Is It a Planet? Astronomers Spy Promising Potential World around Alpha Centauri

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February 10, 2021

Space

Is It a Planet? Astronomers Spy Promising Potential World around Alpha Centauri

The candidate could be a "warm Neptune" or a mirage. Either way, it signals the dawn of a revolution in astronomy

By Lee Billings

Medicine

Is It Safe to Delay a Second COVID Vaccine Dose?

Some evidence indicates that short waits are safe, but there is a chance that partial immunization could help risky new coronavirus variants to develop

By Marla Broadfoot

Space

Hope Probe Enters Orbit around Mars

The United Arab Emirates' first interplanetary mission reaches its destination scarcely a decade after the country's first satellite launch

By Meghan Bartels,SPACE.com

Behavior & Society

We Must Confront Anti-Asian Racism in Science

It existed before the pandemic, but COVID-19 has made it worse

By Michael Nguyen-Truong

Space

China's First Mars Mission, Tianwen-1, Reaches the Red Planet

Now in orbit, the spacecraft will attempt a landing later this year

By Mike Wall,SPACE.com

Biology

Bromances Could Lead to More Romances for Male Hyenas

Spotted hyena males do not fight for mates, so how are certain males shut out of the mating game?

By Jason G. Goldman | 03:24

Policy & Ethics

Society's End-of-Life Problem

Americans have unequal access to the benefits of advance care planning

By Mara Buchbinder

Public Health

Safely Reopening Requires Testing, Tracing and Isolation, Not Just Vaccines

No matter how effective vaccines are, they are not enough

By Peter Sands,Achim Steiner

Climate

Climate Change Hits Rock and Roll as Prized Guitar Wood Shortage Looms

Flooding and a wood-boring beetle threaten supplies of storied "swamp ash"

By Andrea Thompson,Priyanka Runwal
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FROM THE ARCHIVE

The Hunt Is On for Alpha Centauri's Planets

Astronomers could soon learn whether or not the nearest neighboring star system harbors habitable worlds

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Alpha Centauri presents us with a magical opportunity, because there is no better place in the sky to try to directly image small, potentially habitable planets."

Pete Klupar, Breakthrough Initiatives' chief engineer

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