Dark things come in small packages, but the reason why is what’s truly astounding. “A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant may see farther than a giant himself.” […]
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A big part of our current mess has to do with how little about religion we actually know.
Thanksgiving has come and gone, but the universal story of us all is with us every day. “We live in an atmosphere of shame. We are ashamed of everything that is […]
The first of the next generation of telescopes is already under construction. Here’s the audacious new science we’re in for! “We find them smaller and fainter, in constantly increasing numbers, and […]
Dark matter may be cold and collisionless, but the strange behavior of planets just might lead to its detection. “Few enterprises of great labor or hazard would be undertaken if […]
The two best-explored outer Solar System worlds orbit one another. But no one was prepared for what New Horizons saw. “Just as a Chihuahua is still a dog, these ice dwarfs […]
Stars are born, live and die, but their light tells a remarkable story that changes over time. “Aristotle taught that stars are made of a different matter than the four […]
The way you experience time changes when you near the speed of light. So what happens when you actually reach it? “Everyone has his dream; I would like to live […]
Pluto’s moons, Nix and Hydra, are the first with irregular rotations, and hence unpredictable sunsets and sunrises. “Movin’ right along.You take it, you know best.Hey, I’ve never seen the Sun […]
There are likely no more than five this big, this early in the entire Universe. “Based on our understanding of how galaxy clusters grow from the very beginning of our […]
The “constant points of light” in the sky are often anything but. “To be is to be the value of a variable.” –Willard Van Orman Quine We look up at […]
About 1.15 million people in the U.S. have died from gun violence since John Lennon’s death 35 years ago. What can his life and music tell us about how to respond to violence, intolerance, and hate?
Let’s first cut carbon emissions that don’t make positive returns on human happiness.
Fish, plants, rocks, and some ornaments? Amateur hour is over; take a look at the results from the International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest! “Life is life’s greatest gift. Guard the […]
But especially for anyone who listened to your “Celebration of Creation” speech. “In science it often happens that scientists say, ‘You know that’s a really good argument; my position is […]
The simple sights of sunrises and sunsets, spectacularly but seldom seem. “Lost — yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered, […]
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 […]
Hawking’s greatest achievement is also the greatest source of misunderstanding. “Maybe that is our mistake: maybe there are no particle positions and velocities, but only waves. It is just that […]
In principle, they could, of course. But around bizarre star KIC 8462852? Probably not. “The fancy that extraterrestrial life is by definition of a higher order than our own is […]
Dr. Christopher Watson explains the barriers to finding another haven for human life.
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. […]
What makes the Sun shine? For decades, the science didn’t add up. “Every time we get slapped down, we can say, ‘Thank you, Mother Nature,’ because it means we’re about […]
Is it possible that our problems indicate a flaw in the theory of gravity? “I soon became convinced… that all the theorizing would be empty brain exercise and therefore a […]
Will we stick around for eternity? Or someday decay away? “I trust in nature for the stable laws of beauty and utility. Spring shall plant and autumn garner to the end […]
It’s the greatest source of energy in the Universe, and yet we had no idea until less than 100 years ago. “The sun is a miasmaOf incandescent plasmaThe sun’s not […]
Researchers have studied how towns, less influenced by tech, sleep. They’ve found these people’s wake/sleep cycles mimic the sun’s. So, what can be done to save the tech-addicted cities?
Even the dead stars still shine today, and will for a long time. But they, too, will fade to black. “As the blackness of the night recedes so does the […]
Yesterday was an epic day: NASA’s Kepler mission announced the discovery of what they called “the most Earth-like planet ever,” the smallest planet ever found that orbits a Sun-like star […]
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 […]
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 […]