Astronomy

A Pair of Planet-Like Objects Is Romantically Hurtling Through the Void Together

What is love, if not braving the tempest of existence by someone’s side? Recently, astronomers at the University of Hawaii found a couple of “planetary mass objects” doing just this—waltzing through the final frontier, locked in each other’s embrace. Oddly enough, the star-crossed lovers don’t actually orbit a star at all—just each other. Using instruments…

Space & Spaceflight Rae Paoletta

Behold the Tiniest Star Ever Discovered

Astronomers at the University of Cambridge have discovered a star that’s barely bigger than Saturn, making it the smallest stellar object known to science. The title of this new Astronomy & Physics study pretty much says it all: “A Saturn-size low-mass star at the hydrogen-burning limit.” This tiny star, called EBLM J0555-57Ab, is about as…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Women of Color Face a Staggering Amount of Harassment in Astronomy

The sciences are overwhelmingly hostile to women, and in astronomy, it’s doubly bad for women of color. New research published yesterday in The Journal of Geophysical Research affirms what these women have been saying for years: As a result of persistent harassment by their male colleagues, many women of color feel unsafe at work, attending conferences,…

Space & Spaceflight Rae Paoletta

The Most Overlooked Rocky Planet Is Getting Two New Visitors

Despite being closest to the sun, Mercury is the most ignored terrestrial planet in the solar system. It’s had to sit back and watch while Earth, Mars, and even Venus get all the attention. At night, if you listen closely, you can hear Mercury screaming into the dark void of space, begging for love. Thankfully,…

Space & Spaceflight Rae Paoletta

What Would Happen If We Blew Up the Moon?

The Moon is the Tango to Earth’s Cash, the Hall to our Oates, the Lennon to our McCartney before they hated each other. Simply put, our planet and the Moon are soul mates: except, of course, if something were to happen to one of them. Like, I don’t know, what if we just blew up…

Tech News Rae Paoletta

New Observations Suggest Our Galaxy Contains 100 Billion Failed Stars

New research suggests our galaxy contains as many as 100 billion brown dwarfs—a type of celestial object that didn’t have quite what it takes to become a full-fledged star. The finding shows just how ubiquitous brown dwarfs really are, and how many false starts are involved in the formation of new stars. Brown dwarfs exist…

Tech News George Dvorsky

Scientists Think They’ve Figured Out Where Bizarre Runaway Stars Are Coming From

The Sun and Proxima Centauri and most of the stars you’ve heard of orbit the center of the Milky Way galaxy like children peacefully riding a carousel (with some weirdness caused by dark matter that we don’t need to get into). Now, imagine if a few toddlers were sprinting and shrieking across the peaceful scene.…

Space & Spaceflight Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Has Toxic Booze On Its Breath

You think you have it rough because you spent the weekend eating tequila-soaked watermelon? That’s Juicy Juice compared to what Saturn’s moon Enceladus has been steeping itself in. Astronomers have spotted the organic molecule methanol surrounding the icy moon. Methanol, in case you forgot, is a highly toxic form of alcohol that can literally leave you…

Space & Spaceflight Rae Paoletta

Saturn’s Hexagonal Storm Is Pure Chaotic Beauty In New Cassini Images

Cassini’s last hurrah has been so bittersweet: On the one hand, it marks the end of a 20-year-long journey to explore Saturn and its moons. But the Grand Finale has also featured some of the most spectacular shots of the gas giant and its moons ever taken. It’s a complex cocktail of emotions. Today, the…

Space & Spaceflight Rae Paoletta

Do Not Be Alarmed By NASA’s Eerie Artificial Clouds

In news that is sure to vindicate chemtrail truthers, NASA has finally delivered on its longstanding promise to produce a dazzling display of artificial clouds. And dang, was it cool. On Thursday, June 29th, at 4:25 am Eastern time, a two stage Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket blasted skyward from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. During…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

Incredible New Observation Shows Supermassive Black Holes Orbiting Each Other

You think our galaxy is special? Ha. Our boring pinwheel of gas and dark matter might be a nice hangout for humans. But 750 or so million light years away, there’s an elliptical galaxy, Galaxy 0402+379, whose two supermassive black holes are orbiting each other from a distance of only 24 or so light years.…

Tech News Ryan F. Mandelbaum

The Best Place to View the Total Solar Eclipse This Summer, According to Science

By now we’ve all heard the biggest news of 2017, fated in the heavens for eons before humanity’s earliest ancestors walked the savannahs: There’s an eclipse this August 21st, and it’s carving a path right through these great United States of America. GO GET IT NERDS. Being both a meteorologist and an astronomy buff, and…

Space & Spaceflight Eric Holthaus

This Could Be the Most Detailed Image of a Distant Star Yet

Orion is the Beyonce of constellations. Pretty much everyone has heard of it and seen it (you can even see it in New York despite the light pollution). It’s hard not to like it. And if you spend some time studying its behavior and meaning, you’ll only appreciate its intricacies even more. So there’s good…

Tech News Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Uranus Is Even Freakier Than We Thought

If David Lynch designed a planet, it would be Uranus. Much like every episode of Twin Peaks: The Return, Uranus is fiercely unique and weirdly endearing, even though it makes no fucking sense. The planet’s spin axis is 98 degrees, so it essentially rotates on its side—and while we have some idea as to what…

Space & Spaceflight Rae Paoletta

A Mysterious Mars-Sized Object Could Be Hiding at the Edge of Our Solar System

It’s been about 11 years since Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet status, leaving a 1,473 mile (2,370 kilometers)-size void in our hearts. Since then, the hunt for Planet X—aptly renamed Planet 9—has grown into an international movement to find such an object in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune’s orbit. Now, scientists Kat Volk and…

Space & Spaceflight Rae Paoletta

Scientists Solve Ancient ‘Bright Night’ Mystery With Satellite Data

Humans are pretty jaded these days. We can write most of the strange phenomena we see off as science (or we honestly don’t care). But when Roman philosophers like Pliny the Elder witnessed moonless nights glow bright like the day, it definitely made an impression. Others since then have been awestruck by these “bright nights,”…

Tech News Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Jupiter Now Has 69 Moons (Nice)

Jupiter has just delivered the news we desperately need right now. In addition to being the biggest, oldest planet in the solar system, it turns out Jupe has been hiding two moons from us all these years. Recently, a group of astronomers spotted the pair of wayward satellites, bringing the number of Jupiter’s known moons…

Space & Spaceflight Rae Paoletta

Jupiter Is a Swole Grandpa

Of the eight planets in our solar system, Jupiter is indubitably the most swole. It is large, with a radius of 43,440 miles (69,911 kilometers). It also has a bit of a rage problem, as the planet’s constantly shifting storms are notoriously chaotic. While the Jovian origin story has always been a bit of a…

Space & Spaceflight Rae Paoletta

Humans Heading to Mars Could Face a Disturbingly High Cancer Risk

Practically everyone who likes space and has lots of money is trying to get to Mars in the near future. But before anyone reaches the Red Planet, there are plenty of concerns to mull over, most notably that our bodies were not built to live in a barren litter box with a thin atmosphere. But…

Space & Spaceflight Rae Paoletta

Scientists Weigh a Star Using Gravity, Proving Einstein Wrong by Proving Him Right

Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity, called general relativity, is probably the best physics theory ever formulated. It just keeps working, often for things Einstein himself didn’t believe, like the accelerating expansion of the universe. Scientists only just proved some of its crazy predictions, like gravitational waves. But in the 1930s, Einstein’s friend R.W. Mandl visited…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

A Pair of Planet-Like Objects Is Romantically Hurtling Through the Void Together

Behold the Tiniest Star Ever Discovered

Women of Color Face a Staggering Amount of Harassment in Astronomy

The Most Overlooked Rocky Planet Is Getting Two New Visitors

What Would Happen If We Blew Up the Moon?

New Observations Suggest Our Galaxy Contains 100 Billion Failed Stars

Scientists Think They’ve Figured Out Where Bizarre Runaway Stars Are Coming From

Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Has Toxic Booze On Its Breath

Saturn’s Hexagonal Storm Is Pure Chaotic Beauty In New Cassini Images

Do Not Be Alarmed By NASA’s Eerie Artificial Clouds

Incredible New Observation Shows Supermassive Black Holes Orbiting Each Other

The Best Place to View the Total Solar Eclipse This Summer, According to Science

This Could Be the Most Detailed Image of a Distant Star Yet

Uranus Is Even Freakier Than We Thought

A Mysterious Mars-Sized Object Could Be Hiding at the Edge of Our Solar System

Scientists Solve Ancient ‘Bright Night’ Mystery With Satellite Data

Jupiter Now Has 69 Moons (Nice)

Jupiter Is a Swole Grandpa

Humans Heading to Mars Could Face a Disturbingly High Cancer Risk

Scientists Weigh a Star Using Gravity, Proving Einstein Wrong by Proving Him Right

This Winter Fly Is Doing Something Scientists Didn’t Think Was Possible

Acer’s Mac Mini M4 Docking Station Drops to an All-Time Low, Supporting Up to 8TB Storage

Sony Is Hiking PS5 Prices for the Second Time in Less Than a Year

This Amazon Smart Plug Deal in the Spring Sale Makes Alexa Smart Home Setup Almost Too Easy and Cheap

Ryan Coogler’s ‘X-Files’ Reboot Has Found Its Other Big Star

Anker’s 100W Power Bank Hits Its Lowest Price of the Year on Amazon, Packing 25,000mAh and 3 Ports

Beats Solo 4 at 40% Off Is Now Apple’s Lowest-Cost Headphone Pick During Amazon’s Spring Sale

Now the Oscars Aren’t Just Moving to YouTube, They’re Moving Out of Hollywood

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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