Astronomy

Earth’s New ‘Quasi’ Moon Will Stick Around for Centuries

Astronomers have detected a small asteroid that doesn’t seem to want to go away. Called a quasi-satellite, this new companion circles around the Earth as it orbits the sun—and it’s going to stay that way for the next few hundred years. Technically speaking, this newly discovered asteroid, dubbed 2016 HO3, is in orbit around the…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Mail Your Friends the Universe With an Envelope Full of Constellations

If you still believe that a hand-written letter carries more emotional weight than an auto-generated response to a text message, these star-filled envelopes will even let you send an entire galaxy to your friends and loved ones—if they peer inside. Once they’ve neatly sliced off the end of the envelope (not torn it to shreds)…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Scientists Have Detected Gravitational Waves Again

For the second time this year, physicists at the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Waves Observatory (LIGO) are giddy with excitement. They’ve just confirmed the second detection of gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of spacetime proposed by Albert Einstein a century ago. It seems we’ve officially entered the age of gravitational wave astronomy. In February,…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

A Strange New Molecule in Space Could Solve a Major Mystery About Life

Using some of the world’s most sophisticated telescopes, a pair of astronomers has discovered a first-of-its-kind organic molecule in an enormous star-forming cloud thousands of light years away. And it could shed light on one of most poorly-understood properties of life on Earth. The molecule, propylene oxide (CH3CHOCH2), is chiral, meaning it can form “left-handed”…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

Incredible Photo Shows An Exoplanet in Orbit Around Its Host Star

See that tiny speck just to left of the bluish orb? That’s a planet. It’s one of the best direct images of an exoplanet we’ve ever seen, and it’s made all the more remarkable given that it’s a whopping 1,200 light-years away. Although you can’t see it, there are actually two planets in this remote…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

The World’s Oldest Computer May Have Been Used to Predict the Future

Discovered in an ancient shipwreck near Crete in 1901, the freakishly advanced Antikythera Mechanism has been called the world’s first computer. A decades-long investigation into the 2,000 year-old-device is shedding new light onto this mysterious device, including the revelation that it may have been used for more than just astronomy. The Antikythera Mechanism is one…

Tech News George Dvorsky

This Dying Baby Planet Never Had a Chance

Astronomers have discovered a newly born “hot Jupiter” in a distant star system that’s locked in a slow death spiral. It may only be a matter of time before this poor baby planet gets torn to shreds. Located 1,100 light years away in the constellation of Orion, this star system is just two million years…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Jupiter’s Mysterious Interior Is Coming Into Focus

For centuries, astronomers have been enchanted by the planet Jupiter, that roiling sea of clouds punctuated by a glowering red eye. But we’ve only had the fuzziest notion of what lies beneath this violent visage—until now. With recent advances in radio telescope technology, astronomers are finally starting to cut through Jupiter’s swirling clouds to see…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

Here’s the Glorious 4K Footage of Last Month’s Mercury Transit We’ve Been Waiting For

So you missed Mercury transiting the Sun last month and thought you were going to have to wait another three whole years to see the rare astronomical event? Not at all. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Laboratory was busy shooting the entire thing in 4K, and it just released three glorious highlight reels. Even if you did…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

Rosetta’s Comet Is Even Weirder Than We Thought

If you thought a comet that contains the building blocks of life and creates its own weather couldn’t get any more interesting, think again. Scientists finally have a theory as to why comet 67P—also known as Rosetta’s comet—has two distinct lobes. It’s actually two distinct comets, which break up, orbit one another, and smash together…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

This Is the Best Look at Pluto’s Surface We’re Going to Get

New Horizons may be millions of miles beyond Pluto in the Kuiper Belt right now, but that hasn’t stopped the spacecraft from continuing to beam back glorious imagery of its encounter with our solar system’s weirdest little ice world. A new NASA video reveals the most detailed images of Pluto’s surface yet—and they’re spellbinding. The…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

The Time To Nuke Mars Is Now

Good news, prospective Martian colonists: that frigid hellscape where you hope to spend out your days alone and in darkness is currently in a “warm phase.” Scientists are now reporting the first observational evidence that Mars recently emerged from an ice age, which can only mean one thing. It’s time to bring out the bombs…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

Life in Red Dwarf Systems May Be Rarer Than We Thought

Red dwarfs are the most common type of star in the galaxy. But new research suggests that life within these systems may be limited, due to the stiflingly hot atmospheres on Earth-sized planets that orbit the red dwarfs. When we look up into the sky at night, we only see a small portion of what’s…

Tech News George Dvorsky

It Takes Just Four Minutes To Explain the Entire Universe

In need of a quick refresher course on, well, the science of pretty much everything? Here’s a cheeky, irreverent summation of the universe in just four minutes from Exub1a, YouTube purveyor of “spacey stuff and existential angst.” Loosely reminiscent of the classic “Powers of Ten” motif, the video starts with “the Tyrion Lannister of physics,”…

Physics & Chemistry Jennifer Ouellette

Astronomers Might Have Just Solved a Key Mystery About the Origin of Life

If a massive solar storm struck the Earth today, it could wipe out our technology and hurl us back to the dark ages. Lucky for us, events like this are quite rare. But four billion years ago, extreme space weather was probably the norm. And rather than bringing the apocalypse, it might have kickstarted life.…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

Traces of Ancient Mega-Tsunamis Discovered on Mars

Mars once featured a vast ocean that covered its northern hemisphere. New evidence suggests this Martian sea experienced at least two “mega-tsunamis” that were triggered by meteor impacts. Traces of these cataclysmic events can still be seen on the Martian surface, and they could still contain traces of ancient life. Giant oceans and massive tsunamis…

Tech News George Dvorsky

Posthumous Paper Resolves Century-Old Mystery of How Stars Evolve

Chances are you’ve never heard of Allan Sandage, but the late astronomer was a major figure in 20th century astronomy, particularly known for his work on how stars evolve. Late in life, he discovered two other scientists had beaten him to that breakthrough, but Sandage died before he could finish investigating. His posthumous paper correcting…

Tech News Jennifer Ouellette

Here’s Your Chance to Help Astronomers Discover an Alien Megastructure

Has an advanced alien civilization built a mind-boggling megastructure around the distant star KIC 8462852? It’s extremely unlikely, but astronomers promised to get to the bottom of the cosmic mystery, and they need our help. More specifically, they need our money. In order to figure out why KIC 8452852 flickers and fades at irregular intervals—unprecedented…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

A Mysterious Object Beyond Pluto Is Coming Into Focus

Pluto may be long gone, but NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is by no means finished with the outer solar system. For the second time, New Horizons has observed 1994 JR1, a 90-mile wide Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) that orbits over 3 billion miles from the sun. The latest observations, which were made on April 7th…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

Our Solar System Could Remain Habitable Long After Earth Is Destroyed

In a few billion years, the oceans will boil away and the atmosphere will burn up as our sun expands into a red giant. It’ll be game-over for life on Earth, but in the outer solar system, the party will just be getting started. Europa and Enceladus will melt into ocean moons, offering a refuge…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone

Earth’s New ‘Quasi’ Moon Will Stick Around for Centuries

Mail Your Friends the Universe With an Envelope Full of Constellations

Scientists Have Detected Gravitational Waves Again

A Strange New Molecule in Space Could Solve a Major Mystery About Life

Incredible Photo Shows An Exoplanet in Orbit Around Its Host Star

The World’s Oldest Computer May Have Been Used to Predict the Future

This Dying Baby Planet Never Had a Chance

Jupiter’s Mysterious Interior Is Coming Into Focus

Here’s the Glorious 4K Footage of Last Month’s Mercury Transit We’ve Been Waiting For

Rosetta’s Comet Is Even Weirder Than We Thought

This Is the Best Look at Pluto’s Surface We’re Going to Get

The Time To Nuke Mars Is Now

Life in Red Dwarf Systems May Be Rarer Than We Thought

It Takes Just Four Minutes To Explain the Entire Universe

Astronomers Might Have Just Solved a Key Mystery About the Origin of Life

Traces of Ancient Mega-Tsunamis Discovered on Mars

Posthumous Paper Resolves Century-Old Mystery of How Stars Evolve

Here’s Your Chance to Help Astronomers Discover an Alien Megastructure

A Mysterious Object Beyond Pluto Is Coming Into Focus

Our Solar System Could Remain Habitable Long After Earth Is Destroyed

Smart Glasses Now Have One of the Vision Pro’s Best Features

Marvel Just Put ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 2 in a Very Weird Place in the MCU Timeline

Trump Drops $1B to Kill 2 Wind Farms, Then Watches a Bigger One Go Online

Scientists Found a Weird New Way to Wash Fruits and Vegetables

White House’s Mysterious ‘Covfefe Moment’ Was Stupider Than We Imagined

Gym Bros Are Pushing Mystery Muscle Drugs Doctors Barely Recognize, Study Warns

The Head of HBO Explains What it Takes to Get a ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff Going

Elon Musk’s Lawyer Claims Jury’s 420 ‘Joke’ Proves He Didn’t Receive a Fair Trial

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

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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

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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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