Astronomy

Participants in a new study were more likely to cheat when delegating to AI—especially if they could encourage machines to break rules without explicitly asking for it

Inhalers that combine relieving breathlessness with preventing it seem to be the most effective option for reducing asthma attacks in young children

Inhalers that combine relieving breathlessness with preventing it seem to be the most effective option for reducing asthma attacks in young children

Artificial tissues that mimic the placenta, endometrium, ovary and vagina could point to treatments for common conditions such as preeclampsia and endometriosis

Does the Sun set in the same direction every day?

Mercury's large metallic core is 70% of its mass, which is way more than the other rocky planets. Scientists have wondered if a collision with a much larger body stripped away much of its mantle and crust, and Mercury is only the remnant core of a once much larger planet. New simulations show that's not quite what happened.

NASA's Chandra X-ray space telescope has found a black hole that's growing at an extremely rapid pace. The telescope is seeing the black hole, which has about one billion solar masses, when the Universe was less than one billion years old. Studying its rapid accretion could explain how some black holes become so massive so soon after the Big Bang.

What is the meaning of life? Even the best of us couldn’t hope to answer that question in a universe today article. But there are those who would try to “constrain” it, at least in terms of physics. A new paper from Pankaj Mehta of Boston University of Jané Kondev of Brandeis that was recently pre-published on arXiv looks at how the fundamental constants of physics might be applied to life as we know it - and even life as we don’t know it yet. Their idea doesn't necessarily give the answer to the ultimate question, but it does tie two seemingly disparate fields nicely together.

Exoplanets aren’t the only objects floating around other stars - they likely have comets and asteroids as well. Even some of the exoplanets themselves will have “exomoons”, at least according to our current understanding of the physics of planetary formation. However, we have yet to find any of these other objects conclusively, though there has been some hint at the presence of exomoons in the last ten years. A new paper from astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), recently pre-published on arXiv, suggests a way in which we might be able to finally detect the presence of an exomoon - using a technique that is also commonly used to find exoplanets themselves.

A team of scientists in south Australia have discovered tiny pieces of glass that tell the story of a catastrophic event that happened 11 million years ago, an asteroid impact so massive it should have left a crater the size of a major city, yet mysteriously, no one has found it. This discovery represents only the sixth known tektite field ever identified on Earth. The glassy fragments, scattered across the landscape are forcing scientists to reconsider what they know about ancient asteroid impacts and the geological features they leave behind.

Hurricane Humberto and a system that may become Tropical Storm Imelda in the coming days are swirling quite close to each other in the western Atlantic Ocean

Primordial chemistry might destroy most of the water on sub-Neptunes; if so, there could be far fewer “water worlds” than previously thought.

The post Water Worlds Might Be Few and Far Between appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The National Institutes of Health is investing $50 million into research on genetic and environmental factors underlying autism—news that was eclipsed by President Donald Trump’s recent controversial claims about acetaminophen

Severe lung inflammation has been linked to symptoms resembling post-traumatic stress disorder in mice, which could help us better treat and prevent the mental health condition

Severe lung inflammation has been linked to symptoms resembling post-traumatic stress disorder in mice, which could help us better treat and prevent the mental health condition

Novels need a gripping story to stay popular as the decades pass, but it seems that other less-obvious factors may also contribute to their lasting success

Novels need a gripping story to stay popular as the decades pass, but it seems that other less-obvious factors may also contribute to their lasting success

The waxing crescent Moon crosses Scorpius on its way to a meetup with Saturn, while the Moon's own sunrise line unveils more and more lunar lands for telescopes.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, September 26 – October 5 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

VIPER, a water-seeking rover, has gotten a new lease on life, with a new launch vehicle and lander announced by NASA.

The post NASA's VIPER Mission Has Found Another Ride to the Moon appeared first on Sky & Telescope.