The week in pictures: June 30–July 6, 2012

In the past seven days, CERN researchers observed a particle consistent with the long-sought Higgs boson, astronomers discovered that a planet-forming disk has abruptly shut down, scientists found several red dwarf binaries with orbital periods significantly shorter than the five-hour cut-off found for Sun-like stars, and more.

Published: July 6, 2012

June 30–July 6, 2012

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CERN

CERN experiments observe particle consistent with long-sought Higgs boson

Although the results show that this new particle has many of the expected properties of the Higgs, the researchers still require more data to determine for certain if the particle they've discovered is indeed the one predicted by the standard model of particle physics. Learn more »

"The week in pictures" highlights the amazing discoveries and cutting-edge research that resulted in magnificent photos and illustrations in the past week's Astronomy.com News section. Scroll through the photos, comment on your favorites, and click links to learn more about the science behind the pictures. We hope "The week in pictures” will not only highlight all our beautiful universe has to offer but also summarize the important stories of the past seven days in case you missed anything.

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	Sun	Sun	Moon
RISE	—		—	PHASE	—
SET	—		—	DISK	—

	Mercury	Mercury	Venus	Venus
RISE	—		—
SET	—		—
		—		—

	Mars	Mars	Jupiter	Jupiter	Saturn	Saturn
RISE	—		—		—
SET	—		—		—
		—		—		—