Science Times: What a Week of Science News!

A Picture of a Black Hole, a New Human Relative and More —

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Holy Cows on Mars, What a Week! Many a science fiction protagonist has plunged down a black hole and emerged in a different time and place. But that's not why you're receiving the Science Times newsletter today. Even we at Science Times, continually amazed as we are, were whipsawed by the developments this week. The first ever photograph of a black hole. A new human relative. The mutations and biological changes in astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent a year at the International Space Station, compared to his earthbound twin brother, Mark. The valiant but failed attempt by an Israeli nonprofit group to land the first private spacecraft on the moon. Rather than flood you with everything next week, we're sending the highlights to you today, to savor over the weekend. As always, we'd love to hear from you. Send your thoughts to sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com. We'll have another bundle of dispatches from the worlds of science and health to share with you on Tuesday. Kenneth Chang Science Reporter

The first image of a black hole, from the galaxy Messier 87. Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration Darkness Visible, Finally: The First Black Hole Picture By DENNIS OVERBYE Astronomers at last have captured an image of one of the most secretive entities in the cosmos. • Letters: Black Holes, Now a Bit Less Mysterious

NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team Dennis Overbye Answers Your Questions about the Black Hole Photograph By DENNIS OVERBYE Astronomers announced Wednesday that they had captured the first image of a black hole. The Times's Dennis Overbye answers readers' questions. How Katie Bouman Accidentally Became the Face of the Black Hole Project By SARAH MERVOSH The project included more than 200 researchers around the world, about 40 of them women, including Dr. Bouman. How They Took the First Picture of a Black Hole By JONATHAN CORUM A planet-sized network of radio telescopes has assembled the first image of a black hole. James D. Lowenthal/Smith College Astronomy Department What Is a Black Hole? Here's Our Guide for Earthlings By JOANNA KLEIN AND DENNIS OVERBYE Welcome to the place of no return — a region in space where the gravitational pull is so strong that not even light can escape it. This is a black hole.

A New Human Relative: Homo Luzonensis Callao Cave Archaeology Project An Ancient Human Species Is Discovered in a Philippine Cave By CARL ZIMMER Archaeologists in Luzon Island have turned up the bones of a distantly related species, Homo luzonensis, further expanding the human family tree. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press Fossils Are Filling Out the Human Family Tree By NICHOLAS ST. FLEUR The more fossils we find, the more we learn that many kinds of humans have lived on Earth.

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Elsewhere in the Cosmos JSC/NASA Scott Kelly Spent a Year in Orbit. His Body Is Not Quite the Same. By CARL ZIMMER NASA scientists compared the astronaut to his earthbound twin, Mark. The results hint at what humans will have to endure on long journeys through space. • 4 Takeaways From That Huge Study of Scott Kelly ESA/ATG medialab A Gas Could Hint at Signs of Life on Mars. Why Hasn't a New Spacecraft Found It? By KENNETH CHANG Two spacecraft have detected methane in the Martian air. But the Trace Gas Orbiter, with more sensitive instruments, has come up empty. Charles W Luzier/Reuters Falcon Heavy, SpaceX's Giant Rocket, Launches Into Orbit, and Sticks Its Landings By KENNETH CHANG It was only the second flight for what is the most powerful rocket now available on Earth, improving on its spectacular test launch in 2018. SpaceIL/Israel Aerospace Industries Moon Landing by Israel's Beresheet Spacecraft Ends in Crash By KENNETH CHANG The spacecraft's orbit of the moon was a first for a private effort, but the landing failure highlighted the risks of fast and cheap approaches to space exploration. • Photos of the Moon Taken by Beresheet

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