Surprising Science — May 24, 2011

CO2 Map Shows Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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Two views of the same celestial object: the fiery orange-blue image on the left and a cooler blue-pink image on the right, showcasing an hourglass-shaped cloud of gas and dust in space.

JWST shows a new side of planet formation

Just 460 light-years away, the closest newborn protostars are forming in the Taurus molecular cloud. Here are JWST’s astonishing insights.

Starts With A Bang

Deep space really is completely dark, New Horizons shows

From inside our Solar System, zodiacal light prevents us from seeing true darkness. From billions of miles away, New Horizons finally can.

Starts With A Bang

Interacting galaxies are more than they seem, JWST shows

For its 2-year science anniversary, JWST has revealed unprecedented details in “the Penguin and the Egg.” Here are the surprises inside.

A robot is making a rock hand gesture with the word hola.

The Future

Robots who share your accent are more trusted, study shows

People who have a regional accent might prefer robots who speak like them over generic voices.

A black and white photo of clothes and a yellow spoon on a bed.

The Future

Install open-source AI in a commercial robot and it’ll clean your room

Meta and NYU’s robot can navigate and clean rooms it’s never seen before.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Grímsvötn ash cloud causes flight disruptions (but Ryanair president says it doesn’t exist)

The ash from the Grímsvötn eruption in Iceland has now made its way to the British Isles and over 200 flights have been delayed or cancelled due to the ash, […]