Astronomy

The cultivation of wheat, barley and maize, which are easily stored and taxed, seems to have led to the emergence of large societies, rather than agriculture generally

Our brain wiring seems to undergo four major turning points at ages 9, 32, 66 and 83, which could influence our capacity to learn and our risk of certain conditions

H5N1 bird flu has been circulating in U.S. wildlife since late 2021 but has caused only one human fatality. Now a different type of bird flu has also caused a death

How far can you see?

Seen to the left of Saturn's banded planetary disk, small icy moons

Now outbound after its perihelion or closest approach to the Sun

Alnitak, Alnilam, Mintaka

Sometimes the dark dust of interstellar space has an angular elegance.

What does the Milky Way look like in radio waves?

What created this unusual space sculpture?

The Make America Healthy Again summit, attended by RFK, Jr., and J.D. Vance, gave a sense of what’s driving U.S. health policy

The Hayli Gubbi volcano, long thought to be dormant, sent ash nine miles into the sky in an eruption on Sunday

The Shenzhou-22 spacecraft is set to launch November 25

U.S. flu rates remain low, but experts are keeping an eye on a new strain that’s been linked to unexpectedly early and severe seasons in several other countries

Top-line results from two large clinical trials by Novo Nordisk, the company behind Ozempic and Wegovy, found oral semaglutide failed to slow down Alzheimer's progression

The atmospheric glow blankets southern Europe and the northwestern Mediterranean coast, outlined by city lights. At left, the Po Valley urban corridor in Italy shines with the metropolitan areas of Milan and Turin and their surrounding suburbs.

Quantum theory fails to explain how the reality we experience emerges from the world of particles. A new take on quantum cause and effect could bridge the gap

Quantum theory fails to explain how the reality we experience emerges from the world of particles. A new take on quantum cause and effect could bridge the gap

Spain’s offer to host the powerful observatory, mired in funding obstacles and local controversies, might promise a new path forward.

The post Thirty Meter Telescope Considers Move to Spain appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Using in-situ propellant has been a central pillar of the plan to explore much of the solar system. The logic is simple - the less mass (especially in the form of propellant) we have to take out of Earth’s gravity well, the less expensive, and therefore more plausible, the missions requiring that propellant will be. However, a new paper from Donald Rapp, the a former Division Chief Technologist at NASA’s JPL and a Co-Investigator of the successful MOXIE project on Mars, argues that, despite the allure of creating our own fuel on the Moon, it might not be worth it to develop the systems to do so. Mars, on the other hand, is a different story.