60-Second Space

By Scientific American

What's 60-Second Space about?

Leading science journalists provide a daily minute commentary on some of the most interesting developments in the world of astronomy and space exploration

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60-Second Space episodes:

02.23.2015
Bacteria Got an Early Fix on Nitrogen
New evidence points to the evolution of the ability for bacteria to grab nitrogen from the atmosphere some 3.2 billion years ago, about 1.2 billion years earlier than thought—with implications for finding extraterrestrial life. Lee Billings reports
02.17.2015
Stars Reveal Hidden Galaxy
A dwarf galaxy near the Milky Way may consist of more dark matter than regular matter.* Clara Moskowitz reports
02.10.2015
Space Science Budget Gets Small Lift
NASA has to deal with the unexpected financial consequences of robotic missions that just keep going. Lee Billings reports
02.02.2015
5 Rocky Planets Found in Ancient, Distant Solar System
The oldest group of terrestrial worlds now known formed some 11.2 billion years ago, more than six billion years before our sun and planets. Clara Moskowitz reports
01.26.2015
Long-Lost Lander Found on Mars
New images from a NASA orbiter reveal Beagle 2’s final resting place. Lee Billings reports
01.15.2015
Look Up to See Latest Comet Lovejoy
Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy’s latest comet find is naked-eye visible in the southeast sky until January 24. Clara Moskowitz reports
12.31.2014
SpaceX Will Try Launch, Then Soft-Land Returning Booster
The company hopes to send up a Falcon 9 rocket and then safely land the discarded first stage for reuse. Lee Billings reports
12.10.2014
Humans on Mars Soonish Says NASA Bigwig
John Grunsfeld, the former astronaut who now heads NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, thinks that traveling light could get people to Mars by the 2040s
12.01.2014
UV Light Colors Great Red Spot
Jupiter's Great Red Spot is its particular crimson shade because of the interaction of ultraviolet light and specific chemical compounds in the gas giant's atmosphere. Lee Billings reports
11.20.2014
It’s Hard to Dust in Space
Over the summer researchers identified seven specks of dust returned to Earth by the Stardust spacecraft. But determining their true origin has been difficult. Clara Moskowitz reports
11.03.2014
Comet Reeks of Cat Crap and Rotten Eggs
The Rosetta spacecraft has unexpectedly detected hydrogen sulphide and ammonia coming from Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Lee Billings reports
10.16.2014
Track Cosmic Rays with Smartphone App
Take part in a citizen-science project by helping researchers track high-energy cosmic rays via a network of smartphone users. Clara Moskowitz reports
10.09.2014
Star-Forming Clouds May Spit Out Life’s Building Blocks
Astronomers have discovered one of the largest and most complex organic molecules yet in a gaseous star-forming region of interstellar space. Clara Moskowitz reports
09.24.2014
Dark Matter Looks WIMPy
Data from the International Space Station-based Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment supports the idea that dark matter consists of the invisible particles called weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs. Clara Moskowitz reports
09.11.2014
Forensic Astronomer Dates Monet Vision
Texas State University astronomer Donald Olson combined solar, tidal and weather data to identify the likely moment of the image in the Monet work Impression, Sunrise
09.03.2014
Milky Way's Home Supercluster Found
Astronomers have identified the Milky Way’s cosmic address—inside the supercluster Laniakea, which means “immense heaven” in Hawaiian. Clara Moskowitz reports
08.24.2014
Neptune Visit Hits 25th Anniversary
On August 24th, 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft rendezvoused with Neptune, making it the farthest planet to pose for a close-up, a record it still holds today.
08.13.2014
Air Pollution Could Reveal ET's Home
If intelligent aliens are dumb enough to pollute their atmosphere, NASA’s upcoming James Webb Space Telescope is powerful enough to spot some of the signs on some exoplanets. Clara Moskowitz reports
07.25.2014
Martian Soil Salts May Make Water Ice All Wet
Within a Mars-like laboratory environment, perchlorate salts known to exist on Mars were able to lower the freezing point enough to get ice to turn to liquid water. Clara Moskowitz reports
07.09.2014
Saturn Probe Ready for Its "Grand Finale"
The Cassini probe readies for its final act with new flight patterns that will get unprecedented views of Saturn and culminate in a final dive into the planet's atmosphere. Clara Moskowitz reports
07.01.2014
Triple Black Hole System Found in Distant Galaxy
A galaxy four billion light-years from us was has three supermassive black holes at its center, with two in a tight formation. Clara Moskowitz reports
06.23.2014
"Extremely Large Telescope" Breaks Ground
The European Southern Observatory broke ground June 19th to build the world's largest telescope atop the Cerro Armazones mountain in Chile. Clara Moskowitz reports
06.16.2014
Seemingly Strange Solar Cycle May Be Sorta Normal
The current solar maximum appears to be weak. But the few previously measured maxes could have been unusually strong. Clara Moskowitz reports
06.02.2014
Dark Matter Shell Saved Wannabe Galaxy
A failed dwarf galaxy called the Smith Cloud apparently survived an ancient collision with the Milky Way because of a protective dark matter cloak. Clara Moskowitz reports
05.27.2014
Pluto Bids to Get Back Planetary Status
Pluto has at least five moons and an atmosphere—and now a new analysis places its diameter as bigger than its outer solar system rival, Eris
05.22.2014
Jupiter's Great Red Spot Now Just Pretty Good
Jupiter's Great Red Spot, once estimated to be 41,000 kilometers across, is just 16,500 kilometers wide in the latest Hubble Space Telescope observations, and the shrinkage seems to be accelerating. Clara Moskowitz reports
05.15.2014
Oddball Eclipse Makes Star Brighter
When a white dwarf passes in front of its binary star system companion every 88 days, it acts like a lens to make the larger star appear brighter to us.
05.07.2014
Galaxy Gave Star Cluster the Boot
The star cluster HVGC-1 had been part of the M87 galaxy, but now it's fleeing that galaxy at more than two million miles per hour. Clara Moskowitz reports
04.30.2014
Chilly, Chilly, Little Star
A brown dwarf only about three to 10 times Jupiter's mass couldn't get fusion going and now sits freezing in space, in the nearby galactic neighborhood. Clara Moskowitz reports
04.22.2014
Help ID Moon Craters from Your Couch
Citizen scientists have helped professional astronomers locate more than 500 million lunar craters by using an app called MoonMappers. Karen Hopkin reports
04.13.2014
Saltine-Sized Satellites Set for Space
More than 100 tiny satellites are set to launch into space on April 14th, in a demonstration of a possible future inexpensive technology that could pave the way for the $1,000 satellite. Clara Moskowitz reports
04.07.2014
Absence (of Weight) Makes the Heart Grow Rounder
After prolonged periods in microgravity, astronauts' hearts became more spherical, according to scans done on the International Space Station. Sophie Bushwick reports
03.26.2014
Rings: They're Not Just for Planets Anymore
The asteroidlike object Chariklo orbits between Saturn and Uranus and has been found to have its own set of rings. Clara Moskowitz reports
03.11.2014
Planet X Gets X'd Out
An exhaustive search by NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer has found no hints of a theorized planet or dwarf star in our neck of the cosmic woods. Clara Moskowitz reports
03.05.2014
Giant Black Hole Spins at Half Light-Speed
The half-the-speed-of-light spin of a giant black hole suggests it grew by digesting another black hole in a galaxy merger. Clara Moskowitz reports
02.25.2014
Moon-Smashing Meteorite Recorded by Astronomers
Spanish astronomers spotted a meteoroid impact at 61,000 kilometers per hour using a telescope network that automatically scans the moon. Clara Moskowitz reports
02.20.2014
Hubble Finds Possible Oldest Object Ever Seen
The Hubble Telescope's new set of Frontier Fields images includes a galaxy some 13-billion light-years away, which makes it a candidate for the most distant object ever seen. Clara Moskowitz reports
02.13.2014
We Celebrate a Galilean Anniversary
Galileo—who, among many accomplishments, was first to use a telescope to discover moons around Jupiter—was born 450 years ago this week. Clara Moskowitz reports
02.05.2014
Wacky World Wobbles Wildly
Exoplanet Kepler 413 b's tilt can vary by as much as 30 degrees over 11 years, leading to extremely erratic seasons. Clara Moskowitz reports
01.31.2014
Faraway Planets May Be Far Better for Life
Astronomers have come up with a shopping list of what a planet needs to support life, perhaps even better than our Earth does, making them "superhabitable." Michael Moyer reports
01.23.2014
Comet Spacecraft Wakes from Slumber
On January 20th the European Space Agency woke its Rosetta probe after two-and-a-half years in hibernation, in preparation for its final approach to a comet
01.15.2014
Astronomers Cluster at Massive Meeting Conjunction
More than 3,000 astronomers assembled last week for the 223rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Clara Moskowitz reports
12.30.2013
Weird Supernovae Spin Faster Than Blender Blades
Two recently found supernovae are much farther away and brighter than almost any star explosion ever seen, perhaps because they wound up as rapidly spinning magnetars. Clara Moskowitz reports
12.23.2013
Asteroid-Hunting Satellite Returns from Dead
The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer satellite that went into hibernation in 2011 has been brought to life as an asteroid lookout. Clara Moskowitz reports
12.17.2013
Preadolescent Astronomer Spots Supernova
Ten-year-old Nathan Gray of Nova Scotia officially becomes the youngest person ever to identify a new supernova. Clara Moskowitz reports
11.25.2013
Say I Saw ISON
Don't miss viewing Comet ISON, visible in the east before dawn, with a tail now as long as the bowl of the Big Dipper. Clara Moskowitz reports
11.18.2013
India Targets Red Planet
India aims to become the fourth entity to send a mission to Mars with its launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission, aka Mangalyaan. Clara Moskowitz reports.
11.04.2013
Astronaut Sounds Alarm On Asteroids
At a symposium on the danger of asteroid impacts, Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart said it's time for the planet to develop a strategy should a big rock come our way. Clara Moskowitz reports.
10.21.2013
System Has Multiple Planets Off Kilter
Two of the three known planets around the star Kepler 56 orbit their host out of line with the star's equator. Clara Moskowitz reports.
09.16.2013
Voyager 1 Is Officially out There
Voyager 1's own record of the plasma vibrations in its vicinity conclusively show that it has reached the space between the stars. John Matson reports

What's 60-Second Space about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

60-Second Space episodes:

Bacteria Got an Early Fix on Nitrogen

Stars Reveal Hidden Galaxy

Space Science Budget Gets Small Lift

5 Rocky Planets Found in Ancient, Distant Solar System

Long-Lost Lander Found on Mars

Look Up to See Latest Comet Lovejoy

SpaceX Will Try Launch, Then Soft-Land Returning Booster

Humans on Mars Soonish Says NASA Bigwig

UV Light Colors Great Red Spot

It’s Hard to Dust in Space

Comet Reeks of Cat Crap and Rotten Eggs

Track Cosmic Rays with Smartphone App

Star-Forming Clouds May Spit Out Life’s Building Blocks

Dark Matter Looks WIMPy

Forensic Astronomer Dates Monet Vision

Milky Way's Home Supercluster Found

Neptune Visit Hits 25th Anniversary

Air Pollution Could Reveal ET's Home

Martian Soil Salts May Make Water Ice All Wet

Saturn Probe Ready for Its "Grand Finale"

Triple Black Hole System Found in Distant Galaxy

"Extremely Large Telescope" Breaks Ground

Seemingly Strange Solar Cycle May Be Sorta Normal

Dark Matter Shell Saved Wannabe Galaxy

Pluto Bids to Get Back Planetary Status

Jupiter's Great Red Spot Now Just Pretty Good

Oddball Eclipse Makes Star Brighter

Galaxy Gave Star Cluster the Boot

Chilly, Chilly, Little Star

Help ID Moon Craters from Your Couch

Saltine-Sized Satellites Set for Space

Absence (of Weight) Makes the Heart Grow Rounder

Rings: They're Not Just for Planets Anymore

Planet X Gets X'd Out

Giant Black Hole Spins at Half Light-Speed

Moon-Smashing Meteorite Recorded by Astronomers

Hubble Finds Possible Oldest Object Ever Seen

We Celebrate a Galilean Anniversary

Wacky World Wobbles Wildly

Faraway Planets May Be Far Better for Life

Comet Spacecraft Wakes from Slumber

Astronomers Cluster at Massive Meeting Conjunction

Weird Supernovae Spin Faster Than Blender Blades

Asteroid-Hunting Satellite Returns from Dead

Preadolescent Astronomer Spots Supernova

Say I Saw ISON

India Targets Red Planet

Astronaut Sounds Alarm On Asteroids

System Has Multiple Planets Off Kilter

Voyager 1 Is Officially out There