We’ve only ever seen 2nd-generation stars and later. Until, just maybe, now. “For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” […]
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How do we know that the fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background aren’t polluted by everything Hubble reveals? “Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,Blossomed the lovely […]
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, […]
The word “rational” needs to be rescued. Tom Stoppard’s new play shows that a major rational parable, the Prisoner’s Dilemma, is widely misinterpreted. Seeing why “rationalists” do worse than Christians can help us avoid losing in evolution’s “negative telos” games.
There’s no such thing as absolute time, but after 13.8 billion years, is anything relatively different? “The total number of people who understand relativistic time, even after eighty years since […]
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 […]
What sort of greenery are these galaxies smoking? “The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity […]
A NASA-ESA joint discovery confirms held beliefs about the nature of X-ray-emitting winds that emanate from supermassive black holes.
The glorious meteor shower peaking this week is the most consistent, year after year. Here’s why. “Men of genius are often dull and inert in society; as the blazing meteor, […]
How we’re still, only now, just discovering the closest stars to Earth. “As a boy I believed I could make myself invisible. I’m not sure that I ever could, but […]
The closest, brightest edge-on galaxy gives us a view like nothing else. “Since man, fragment of the universe, is governed by the same laws that preside over the heavens, it […]
As the Hubble Space Telescope nears its 25th anniversary, it never stops amazing us. “That I learned even as a three year-old that I see this world that is really […]
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 […]
It’s the oldest, most distant light we’ve ever seen. But where, exactly, is it? “We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to […]
The Universe contains black holes billions of times as massive as our Sun. “It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you […]
A set of 48 galaxies observed by astronomers in New Mexico appears to be uber-saturated with dark matter. This means they could be what are called “failed galaxies.”
What happened when researchers strapped fake WiFi routers to people’s heads to test if electromagnetic sensitivity is real or imagined?
The future of stars like our own, in a story only pictures can tell. “I lie on the floor, washed by nothing and hanging on. I cry at night. I […]
The largest, diffuse sight in the sky is full of wonder. (And stars, and more!) “The Milky Way is nothing else but a mass of innumerable stars planted together in […]
Moral sciences are back. Natural laws of ethics, envisioned early in the Enlightenment, can now be objectively studied. Game Theory is reteaching scientists and “rationalists” old wisdoms, while suggesting a “Golden Punishment Rule,” and a Naturalistic Fallacy reform (via “negative telos”).
The Universe we see isn’t exactly the Universe that is. How do we translate? “On a cosmic scale, our life is insignificant, yet this brief period when we appear in […]
Why “letting there be light” in the Universe isn’t enough. “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” –Marcus Aurelius I want you […]
Do craters only come in isolation? These images will make you think again! “These spots have never been observed by anyone before me; and from my observations of them, often […]
When two giant ellipticals get together, the astronomical chaos is beautiful. “Look and think before opening the shutter. The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera.” –Yousuf […]
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 […]
A series of mysterious white features lurk at the bottom of one of its most massive craters. Here’s what they could be, and how we’ll find out! “One of the […]
It burns so hot and intense, it’s probably already gone. But what a sight! “The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.” –Lao Tzu Image credit: NASA, […]
A once and a lifetime event has come into our field of view. New Year’s celebrators should be able to easily spot Comet Lovejoy skirting past the constellation Orion in the night sky till mid January.
And how, in the end, they help us gain the resolution of a space-based telescope without leaving the ground! Image credit: Y. Beletsky/ESO, via http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1036a/. “But certainly the laser proved […]
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 […]