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Science / Technology & Space

The Moon landing conspiracy theory has endured for more than 40 years, thanks in part to a thriving cottage industry of conspiracy entrepreneurs.

Ten Enduring Myths About the U.S. Space Program

Outer space has many mysteries, among them are these fables about NASA that have permeated the public’s memory

When a coronal mass ejection reaches Earth, solar particles stream along magnetic field lines, energize gases in the atmosphere and shine as norther lights.

Something New Under the Sun

Scientists are probing deep beneath the surface of our nearest star to calculate its profound effect on Earth

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What’s the Most Important Invention?

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A Robot That Tells Jokes

The center of our Milky Way galaxy is even more breathtaking when seen as a composite made of data from three space-based instruments sensitive to different wavelengths.

Brilliant Space Photos From Chandra and Spitzer

Two unsung space telescopes create eye-opening images of the universe from light we can’t see

Jane McGonigal, 33, creates "alternative reality games," which take place in virtual environments yet encourage players to take real actions.

Jane McGonigal on How Computer Games Make You Smarter

The “alternate reality game” designer looks to develop ways in which people can combine play with problem-solving

Movies, such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and conspiracy theorists insist we are not alone.

Ready for Contact

Humans have searched for extraterrestrial life for more than a century. What will we do when we find it?

Improved telescope technology, the New York Sun reported, allowed an astronomer to see fantastic lunar life-forms.

Lunar Bat-men, the Planet Vulcan and Martian Canals

Five of science history’s most bizarre cosmic delusions

The cavernous Super-Kamiokande detector in Japan is lined with 13,000 sensors to pinpoint signs of neutrinos.

Looking for Neutrinos, Nature’s Ghost Particles

To study some of the most elusive particles, physicists have built detectors in abandoned mines, tunnels and Antarctic ice

Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and the crew of US Airways Flight 1549 were awarded the 2010 Current Achievement Trophy.

Q and A: Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger

The pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 talks about that fateful day, being a pilot and his future

Several months ago, the Hope Diamond was taken from the National Museum of Natural History for an overnight stay in the mineralogy lab.

Testing the Hope Diamond

Scientists at the Natural History Museum search for the elusive “recipe” that endows the famed gem with its unique blue color

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Robot Swan Dances Swan Lake

Angela Belcher got her powerful idea from an abalone shell.

Invisible Engineering

Chemist Angela Belcher looks to manufacture high technology out of viruses

Vinton Cerf, Internet pioneer, sees a need to separate Web fact from Web misinformation.

Vinton Cerf on Where the Internet Will Take Us

Google’s “Chief Internet Evangelist” talks about the direction of online connectivity and communication

Polymer fronds a few thousand nanometers long wrap around even tinier plymer spheres.

Can Nanotechnology Save Lives?

Harvard professor and scientific genius George Whitesides believes that nanotechnology will change medicine as we know it

Astronomers like Rik Hill scan the heavens from Arizona looking for errant asteroids.

Asteroid Hunters

Astronomers are determined to protect human beings from inanimate outer space invaders

NASA is studying a mission, for launch in the 2020s, that would visit the only moon known to have an extensive atmosphere—Titan, a satellite of Saturn.

What’s Next in Space?

Probes and landers sent into the final frontier will bring us closer to answering cosmic mysteries

Richard Branson, shown here in a replica spaceship, wants to place CO2-intensive activities above Earth.

Richard Branson on Space Travel

The billionaire entertainment mogul talks about the future of transportation and clean energy

Shai Agassi, at a corporate facility outside Tel Aviv, founded a company whose name reflects his determination to improve the world.

Charging Ahead With a New Electric Car

An entrepreneur hits the road with a new approach for an all-electric car that overcomes its biggest shortcoming

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Robots Inspired by Biology

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