Earth's Place in the Universe
- Physics
Einstein taught us: It’s all ‘relative’
One hundred years ago, a German physicist shared some math he had been working on. In short order, his theory of relativity would revise forever how people viewed the universe.
- Climate
Clues to the Great Dying
Millions of years ago, nearly all life on Earth vanished. Scientists are now starting to figure out what happened.
- Space
Pollution may give ‘first’ stars a youthful look
The oldest stars should be made of only light elements. But these suns may have sucked up heavier elements, giving them a more youthful appearance, a new study finds.
- Physics
Stephen Hawking says his group has solved a black hole puzzle
Physicist Stephen Hawking says light sliding along the outside of a black hole holds the key to understanding what’s inside.
- Planets
Pluto hosts ice mountains, data suggest
Geologic activity appears to have been reshaping Pluto, erasing craters and more.
- Planets
Picture This: Pluto hearts us
As a little spacecraft flies by Pluto, it is snapping up high resolution images and collecting unparalleled data.
- Space
News Brief: Latest supernova is also super-brightest
The light from stellar fireworks in a galaxy far, far away has just reached Earth. It comes from a star that exploded in a massively bright flash.
- Planets
Visiting Pluto
Pluto has long been little more than a dark spot in the sky. Now NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is about to fly by this dwarf planet. Along the way, it will collect unprecedented data on it.
- Space
Students sent instrument to Pluto
The student-built dust counter on NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is measuring how much grit and debris orbits out beyond Neptune.
- Planets
Cosmic collision may have given birth to Pluto’s moons
Hubble Space Telescope photos reveal that the Pluto family may have formed from debris left behind after something slammed into the dwarf planet.
- Earth
Asteroids boiled young Earth’s oceans
At least two asteroids hit Earth 3.3 billion years ago. This superheated the atmosphere, boiled the oceans and shaped how early life evolved.
- Space
Scientists Say: Gravitational lens
A gravitational lens is an effect that occurs when a massive object lies between a viewer and something further away. The massive object’s gravity bends light arriving from the more distant object.
