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Saw “Solar System Questions” by xkcd? Here’s what science thinks it knows. “Put two ships in the open sea, without wind or tide, and, at last, they will come together. […]

Another world orbits the Sun once a year at the same distance as our planet. “The moon was like this awesome, romantic, mysterious thing, hanging up there in the sky […]

Originating out beyond Neptune, thousands of world originate. Who’s the largest? It’s not who you expect, Pluto-lovers! “It is not when truth is dirty, but when it is shallow, that […]

Our love of the one-time ninth planet holds the key to our drive for venturing out into the Universe. “I have announced this star as a comet, but since it […]

The most important lessons about Earth come from looking outward. “We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.” […]

Kepler took a look at 150,000 stars, searching for habitable worlds. Based on what it found, how many should be in our galaxy? “I’m sure the universe is full of […]

It’s only a matter of time before another star has a close encounter with our Solar System. How long do we have? “From an incandescent mass we have originated, and […]

Gravity is a hard force to overcome, but some worlds get an unlikely assist that makes it all too easy. “Some prophecies are self-fulfillingBut I’ve had to work for all of […]

A forgotten almost-hero of the 19th century still has something to teach about science… and style. “There is nothing more contemptible than a bald man who pretends to have hair.” –Martial […]

Seven out-of-this world tastes for the seven other planets in our Solar System. “I’ve learned what ‘classical’ means. It means something that sings and dances through sheer joy of existence.” –Gustav […]

We’ve just landed our first-ever probe on the surface of a comet. Here’s what it means, and what we’ll learn. “I must trust that the little bit of love that […]

New measurements reveal Kepler-10c (previously thought to have been a gaseous planet akin to a smaller Neptune) sports a dense, rocky mass over ten times higher than Earth’s. Surprised scientists had previously thought solid planets could never be so large.

What it means if there’s no life anywhere else in the Universe, and what we know so far. “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves […]

What the first signs of life beyond our Solar System will look like. Image credit: Tanga et al., 2012. “Language… has created the word ‘loneliness’ to express the pain of […]

How the Solar Eclipse of 1919 changed our understanding of the Universe forever. “Oh leave the Wise our measures to collate. One thing at least is certain, light has weight. One […]

Supermoons are both super and common, but they’re only a tiny slice of our nearest neighbor’s magnificent journey. Image credit: ESA / NASA and the International Space Station. “O, swear […]

What shape does the Sun trace out at the same time of day throughout the year? “Life is tragic simply because the earth turns and the sun inexorably rises and sets, […]

We all feel bad for Pluto, but it had its demotion coming. “I have announced this star as a comet, but since it is not accompanied by any nebulosity and, further, […]

It’s all relative, but what you might have seen probably isn’t accurate. “There is no such thing as perpetual tranquillity of mind while we live here; because life itself is […]

The physics of accurately knowing just how much time has passed. “While friendship itself has an air of eternity about it, seeming to transcend all natural limits, there is hardly any […]

The 23-year-old space telescope may be a few years away from retirement, but its eye is still good: The newly discovered 14th moon is only 12 miles in diameter.

The spacecraft currently in residence near Saturn will position itself to capture what our planet looks like from almost 900 million miles away. It’s the first-ever intentional photo session from deep space, which means we have time to dress up. 

Although the exoplanets themselves may have a high proportion of rock, the atmospheric layer is so deep, hot, and hydrogen-rich that they may never become Earth-like.

Thirty-five years after their launch, the two Voyager deep space probes are about to enter interstellar space, while still transmitting data back to Earth.

Last night on Twitter, some of us geology-types (including Brian Romans, Yorrike, Volcanojw, Ron Schott, Cian Dawson) had a discussion about “big picture” geology projects. We’re talking about the equivalent […]

The disquieting truth is that the president seems unable to deal quickly and decisively with breaking global events. Obama’s biggest burden seems to be the presidency itself.

The fabled planetary alignment predicted to occur in 2012 is actually happening right now. Is this a sign of the Apocalypse, or just eye candy for stargazers?

Now that AGU is behind us and that I’ve waded through a lot of grading (over the weekend: 4 sets of labs and one each of papers and homework), I […]

According to the Voyager Interstellar Mission Web site, on June 28th of this year, Voyager 2 completed 12,000 days of continuous operation since its launch on August 20th, 1977. Each […]

n … then “Jupiter would be revoking democracy in Russia, Saturn would be curling in Canada, Uranus would be trying to figure out how to speak Kalaallisut, Neptune would be […]