Scientists made history's first direct detection of the space-time ripples known as gravitational waves, North Korea launched a satellite and NASA announced its $19 billion budget request for fiscal year 2017. Here are Space.com's top stories of the week.
At last! Gravitational waves detected directly for first time
In one of the biggest discoveries in the history of space science, scientists have directly detected gravitational waves, the ripples in space-time predicted by Albert Einstein's famous theory of general relativity in 1916. [Full Story: In Historic First, Einstein's Gravitational Waves Detected Directly]
This would have blown Albert Einstein's mind: We now know what ripples in the fabric of space-time sound like. [Full Story: This Is What Gravitational Waves Sound Like (Video)]
NASA's $19 billion 2017 budget request unveiled
The Obama Administration's final budget request, released Feb. 9, offers $19 billion for NASA in fiscal year 2017, a decrease of $300 million from the agency’s final 2016 budget. [Full Story: White House Proposes $19 Billion NASA Budget]
NASA's highly anticipated mission to the potentially life-supporting Jupiter moon Europa may not get off the ground until the late 2020s, agency officials say. [Full Story: NASA Europa Mission May Not Launch Until Late 2020s]
Meteorite actually not to blame for Indian man's death
On Thursday (Feb. 11), OK Go — whose members famously danced on treadmills in the video for their 2005 song "Here It Goes Again" — released the music industry's first zero-g video. [Full Story: OK Go Releases First Zero-G Music Video]
Apollo 11, the first moon landing mission in July 1969, produced a number of iconic quotes, such as, "The Eagle has landed," and "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." Now, thanks to a surprising discovery by the Smithsonian, history can possibly add "Smelly Waste!" to that list. [Full Story: Apollo 11 Crew Wrote on Moon Ship Walls, Smithsonian 3D Scan Reveals]
A strike by a medium-size asteroid could change Earth's climate dramatically for a few years, making life difficult for people around the world, a new study suggests. [Full Story: Medium-Size Asteroid Strike Could Unleash a Mini Ice Age]
A new telescope view has revealed hundreds of galaxies that were previously obscured by the Milky Way's bulk. [Full Story: Hundreds of Hidden Galaxies Glimpsed Behind Milky Way (Video)] .
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