grand Unified Theory of Snowflakes
Snow crystals come in two main types. The “pope” of snowflake physics has a new theory that explains why.
planetary science
Wandering Space Rocks Help Solve Mysteries of Planet Formation
After an interstellar asteroid shot past the sun, scientists realized that there’s probably a lot of itinerant rocks out there.
Abstractions blog
As Planet Discoveries Pile Up, a Gap Appears in the Pattern
Astronomers are puzzling over a paucity of planets in the galaxy measuring between 1.5 and two times Earth’s size.
Abstractions blog
Galaxy Simulations Offer a New Solution to the Fermi Paradox
Astronomers claim in a new paper that star motions should make it easy for civilizations to spread across the galaxy, but still we might find ourselves alone.
Abstractions blog
How Nearby Stellar Explosions Could Have Killed Off Large Animals
Subatomic particles called muons are thought to have streamed through the atmosphere and irradiated megafauna like the monster shark megalodon.
dark matter
Why the Best Place to Find Dark Matter May Be in a Rock
Dark matter may occasionally interact with minerals in the earth, leaving telltale tracks that physicists hope to decipher.
Q&A
The Woman Who Gets Called When a Piece of Mars Falls From the Sky
Planetary geologist Meenakshi Wadhwa uses Martian meteorites to trace the history of our solar system.