The incredible story of the record-breaking red planet’s rover. “In any field, find the strangest thing and then explore it.”–John Archibald Wheeler Sometimes, things get difficult. Sometimes, there are challenges […]
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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 […]
What the world’s most powerful collider found, and may yet still find. “Innovation is taking two things that already exist and putting them together in a new way.” –Tom Freston […]
After the CMB, before the first stars, there was nothing to see. Or was there? “[I]f there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we […]
Whether you loved the original series or never saw it, it changed our world. “An ancestor of mine maintained that when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must […]
These cosmic monsters make the LHC look like child’s play, and yet even they have their limits. “Energy is liberated matter, matter is energy waiting to happen.” –Bill Bryson You […]
“Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood.”
This International Women’s Day, celebrate Henrietta Leavitt, who took us beyond the stars and into the galaxies. “Her will tells nearly all. She left an estate worth $314.91, mostly in […]
Lessons from the Universe whenever a light goes out. “End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain […]
“I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. They are the real heroes, and so are the families and friends who have stood by them.”
Christopher Reeve would have been 62-years-old yesterday. Next month will mark the ten-year anniversary of his death.
“As a child I was taught that to tell the truth was often painful. As an adult I have learned that not to tell the truth is more painful, and that the fear of telling the truth — whatever the truth may be — that fear is the most painful sensation of a moral life.”
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 […]
What would happen if you pulled a tiny chunk out of a neutron star? “Try to imagine what it will be like to go to sleep and never wake up… […]
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was a prolific science fiction writer and biochemist. During his lifetime, Asimov authored or edited over 500 books and served as president of the American Humanist Association. […]
And if so, how does Einstein’s relativity — both special and general — cope? “If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.” -Mario Andretti The end of the week means another dip […]
The massive damage humans have done to the natural world has provoked a backlash that could be just as dangerous, or more. There is a growing global rejection of technology and almost anything human-made in favor of whatever is more ‘natural’. But a simplistic rejection of modern technologies eliminates many of our best options for solving the problems we’ve created.
How would you tell the story of our Universe to an 8-to-10 year old? “To begin, begin.” –William Wordsworth The Big Bang is maybe the greatest scientific achievement of the […]
While advanced math and Shakespeare combine to make a nightmare curriculum for some students, for artist Man Ray, one of the most intriguing minds of 20th century art, they were “such stuff as dreams are made on,” or at least art could be made from. A new exhibition at The Phillips Collection reunites the objects and photographs with the suite of paintings they inspired Man Ray to create and title Shakespearean Equations. Man Ray—Human Equations: A Journey from Mathematics to Shakespeare traces the artist’s travels between disciplines, between war-torn continents, and between media that became not only a journey from arithmetic to the Bard, but also a journey of artistic self-discovery.
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 […]
If everything began with a Big Bang and is expanding, is there a center? “I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out […]
It’s not a surprise that making the most out of your college investment means choosing an optimal field of study. What may be surprising is that smoe seemingly successful majors don’t actually pay that well.
Not only are supercomputers able to perform research at a quicker pace than scientists, their processes offer a unique approach to culling information. Because of this, supercomputers are capable of making discoveries that scientists can’t.
You have two choices when raising your kids in the internet age: shield them from the online bad or actively prepare them to be good e-citizens. While the former is easier and feels more safe, the latter will better serve the child through adulthood.
Can we pack the entire human race into Missouri, the “Show Me” state? We might as well try, because when it comes to making important decisions, we humans have a […]
The quantum nature of the Universe ruins everything. “What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.” –Werner Heisenberg When you think about the […]
On October 3, 1948, at 3:50 pm, Peter Blume finished his epic painting, years in the making, titled The Rock (shown above). “After a turbulent decade in which Peter Blume embarked on false starts, endured debilitating anxiety, experienced self-doubt, and found his faith in the creative process renewed,” Robert Cozzolino writes in the catalog to the new exhibition Peter Blume: Nature and Metamorphosis, finishing The Rock must have been a great relief. Blume recorded that date and time the way many record the birth of their children, for The Rock was his precious baby, but completing it marked a rebirth of sorts for Blume as a different kind of artist. Shaped by political and artistic currents of the first half of the 20th century, Blume emerges as a difficult to categorize artist, but also as a fascinating visionary who struggled to paint a personal reality clinging to the foundation of hope.
Do you know all of them, and what makes them so bright? Image credit: source unknown, but it contains #7 and #9 on the list, via http://st.gdefon.com/wallpapers_original/wallpapers/428170_orion_yupiter_betelgejze_rigel_aldebaran_pleyady_y_7408x4602_(www.GdeFon.ru).jpg. “I’m hungry for […]
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 […]
If something went horribly wrong, could you possibly return to Earth? Image credit: ISRO. “I sometimes catch myself looking up at the Moon, remembering the changes of fortune in our […]
A new gadget called the pd.id detects date rape drugs that may have been slipped inconspiculously into an unattended drink. The devices are battery powered and can be used repeatedly.