A high-speed jump from 24 miles was a magnificent thing to watch — but it sure wasn’t science
Space
Never Mind Life on Distant Planets. What About Distant Moons?
A new study — and a new book — herald a whole new chapter of exoplanet research
Could Martian Bacteria Have Seeded Earth?
A new study of an ancient meteorite yields new clues to the origins of life
Einstein and the Suicide Star
A star doomed to be swallowed by a black hole provides a neat test for relativity theory
Cosmic Old Faithful: Are There Geysers on Mars?
Dramatic images going wide for the first time tell a surprising tale of Martian eruptions
How to Escape from a Black Hole
There are ways out of the gravitational death grip of a black hole — but it’s not easy
Window on Infinity: Pictures from Space
From the retirement of Space Shuttle Endeavour to the rings of Saturn, view our monthly roundup of cosmic highlights from September 2012.
Martian Find: Evidence of an Ancient, Rushing Stream
Polished pebbles in an old streambed, as found by the Curiosity rover, tell a tale of a planet’s rich and watery past
Did a Distant Solar System Send Life to Earth?
A new theory of how space debris travels increases the likelihood that star systems swap biology
Starry Nights Were Never Like This
A good look at a night sky in a remote place like a desert can be jaw-dropping. It’s hard to imagine more stars could be packed even into so vast an expanse of sky. But the view from Earth — a planet orbiting a relatively …