Astronomy

Data from beach cleanups show that banning or taxing single-use plastic bags makes a difference in ecosystems

This 4+ Lego set is colorful and fun, ideal for young Marvel fans looking for an early introduction to building Lego.

Researchers bring a SETI approach to the question of what—if anything—humpbacks’ underwater smoke rings might be trying to “say”

Gaia, Europe’s Milky Way–mapping spacecraft, shut down earlier this year. It was arguably the most important—and most overlooked—astronomy project of the 21st century

Very massive stars (VMSs), which typically has masses about 100 times that of our own Sun, are critical components in our understanding of the formation of important astronomical structures like black holes and supernovae. However, there are some observed characteristics of VMSs that don’t fit the expected behavior based on the best models we have of them. In particular, they hover around a relatively limited band of temperatures, which are hard to replicate with typical stellar evolution models. A new paper from Kendall Shepherd and their co-authors at the Institute for Advanced Study (SISSA) in Italy describes a series of new models based on updated solar winds that better fit the observations of VMSs in their natural environment, and might aid in our understanding of the development of some of the most fascinating objects in the Universe.

LUNAA Journeys (St. LUcia National Astronomy Association) is looking to address an all too common problem in the global astronomical community. Too often, participation in astronomy is seen as cost prohibitive, the sole pursuit of large universities or organizations that can afford to build a large modern observatory, or launch the Hubble Space Telescope. This is unfortunate, as there’s never been an era of more readily accessible information, out there in terms of astronomy and skywatching.

During its commissioning phase, NASA's [*Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere*](https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/punch/) (PUNCH) mission captured high-resolution images of a [Coronal Mass Ejection](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/coronal-mass-ejections) (CME) in greater detail than was previously possible.

Solar sails are space's ultimate free ride, they get their propulsion from the Sun, so they don't need to carry propellant, but they come with their own challenges. A sail has a large surface area but a low mass, which creates a huge moment of inertia and makes it difficult to control, especially with reaction wheels. A team of engineers have cracked it though with "smart mirrors" that can instantly switch their reflectivity on command, transforming sunlight from an unruly force into a precision steering tool.

The latest catastrophic explosion of a Starship upper stage is a significant setback for SpaceX

Trees would have to be planted on a vast proportion of global land mass to offset the carbon dioxide emissions from burning the world’s fossil fuel reserves

Trees would have to be planted on a vast proportion of global land mass to offset the carbon dioxide emissions from burning the world’s fossil fuel reserves

Rubin's Galaxy

NASA and the Department of Defense practice recovery procedures for an abort scenario in the upcoming Artemis 2 mission.

As the first trained Black TV meteorologist, June Bacon-Bercey always worked to help women and people of color to follow in her footsteps

Blue Origin's next suborbital flight is scheduled to launch on Saturday (June 21), carrying a private crew of six.

"These small galaxies punch well above their weight."

The monsterous 85-mile-wide comet C/2014 UN271 isn't just the largest icy rock in the Oort Cloud, it's the second most distant that is chemically active.

Auroras may be visible from Alaska to New Hampshire as geomagnetic activity remains unsettled.

The European Space Agency looked back on its heritage and looked forward to a sustainable future on the fourth day of the International Paris Air Show. 

The herpes virus that commonly causes cold sores affects how tightly coiled our DNA is and makes it shrink, all to help itself grow