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Editors' Picks

The Water On the Moon Probably Came From Earth

New isotopic analysis of hydrogen in Apollo-era Moon rocks shows that the water locked inside them hails from our planet

What Major World Cities Look Like at Night, Minus the Light Pollution

Photographer Thierry Cohen tries to reconnect city dwellers with nature through his mind-blowing composite images—now at New York City's Danziger Gallery

Michael Benson’s Awe-Inspiring Views of the Solar System

A photographer painstakingly pieces together raw data collected by spacecraft to produce color-perfect images of the Sun, planets and their many moons

Science Beats

Space

Page 2 of 3

When, Where and How to Watch the Comet PanSTARRS This Month

Look for the comet just after twilight in the Northern Hemisphere's western sky, with the best viewing chances to come early next week
March 05, 2013 | By Mohi Kumar

E.T. Phone Home: New Research Could Detect Signs of Life in this Decade

Thanks to a proposal by astronomers Avi Loeb and Dan Maoz, we could find evidence of extraterrestrial life very soon
March 01, 2013 | By Leah Binkovitz

Small Satellites—Some the Size of Postage Stamps—Are Transforming How Scientists Conduct Space-based Research

A new fleet of nanosatellites is zooming through space
February 26, 2013 | By Mohi Kumar

What Damage Could Be Caused by a Massive Solar Storm?

An enormous solar storm could short out telecom satellites, radio communications, and power grids, leading to trillions of dollars in damages, experts say
February 22, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

What Can We Do About Big Rocks From Space?

Last week's close encounters with space rocks have raised concerns about how we deal with dangerous asteroids. Here's how we would try to knock them off course.
February 19, 2013 | By Randy Rieland

The Last Massive Exploding Meteor Hit Earth in 1908, Leveling 800 Square Miles of Forest

In 1908, a meteor exploding in mid-air released the energy equivalent to "185 Hiroshima bombs"
February 15, 2013 | By Colin Schultz

A Smithsonian Expert Breaks Down the Science of Meteors

Meteor scientist Cari Corrigan says that the type of destruction wrought by today's meteor explosion over Russia is exceedingly rare
February 15, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

An Asteroid Will Skim Right By the Earth on Friday Afternoon

The 147-foot-wide rock will pass a scant 17,200 miles from Earth's surface, under the orbits of some telecom satellites
February 12, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

New Photos Show Stars on the Brink of Death and the Precipice of Life

Haunting images of spiral galaxy M106 and the stellar nursery of the Orion nebula capture the life cycle of stars
February 06, 2013 | By Mohi Kumar

“Earth-Like” Exoplanets May Actually Be Mini-Neptunes

Many newly discovered exoplanets may not be able to shed their dense hydrogen atmospheres, making them unsuitable for life
February 05, 2013 | By Mohi Kumar

Mona Lisa Travels by Laser, to Space And Back Again

To test the reaches of laser communication, NASA beamed a digital image of Leonardo da Vinci's famous portrait to a satellite orbiting the moon
January 25, 2013 | By Megan Gambino

meteorite

The Building Blocks of Life May Have Come From Outer Space

February 2013 | By Ker Than

Watch Jupiter “Kiss” the Moon Tonight

Tonight, night sky watchers in the Northern Hemisphere can see Jupiter pass less than a finger's width away from the waxing Moon
January 21, 2013 | By Mohi Kumar

The Fisher Space Pen Boldly Writes Where No Man Has Written Before

The Fisher Space Pen has been made famous by Apollo astronauts and Jerry Seinfeld. But just how does it work? And is NASA really spend millions making it?
January 11, 2013 | By Jimmy Stamp

The ISS’s New Inflatable Room Could Pave the Way for Space Hotels

Set to launch in 2015, this new piece of the International Space Station is designed to be blown up like a balloon
January 17, 2013 | By Colin Schultz

Star Trek Got Warp Speed All Wrong

Hold everything people. The blast of a star and light that happens in Star Trek when they jump to warp speed? Wrong! It wouldn't look like that at all, according to some physicists
January 17, 2013 | By Rose Eveleth

At Night, Giant Fields of Burning Natural Gas Make North Dakota Visibile From Space

Locals have a new nickname for their state. North Dakota: "Kuwait on the Prairie"
January 18, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

Doomed Satellite’s Final Act Was To Film the Moon’s Surface From Just 30,000 Feet Above

Get a jet airliner's view of the surface of the Moon
January 14, 2013 | By Colin Schultz

You Can’t Throw a Rock in the Milky Way Without Hitting an Earth-Like Planet

A new estimate says there are 17 billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way
January 08, 2013 | By Colin Schultz

Do We Really Need to Take Vacations to Space?

The possibility of entering a sealed aircraft, buckling up and exiting the atmosphere in the name of leisure is nearing reality
December 27, 2012 | By Alastair Bland

PHOTOS: Getting Ready for the World’s Largest Radio Telescope

In Chile’s Atacama Desert, astronomers are preparing for a new array that will stretch across 10 miles
January 2013 | By Leah Binkovitz

Does Deep Space Travel Cause Alzheimer’s?

A new study indicates that the levels of radiation astronauts would experience over the course of a deep space mission could lead to dementia
December 31, 2012 | By Joseph Stromberg

Space Exploration and the End of an Era: Notable Deaths in 2012

Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride, Roger Boisjoly and the shuttle program form this year's late greats of space exploration
December 28, 2012 | By Mohi Kumar

From the Higgs Boson to a new way to desalinate seawater, 2012 was a major year for science

Mythical Particles, Goldilocks Planets and More: Top 5 Surprising Scientific Milestones of 2012

From the Higgs Boson to the Curiosity rover, 2012 was a major year for science
December 14, 2012 | By Joseph Stromberg

A 2.1 Billion-Year-Old Meteorite Reveals Water on Mars

Chemical analysis shows that the meteorite, discovered in Morocco, contains ten times as much water as any Martian rock previously studied
January 03, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

« Previous 1 2 3 Next »

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