Ria Misra, Author at Gizmodo

Hubble Just Caught a Close-Up View of What Flying Into an Active Comet Looks Like

Comets brush by us all the time, but they’re usually not close enough for us to catch anything more than a glimpse as they streak through the sky. But, thanks to one very close comet, Hubble just got an incredible insider view. Last month, Comet 252P/LINEAR came within a little over three million miles of…

Space & Spaceflight Ria Misra May 12

A Huge Unnamed Dwarf Planet, Almost the Size of Pluto, Has Been Hiding in Our Solar System

In a universe full of planets, 2007 OR10 is something special. It’s big, just slightly smaller than the size of Pluto. And it’s close, within our very own solar system. So how did it still manage to take astronomers by surprise? Researchers from Konkoly Observatory just revealed in the Astronomical Journal that they had uncovered…

Space & Spaceflight Ria Misra May 12

This Mysterious 46,000 Year Old Object Is the World’s Oldest Axe

The world’s oldest axe—dating back at least 46,000 years—has been uncovered in Australia. And, already, there’s a mystery surrounding it. The axe—by this time reduced to mere flakes, which you can see below—was originally found in a dig during the ’90s. But researchers from Australian National University only recently managed to identify and date the…

Tech News Ria Misra May 11

Reminder: Just Because Your Food Is Labeled ‘Healthy’ Doesn’t Mean That It Is

The FDA just announced plans to rethink its definition of “healthy” food. So, what does that “healthy” label you’re seeing right now mean? Not as much as you might think. The FDA has been in a year-long scuffle with KIND granola bar makers over the company’s insistence on sticking a “healthy” label its products. Now,…

Tech News Ria Misra May 11

We Finally Know Why This El Niño Was Such a Monster

The strongest El Niño ever seen is finally gone. But before it left it had plenty to throw at us: Storms, droughts, blackouts, thousands of pounds of dead fish. And we finally know just what it was that made El Niño so furious. Researchers know a lot about how El Niño works once it starts…

Tech News Ria Misra May 10

One of the Most Convincing Climate Change Visualizations We’ve Ever Seen

But we had so much snow this winter! But it’s only a couple degrees! But the temperature in my hometown feels fine! We’ve heard it all from climate change deniers. This elegant visualization sets the record straight. The data supporting climate change is undeniable; we live in a hot world that’s getting hotter. And yet,…

Climate Change Ria Misra May 10

There’s More to How We Taste Sweetness Than We Thought

Scientists assumed there is just a single type of taste receptor on the tongue responsible for our perception of sweetness. Now researchers from Monell Chemical Senses Center have found that those cells also contain gut enzymes, which contribute to sweet tastes. They describe their findings in a new paper published today in the Proceedings of…

Tech News Ria Misra May 9

Watch Live as Mercury Crosses the Sun

It’s been a decade since the last rare but beautiful sighting of Mercury crossing the sun appeared. Today, the event is happening again, and you can watch it happen here between 10:30-11:30 am (EST). Mercury’s transit is visible when the little planet crosses between us and our view of the sun. This perspective lets us…

Space & Spaceflight Ria Misra May 9

Alaska Is on Track for an Absurdly Hot Year

We’ve reached the point where weird weather is really the new normal. But even in a world full of strange occurrences like El Niño ice blizzards, unstoppable wildfires, and mega-droughts, the warm weather in Alaska right now is quite alarming. NOAA just put out its latest State of the Climate report and, yes, you guessed…

Climate Change Ria Misra May 6

This Map of Mercury Is Perfect for Interplanetary Roadtrip Planning

The USGS has released this new, incredibly detailed map of Mercury. It’s the first time the features on the surface of the planet have been depicted so completely. The map, which includes up-close sketches of the craters and volcanoes dotting the terrain of the planet, was created by the USGS using data from NASA’s MESSENGER…

Space & Spaceflight Ria Misra May 6

No One Knows What’s Causing This Massive Listeria Outbreak

An ongoing listeria outbreak has put eight people in the hospital and forced a recall of 358 different frozen fruits and vegetables. But although we know all these listeria cases are linked to the same source, just what that source is remains a mystery. The FDA just released the results of its investigation into the…

Health Ria Misra May 5

How to Watch Tonight’s Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is tonight, and it’s going to be a spectacular show. Here’s how, when, and where to watch the Eta Aquarids—and why they’ve been so unjustly ignored for so long. The Eta Aquarids are a late spring meteor shower made up of the icy debris of Halley’s Comet. The comet is…

Tech News Ria Misra May 5

Watch SpaceX Launch a Rocket—and Attempt an Even More Difficult Drone Ship Landing

Will SpaceX manage their next (and even trickier) attempt at landing a rocket neatly on a drone ship? Let’s watch and find out. In the coming late night/early morning hours, SpaceX will be launching another of its Falcon 9 rockets—this one carting a JCSAT-14 communications satellite—and then attempting to set it down gently on a…

Space & Spaceflight Ria Misra May 5

Quaker Oats Is Being Sued Because People Still Don’t Know What ‘Natural’ Means

Quaker Oats is being sued over the big “100% Natural” label on the front of its box. What else is in that bucket o’ oats that makes the label a lie? Nothing, say the plantiffs—it is, indeed, just oats. Their complaint is that the oats were grown using pesticides. That, they claim, should be sufficient…

Tech News Ria Misra May 3

One Third of All Antibiotics Prescribed to Americans Are Unnecessary

For the past several years, doctors have been sounding the alarm about the overuse of antibiotics. For all the concern, however, no one quite knew how much of the antibiotics prescribed in the United States were unnecessary—until now. And the problem goes even deeper than suspected. A new study published in the Journal of the…

Health Ria Misra May 3

We Just Solved One of the Biggest Mysteries About How Water Flows on Mars

Researchers just uncovered an incredible fact about liquid water on Mars. It’s not just flowing; it’s also boiling. And that discovery also solves one of the major mysteries about the surface of the red planet. The results of a new experiment published today in Nature Geoscience detail how scientists made the finding and what it…

Space & Spaceflight Ria Misra May 2

Someone Is Finally Trying to Stop This Underground Garbage Fire That’s Burned for Six Years

For six years, an underground garbage fire has been steadily burning outside of Saint Louis, Missouri, right next to a landfill filled with nuclear waste buried in the mid-70s. So why hasn’t anyone managed to extinguish it yet? TheAP reports that the EPA handed down a series of measures designed to stem the fire, including…

Tech News Ria Misra Apr 29

A Breakdown of How America Spends Every Food Dollar

You know how much money you spend on food, but just where does that money go once you spend it? The answer, right down to the fraction of the cent, is here. The USDA has released an update to its “food dollar” breakdown—a division of a single dollar into the exact amount every link in…

Tech News Ria Misra Apr 29

We Finally Know What Happened to Japan’s Lost Black Hole Satellite [UPDATED]

After a full month spinning out of control in space, Japan’s Space Agency has finally figured out how it lost control of Hitomi, a very expensive satellite that was hunting for black holes. This also means the agency will never get it back. JAXA announced today that it has exhausted all efforts at getting Hitomi…

Space & Spaceflight Ria Misra Apr 28

SpaceX Is Sending a Red Dragon Spacecraft to Mars in 2018 [UPDATE]

SpaceX has been teasing potential Mars plans for a while now, but the company just announced a launch date—and it’s soon. They plan to launch to the surface of Mars in 2018. Especially intriguing is that the announcement refers to the spacecraft as the “Red Dragon.” Does this mean that we’ll be seeing an update…

Tech News Ria Misra Apr 27

Ria Misra

Hubble Just Caught a Close-Up View of What Flying Into an Active Comet Looks Like

A Huge Unnamed Dwarf Planet, Almost the Size of Pluto, Has Been Hiding in Our Solar System

This Mysterious 46,000 Year Old Object Is the World’s Oldest Axe

Reminder: Just Because Your Food Is Labeled ‘Healthy’ Doesn’t Mean That It Is

We Finally Know Why This El Niño Was Such a Monster

One of the Most Convincing Climate Change Visualizations We’ve Ever Seen

There’s More to How We Taste Sweetness Than We Thought

Watch Live as Mercury Crosses the Sun

Alaska Is on Track for an Absurdly Hot Year

This Map of Mercury Is Perfect for Interplanetary Roadtrip Planning

No One Knows What’s Causing This Massive Listeria Outbreak

How to Watch Tonight’s Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower

Watch SpaceX Launch a Rocket—and Attempt an Even More Difficult Drone Ship Landing

Quaker Oats Is Being Sued Because People Still Don’t Know What ‘Natural’ Means

One Third of All Antibiotics Prescribed to Americans Are Unnecessary

We Just Solved One of the Biggest Mysteries About How Water Flows on Mars

Someone Is Finally Trying to Stop This Underground Garbage Fire That’s Burned for Six Years

A Breakdown of How America Spends Every Food Dollar

We Finally Know What Happened to Japan’s Lost Black Hole Satellite [UPDATED]

SpaceX Is Sending a Red Dragon Spacecraft to Mars in 2018 [UPDATE]

Norway Man Cured of HIV With Brother’s Stem Cells

New Mercedes EQS Has Long Range, Quick Charging, and Quicker Steering

That ‘Maul: Shadow Lord’ Lightsaber Moment Isn’t What You Think It Is

Marvel Legends Is Taking on ‘Marvel Rivals,’ and It Looks Great

The OpenAI-Anthropic Cold War Comes to Illinois

Trump’s ‘DoorDash Grandma’ Stunt Makes Life Hell for PR Flack

‘Andor’ Star Adria Arjona Is Joining ‘Man of Tomorrow’—But Maybe Not as Who You Thought

Here’s What Scientists Found When They Cooked Up Their Own ‘Mercury Rocks’

We Just Saw Behind the Scenes on ‘Godzilla Minus Zero,’ and It’s Bigger and Darker Than Ever

Roborock Qrevo Series Robot Vacuum and Mop Breaks Last Week’s Low, New All-Time Low With Nearly 40% Off

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice