Space & Physics: Mystery at the heart of the Milky Way

March 28–Our top story this week dives into how dusty debris retrieved from an asteroid is rewriting our solar system's prehistory. We've also got great stories on a once-in-a-lifetime nova that will imminently light up Earth's skies and the surprising fact that Earth has more than one moon. Enjoy! -Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space and Physics

Top Stories

NASA's New Asteroid Sample Is Already Rewriting Solar System History Scientists have scarcely begun studying pristine material from asteroid Bennu brought back to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx mission, but have already found several surprises Robin George Andrews

First-Ever Magnetic Map of Milky Way's Black Hole Reveals a Mystery Polarized light from Sagittarius A*, our galaxy's supermassive black hole, shows swirling magnetic fields that may hint at the presence of an unseen jet Robert Lea; SPACE.com

Global Warming Is Slowing the Earth's Rotation Drastic polar ice melt is slowing Earth's rotation, counteracting a speedup from the planet's liquid outer core. The upshot is that we might need to subtract a leap second for the first time ever within the decade Avery Schuyler Nunn

Why Do Colors Change during a Solar Eclipse? When the moon fully eclipses the sun, it's not just the sky that changes. Your eyes do, too Riis Williams, intern writer

Solar Eclipse Experiment Will Fly a Kite to Avoid Cloudy Skies A kite-borne experiment will observe the sun's mysterious corona during the upcoming total solar eclipse Anavi Uppal

Visually Impaired People Can Experience Eclipses, Too Scientists have created a guide to the 2024 total solar eclipse for the visually impaired that includes tactile graphics Cassandra Runyon; David Hurd; The Conversation US

How Do Animals Respond to a Total Solar Eclipse? Scientists are finally getting their hands on enough data to begin to understand how animals react to a total solar eclipse Meghan Bartels

How a Rare Islamic Astrolabe Helped Muslims, Jews and Christians Tell Time and Read Horoscopes A rare Islamic astrolabe discovered in Verona, Italy, reveals how the instrument passed through different countries and cultures Annie Melchor

Bizarre 'Hot Jupiter' Planets Keep Surprising Astronomers Astronomers now have three possible theories to explain how weird hot Jupiter exoplanets form Juliette Becker

A Dead Star Will Soon Spark a Once-in-a-Lifetime Display in Earth's Skies A nova called T Coronae Borealis spectacularly erupts every 80 years. Your only chance to see it will come any day now Robin George Andrews

How Much Energy Would It Take to Blow Earth to Smithereens? A mathematical formula shows what would be needed to reduce the planet to cosmic dust Florian Freistetter

Earth Has More Than One Moon Quirks of orbital mechanics make a cadre of sun-orbiting asteroids appear to be moons of Earth Phil Plait

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