Astronomy

A physics phenomenon discovered 150 years ago allows tiny objects to levitate using just sunlight – and now it could enable swarms of sensors to explore part of Earth’s long-neglected upper atmosphere

Some 2.6-million-year-old teeth found in Ethiopia hint that an unknown species from the Australopithecus genus coexisted with one of our Homo relatives, but it is hard to draw firm conclusions from the evidence

Some 2.6-million-year-old teeth found in Ethiopia hint that an unknown species from the Australopithecus genus coexisted with one of our Homo relatives, but it is hard to draw firm conclusions from the evidence

The medieval-looking "helmet" is the latest addition to Mars' gallery of odd-shaped rocks.

An alligator moves through a brackish waterway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The center shares space with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. More than 330 native and migratory bird species, 25 mammals, 117 fishes and 65 amphibians and reptiles call NASA Kennedy and the wildlife refuge home.

A new study finds that liquids other than water might be able to support life on worlds beyond Earth, potentially expanding the envelope of life throughout the cosmos.

The star, called DFK 52, is a member of a cluster of similar red supergiants, but it's losing mass at an extreme rate never seen before.

Forecasters warn Erin may intensify into the season's first major hurricane within days.

OpenAI’s latest large language model has achieved seemingly underwhelming improvements in performance, leading to questions about whether the AI industry can make significant advancements with its current designs

OpenAI’s latest large language model has achieved seemingly underwhelming improvements in performance, leading to questions about whether the AI industry can make significant advancements with its current designs

Meeting online may be the norm in today's dating scene, but connecting offline initially may lead to better relationship outcomes

Meeting online may be the norm in today's dating scene, but connecting offline initially may lead to better relationship outcomes

A large simulated moonscape built by the Colorado School of Mines is open for business, allowing researchers and companies to test their ideas for lunar rovers, landing pads, mining gear and more.

The Chinese lunar lander Lanyue recently passed a test in a simulated moon-like environment.

Fungal species, one of which caused chronic bronchitis in mice, were collected from the mouthpieces of e-cigarettes used by daily vapers

Fungal species, one of which caused chronic bronchitis in mice, were collected from the mouthpieces of e-cigarettes used by daily vapers

The Perseid meteor shower 2025 peaked Aug. 12-13, delighting skywatchers worldwide.

Video: 00:01:36

Europe’s first MetOp Second Generation, MetOp-SG-A1, weather satellite – which hosts the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission –  has launched aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 13 August at 02:37 CEST (12 August 21:37 Kourou time).

MetOp-SG-A1 is the first in a series of three successive pairs of satellites. The mission as a whole not only ensures the continued delivery of global observations from polar orbit for weather forecasting and climate analysis for more than 20 years, but also offers enhanced accuracy and resolution compared to the original MetOp mission – along with new measurement capabilities to expand its scientific reach.

This new weather satellite also carries the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission to deliver daily global data on air pollutants and atmospheric trace gases as well as aerosols and ultraviolet radiation.

"We have never seen anything quite like it."