Kepler-78b, which is slightly larger than Earth, is the most similar in size to the Earth of any exoplanet yet directly discovered. However, the similarities end there.
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The Sun’s magnetic field will flip in three to four months, an event that will have ripple effects across the Solar System, that’s detectable by even the far-away Voyager probes at the doorstep of interstellar space.
There’s nothing new under the sun, or, to put it another way, there is nothing new about Twitter’s 140-character format for microblog posts.
How the closest supernova in a generation — soon to be visible to skywatchers almost everywhere — is about to help us better understand the entire Universe. “I saw a star explode and send […]
Planet Earth will be able to sustain life for another 1.75 billion years, after which point the surface will become too hot to support liquid water.
We all feel bad for Pluto, but it had its demotion coming. “I have announced this star as a comet, but since it is not accompanied by any nebulosity and, further, […]
How the Universe tells us its age, size, and properties, and leads us inescapably to the conclusion that it’s billions, not merely thousands, of years old. Today, we’re lucky enough to […]
An extraordinarily simple explanation of the most mind-boggling concept of modern science. “In the confusion we stay with each other, happy to be together, speaking without uttering a single word.” -Walt […]
If stars, planets, and biological processes are so common in the Universe, then where is everyone? “If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens… Where Is Everybody?”–Stephen Webb As egocentric as […]
What the entire natural history of everything would look like compressed down into a single calendar year. “[D]on’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live […]
The Universe has always been ready for us. Are we finally ready for it? “Men love to wonder, and that is the seed of science.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson In only a […]
How the last open cluster ever discovered by Messier himself still holds some amazing secrets and wonder more than 200 years after its discovery. “The journey is difficult, immense. We […]
Two new studies agree that Kepler-78b is about the same size and composition as Earth, but because it orbits its star at one-tenth the distance of our orbit, it’s way too hot to support life.
The greatest Messier object of them all, a treat all winter long. “What caused me to undertake the catalog was the nebula I discovered above the southern horn of Taurus on […]
Of all the wooded places I’ve never been, here are the 10 I’d most like to see! “But I’ll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, […]
A recent study showed that people who spend most of their days under some form of artificial light can reset their internal clocks to match the sun’s cycle after only a week out in nature.
A network of probes that communicate with each other using the power of the stars isn’t within the reach of current technology, but it could be someday, according to a new paper.
Elon Musk tends to be interested in industries that “a lot of people think are impossible or think you can’t succeed at – that’s usually where there’s opportunity.”
Why the biggest, most expensive NASA telescope ever is also the most important thing we’ve ever attempted. “Where there is an observatory and a telescope, we expect that any eyes […]
A beautiful spiral just outside the Big Dipper holds many secrets that can teach us about our own Milky Way! “If I were a flower.. I would be a sunflower.To always […]
How one of the most interesting molecules on Earth behaves in the zero-gravity, zero-pressure environment of outer space. “Day after day, day after day,We stuck, nor breath nor motion;As idle as […]
The future of humanity depends on it. “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach […]
The following is a guest post by Mark Molloy “Sir we know our will is free, and there’s an end on’t.” (Samuel Johnson as quoted by J. Boswell in The Life […]
As the human population continues to inch closer to 8 billion people, feeding all those hungry mouths will become increasingly difficult.
Using data from space telescopes, including the now-sidelined Kepler, astronomers have identified cloud structures on Kepler-7b, a “hot Jupiter” exoplanet that was one of the first discovered.
When things don’t add up, it’s a great sign that something amazing is right around the corner. Every Thursday, we take an older post from the Starts With A Bang archives […]
The emergence of freewill in the human species is a result of evolution, not a brute fact.
How the most powerful telescope ever built will owe its successes and discoveries to scientists who’ll never get the glory. “The soul without imagination is what an observatory would be without […]
You’ll frequently hear people say “the science is settled.” Scientifically speaking, can it ever be? “All the problems of the world could be settled easily if men were only willing to […]
For five months out of every year, the citizens of Rjukan live in the shadow of neighboring mountains. That won’t be the case this year.