Life on Earth may not be the only way. But could it be this different? This article is written by Jillian Scudder, currently a postdoctoral researcher at Sussex in the […]
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Could finding a planet capable of supporting humans already be within our reach? “The diversity of the phenomena of nature is so vast and the treasures hidden in the heavens so […]
Earth day may have been last week, but the lessons we learned about Earth from space are with us always. “We are not learning to view ourselves as an advanced, evolving […]
It happened 500 years ago — and again in the 19th century.
Scientists work on it, it’s consistent with science, and it hopes to be the biggest scientific breakthrough of all. But it’s missing one key ingredient. “As of now, string theorists […]
If all the worlds formed together, they have the ingredients for life, too. Maybe it isn’t just Earth who got lucky. “If I had to describe myself to an alien […]
And if relativity tells us there’s no such thing as “absolute motion,” how do we measure it? “The slow philosophy is not about doing everything in tortoise mode. It’s less about […]
Think your interior decorator is evil? Imagine Hitler’s.
The first human colonies might not be on the surface of Mars, but amidst the clouds of Venus. “I remember as a kid having a balloon and accidentally letting the […]
Discovering the face of Earth’s sister planet, Venus, beneath its cloudy veil. “Now, Venus is an extremely hostile environment, and as such presents a lot of challenges for a science […]
And it didn’t even need a transit to do it! “Mars is much closer to the characteristics of Earth. It has a fall, winter, summer and spring. North Pole, South Pole, […]
“Scanning for signs of life” is a staple of science fiction. Could it be science, too? This post was written by Jillian Scudder. Jillian is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Astrophysics […]
If you see a picture of a planet, can you identify which of the eight it is? “Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes […]
And the method teaches us just how far Pluto is from actual planethood. “Some kind of celestial event. No — no words. No words to describe it. Poetry! They should have sent […]
We know that Einstein’s general relativity is superior to Newton’s gravity, but where did Newton go wrong? “To me there has never been a higher source of earthly honor or […]
Four billion years ago, the Universe was a different place. What would we have seen? “In such moments, offering up his heart at the hour when the flowers of night […]
Looks like the inner planets formed *after* the gas giants moved to their current position, and Jupiter ejected a fifth giant, too! “The stars look the same from night to […]
No national museum captures its country’s greatness as perfectly as Russia’s Hermitage.
On March 4th at 19:30:15 Universal Time, Venus and Uranus will pass within 0.1° of each other. Here’s how to see it. “Since you cannot do good to all, you […]
Why do Vermeer’s paintings fascinate us so? Perhaps the reason lies behind a revolution in seeing in both art and science rooted in Vermeer’s 17th century Holland.
According to relativity, there’s no universal frame of reference. But the Big Bang gave us one anyway. “The slow philosophy is not about doing everything in tortoise mode. It’s less […]
NASA’s High Altitude Venus Operational Concept (HAVOC) program will feature an evolutionary exploration of Venus’ atmosphere that could one day lead to semi-permanent colonies.
Throwback Thursday: How Dark Matter’s #1 Competitor Died The only way out is to modify the laws of gravity, and our best observations rule those modifications out. “The discrepancy between […]
Catch MIT scientist Sara Seager take you to the cutting edge and into the future, with a live blog (plus commentary) right here! “Hundreds or thousands of years from now, […]
There are three things an idea must do to become a full-fledged scientific theory. How does the Multiverse stack up? “It’s hard to build models of inflation that don’t lead […]
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 […]
Before you tout the next exoplanet as “the most Earth-like ever,” ask whether that’s true, and whether that’s even a good thing. “You can spend too much time wondering which […]
How the Solar Eclipse of 1919 spelled the end for Newton. “Oh leave the Wise our measures to collate. One thing at least is certain, light has weight. One thing […]
All you need are clear skies, a telescope, and a plan. Make it a great one. “For my confirmation, I didn’t get a watch and my first pair of long […]
All things being equal, the simplest explanation is usually the best. But we don’t all agree on what “simple” means. “It is always the simple that produces the marvelous.” –Amelia […]