Space
- Planets
Scientists Say: Theia
Clues about this ancient protoplanet's catastrophic end may have been entombed in Earth's lower mantle for billions of years.
- Space
Why are scientists suddenly interested in UFOs?
For decades, science mostly ignored UFOs. Then in 2015 Navy pilots started reporting them. The U.S. government enlisted scientists to investigate.
- Animals
Werewolves could learn from other critters when to hunt
Werewolves aren’t the only creatures that undergo transformation under the full moon. But could weak werewolves be at risk of becoming prey?
- Planets
Experiment: Make your own craters!
Let’s make our own craters in cocoa and flour to learn how these features form throughout the solar system — and why they’re different sizes.
- Space
Spacecraft need an extra boost to travel between stars
Star Wars makes space travel look easy by breaking the laws of physics. Off-screen, the technology for spacecraft to reach other worlds doesn’t exist yet.
- Space
Scientists Say: Campfire
These miniature solar flares could help solve a big mystery about our sun.
- Planets
Analyze This: Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is shrinking
If the windstorm keeps dwindling, the Great Red Spot could someday disappear — like an earlier spot observed in the 1600s.
- Space
Scientists Say: Kugelblitz
A black hole made of pure light —or kugelblitz — may be possible, at least in theory. But in practice: impossible.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Magnetosphere
This magnetic field encapsulates our planet, sheltering us from damaging energetic threats posed by the cosmos and our own sun.
- Planets
‘Percy,’ NASA’s rover, finds its first hint of ancient life on Mars
The robot examined a Mars rock containing organic compounds and “leopard spots.” On Earth, such spots usually come from microbial life.
- Space
Here’s why some shooting stars have long-lasting afterglows
Atmospheric chemistry is the most important factor in determining which meteors leave behind these persistent trails.
- Space
Summer ‘space hurricanes’ are emerging high above Earth’s magnetic poles
A separation — and later recombining — of Earth’s magnetic field lines may be what churns up these super-high-altitude storms of plasma.
