Astronomy
Blockbuster New Vera C. Rubin Observatory Will Change Astronomy Forever
The game-changing Vera C. Rubin Observatory will collect more astronomical data in its first year than all other telescopes combined
Injured Skin Cells Fire like Neurons to ‘Scream’ for Help
Our skin’s epithelial cells send electrical signals like neurons to cry out for help
Can any nation protect against a Ukraine-style drone smuggling attack?
Can any nation protect against a Ukraine-style drone smuggling attack?
James Webb Space Telescope discovers smallest 'failed stars' ever seen
NASA's PUNCH delivers knockout views of colossal solar storms erupting from sun (video)
This Map of the Cosmic Web Reaches Back in Time
The COSMOS scientific collaboration has released the largest map of the Universe ever created. It contains almost 800,000 galaxies, some from the Universe's earliest times. The map challenges some of our ideas about the early Universe.
NASA's Top 5 Technical Challenges Countdown: #2: More Power
What we have now just…isn't going to cut it. Right now if you want power in space you essentially have two options: solar panels, and a kind of nuclear power called radioisotope thermoelectric generators.
NASA's Top 5 Technical Challenges Countdown: #3: Better Computers
Computers have been involved in spaceflight since almost the very beginning. Just like on the Earth, computers aid in a variety of tasks, like navigation and communication. But unfortunately, space is really, really unkind to electronics.
NASA's Top 5 Technical Challenges Countdown: #4: Improved Navigation
But in space, like on the Moon or Mars, we have…none of that. Zero. No GPS satellites, no globe-spanning networks. Just radio broadcasts from command centers here on Earth to tell our robots and crews what to do.
NASA's Top 5 Technical Challenges Countdown: #5: High-Powered Robotics
Space is hard. There's no doubt about that. It's completely unlike any environment we have ever faced on the Earth.
We Can Use Black Holes Particle Accelerators
The Large Hadron Collider has changed particle physics, and now scientists are dreaming up even bigger supercolliders. But humanity can't match the raw particle-colliding power of a supermassive black hole. In a new paper, researchers describe how supermassive black holes create a dense environment where particles are spinning at relativistic speeds and crashing into each other, releasing other particles that could be detectable on Earth.
Planned NIH Cuts Threaten Americans’ Health, Senators Charge in Tense Hearing
Senators grilled NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya the day after more than 300 NIH staff members sent him a fiery letter protesting the cancellation of thousands of research projects
FEMA Overhaul Will Come after Hurricane Season, Trump Says
States will continue to get FEMA federal disaster aid this year but may see less assistance after changes made in 2026
Animals Expend 76,000 Gigajoules of Energy Sculpting Our Planet Every Year
This tally of animals’ effect on Earth’s geology, equivalent to that of thousands of extreme floods, most likely is an underestimate
Join ESA at the International Paris Air Show 2025
Join the European Space Agency at the new Paris Space Hub during this year’s International Paris Air Show.
New Map Shows How Gun Deaths of Children Have Increased in States with Loose Firearm Laws
Gun violence is the leading cause of death of children in the U.S.—and states with loose gun control laws bear the heaviest burden, a new study found
Solar Orbiter gets world-first views of the Sun’s poles
Thanks to its newly tilted orbit around the Sun, the European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft is the first to image the Sun’s poles from outside the ecliptic plane. Solar Orbiter’s unique viewing angle will change our understanding of the Sun’s magnetic field, the solar cycle and the workings of space weather.
Solar Orbiter Captures the First-Ever Images of the Sun’s South Pole
Solar Orbiter isn’t the first spacecraft to study the sun’s poles—but it’s the first to send back photographs