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When Copernicus put the sun at the center of the solar system in 1543 instead of the Earth, it dealt a major blow to the self-esteem of people who needed to be at the center of it all.

The greatest new anime of 2015 has some incredibly powerful feats. Here’s the physics of the most sensational one. “Human beings are strong because we have the ability to change […]

The smartest humans in history are ranked.

Hint: it doesn’t have anything to do with our blue skies. “Whenever I gaze up at the moon, I feel like I’m on a time machine. I am back to that […]

Scientists are reconsidering the number of planets in our solar system after finding mathematical evidence for a new planet that would orbit the sun every 10,000-20,000 years.

Wikipedia collects its most unusual articles on a single, weirdly absorbing page.

From 10 billion years ago, a cluster more than 500 trillion times the Sun’s mass is revealed to us. “If you take a galaxy and try to make it bigger, […]

No matter what the editorials in the Wall Street Journal say. “The fundamental choice is not whether humans will have faith, but rather what the objects of their faith will be, […]

One writer’s journey through a video game that can only be completed by writing.

By devising the first truly brilliant physics experiment, Galileo gave us the equations of motion we still use today. “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point […]

Four years ago, the world was shaken with the announcement of a planet around Alpha Centauri. But was it real? “You’re on Earth. There’s no cure for that.” –Samuel Beckett If […]

If they change and distort spacetime as the ripples pass through, could what was once inside actually get out? “Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn […]

And it doesn’t mean we should give up, but it does mean we’ve got a lot of work to do! “‘Star Trek’ says that it has not all happened, it has […]

An awful op-ed about how science is no different than other disciplines misses some fundamental facts. “Philosophy of science is about as useful to scientists as ornithology is to birds.” […]

The Lowline is the world’s first underground park. Well, almost: it’s testing the science of growing plants underground on Manhattan’s Lower East Side – and it’s a literal urban jungle.

No. Not even if you violate the laws of physics in two fundamental ways. John Oliver: So, roughly speaking, what are the chances that the world is going to be […]

Our Sun will someday become a red giant, and then a planetary nebula + white dwarf combination. Here’s what lies between. “It will be found that those contained in one article […]

Despite all those weeks sunning themselves and enjoying breaks from work, the French are among the most productive workers in the world. Americans could be, too. 

Some were kicked out of their Solar Systems at the beginning, while others never had a parent star at all. “The truth is you can be orphaned again and again and […]

And could what we see over there spell disaster for Earth? “An asteroid or a supervolcano could certainly destroy us, but we also face risks the dinosaurs never saw: An engineered […]

Meteor showers are something that everybody ought to see at least once in their lifetime. 

The largest asteroid in the Solar System is hiding volatile materials that have never seen the Sun. “Lots of science fiction deals with distant times and places. Intrepid prospectors in the […]

From cities across the world, fireworks were the spectacular sight. But near the poles, nature was the star of the show. “You cannot rob me of free nature’s grace,You cannot […]

As songwriters, The Beatles had a special trick for making lyrics resonate: They leveraged the power of personal pronouns to connect with listeners.

Stephen Hawking said there’s a way out. Stephen Hawking lied. “Not only does God play dice, but… he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.” –Stephen Hawking By definition, black […]

New evidence could help spark a renewed debate about restoring Pluto’s planethood. Images from NASA’s New Horizons mission reveals the “dwarf planet” may have clouds, which would indicate a weather system.

The gravitational waves were real. But earlier announcements that X-rays and gamma-rays were detected, too? Not so much. “What’s really exciting is what comes next. I think we’re opening a window […]

Three phases in brain development led to the creation of religion. What we do with that is up to us.

It doesn’t interact with normal matter hardly at all, and yet it may be necessary for life itself. “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” –Joseph Campbell Dark […]

There was a huge problem a century ago, and it took an Einstein to solve it. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to […]