The Solar System isn't a vortex, but rather the sum of all our great cosmic motions. Here's how we move through space.
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After the Big Bang, merging supermassive black holes are unparalleled. Here’s how we’ll find the first one. Last week, NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory made history by announcing the most energetic explosive […]
Did they perform their analysis sub-optimally? Maybe. But gravitational waves were seen no matter what. “We hope that interested people will repeat our calculations and will make up their own minds […]
Now that LIGO’s found two pairs of merging black holes, what does the future hold? “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to […]
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 […]
The most powerful telescope in history will never see the farthest galaxy. “No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded […]
It’s the faintest and hardest object to see in the entire catalogue, but the rewards — and knowledge you gain — are priceless! “If there is nothing new under the sun, at least the […]
Messier himself lamented his own original discovery. If only he knew why he was so disappointed, he might’ve been amazed instead! “Things need not have happened to be true. Tales […]
Perhaps the most spectacular example of rebirth in our galaxy, this cavernous nebula is giving rise to the next generation of stars! Image credit: ESO, via http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0925a/. “For in the […]
On April 29th, some lucky skywatchers will get to see the “Ring of Fire”–the year’s first solar eclipse that will make the sun appear to be a series of rings. […]
It’s not “particularly” any one characteristic, and that makes it a rarity worth looking at. “Conceit spoils the finest genius. There is not much danger that real talent or goodness will […]
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 […]
“Red and dead” might describe the stars in most ellipticals, but this nearby galaxy tells a different story. “The line that describes the beautiful is elliptical. It has simplicity and […]
Of all the galaxies in our local supercluster, one outweighs them all. “I recognize my limits, but when I look around I realise I am not living, exactly, in a world […]
The physics of accurately knowing just how much time has passed. “While friendship itself has an air of eternity about it, seeming to transcend all natural limits, there is hardly any […]
It’s the first Virgo Cluster galaxy to rise over the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere, and you can find it tonight! “The image is more than an idea. It is a […]
In Monday’s GOP primary debate, Newt Gingrich earned praise from conservatives while drawing justifiable anger from many for his labeling of Barack Obama as the “food stamp president.” As the […]
As our political and media systems rapidly evolve, social scientists are revisiting and updating existing models, theories, and methods for investigating the effects of the media on political attitudes and […]
At the AFI Silver Theater on July 29 watch Spencer Tracy argue in defense of evolution.For readers in the DC area, on July 29 at 7pm, the NIH Office of […]
The snow in DC is preventing the usual Smithsonian/USGS Weekly Volcano Activity Report from getting posted - but fear not because here it is!
Part 1 of the Q&A from Dr. Boris Behncke of the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Catania.