Hard Science
All Stories
Air currents in our atmosphere limit the resolving power of giant telescopes, but computers and artificial stars can sharpen the blur.
The Universe isn't as "clumpy" as we think it should be.
Out of sight, but not out of mind.
What we've learning from the world’s coldest, most forbidding, and most peaceful continent.
Size matters, but it's not the only thing.
One study suggested that the "Methuselah Star" is older than the Universe itself.
In just a few seconds, a gamma-ray burst blasts out the same amount of energy that the Sun will radiate throughout its entire life.
A conversation with an advanced alien species is likely to be simple and to take 1,000 years. It might also be dangerous.
If life is common in the Universe, then where is everybody? Known as the Fermi Paradox, a new project may help solve the riddle.
Laser-guided lightning systems could someday offer much greater protection than lightning rods.
On Earth, microbial growth is common in lava tubes no matter the location and climate, whether it’s ice-volcano interactions in Iceland or hot, sand-floored lava tubes in Saudi Arabia.
A quote from a 1995 book by astronomer Carl Sagan describes a world many find disturbingly similar to ours.
The difference between predictions and observations of the magnetic properties of muons suggests a mystery for the Standard Model.
Why would the Earth suddenly start vomiting forth huge quantities of mud?
Though a single measurement is not enough to definitively decide the debate, this is a major win for dark matter proponents.
Quantum mechanics has taught us that even empty space contains energy. "Negative energy" is the state of having less energy than empty space.
2023 will see the launch of new rockets, the return of OSIRIS-REx, and a mission to Jupiter that could help us find extraterrestrial life.
Since dark matter eludes detection, the mission will target sources of light that are sensitive to it.
In 2020, scientists took more than a kilo of moon rock and soil back to Earth for testing.
"A modern five-day forecast is as accurate as a one-day forecast in 1980."
It’s like radar, but with light. Distributed acoustic sensing — DAS — picks up tremors from volcanoes, quaking ice and deep-sea faults, as well as traffic rumbles and whale calls.
As far as we know, it's only happened once to one unlucky person in Oklahoma.
Dead whales inspire a way to find extraterrestrial life on Mars.
Hawaii is the most isolated volcanic hot spot on Earth, far away from any plate boundary.
Maybe bring an umbrella just in case.
Perhaps wormholes will no longer be relegated to the realm of science fiction.
The answer to this question is key to understanding why anything exists.
Maybe the brain isn't "classical" after all.
It's on a 100,000-year timescale, though, so the next few centuries might not be so comfortable.