Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people

— Carl Sagan

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Updated: 6 hours 54 min ago

Congressman Eric Sorensen on Defending Climate Science, Depoliticizing Weather and Bringing Scientific Rigor to Capitol Hill

16 hours 54 min ago

Representative Eric Sorensen of Illinois shares how his meteorology roots drive his fight to protect climate science and push back against political interference.

Categories: Astronomy

JWST Spots Possible Alien Planet at Alpha Centauri

Thu, 08/07/2025 - 11:00am

In some of its most ambitious work yet, the James Webb Space Telescope looked to spot a planet in a potentially habitable orbit around Alpha Centauri A, the nearest sunlike star to our solar system

Categories: Astronomy

Students Find Hidden Fibonacci Sequence in Classic Probability Puzzle

Thu, 08/07/2025 - 10:00am

Though the Fibonacci sequence shows up everywhere in nature, these young mathematicians were surprised to find it in the answer to a variation of the pick-up sticks problem⁠—a nearly two-century-old form of puzzle

Categories: Astronomy

Starlink and Astronomers Are in a Light Pollution Standoff

Thu, 08/07/2025 - 8:00am

Satellite streaks are ruining astronomical images. Can scientists and space companies find solutions before it’s too late?

Categories: Astronomy

Mathematicians Question AI Performance at International Math Olympiad

Thu, 08/07/2025 - 7:00am

AI models supposedly did well on International Math Olympiad problems, but how they got their answers reminds us why we still need people doing math

Categories: Astronomy

How China Made an Antarctic Station Run on Majority Clean Energy

Thu, 08/07/2025 - 6:45am

Solar panels, wind turbines, a hydrogen energy system and lithium-ion batteries are powering China’s newest polar research station

Categories: Astronomy

mRNA Vaccine Tech Could Transform Medicine and Cure Diseases. RFK, Jr. Just Pulled Its Funding

Wed, 08/06/2025 - 2:30pm

Speed and flexibility have made mRNA a blockbuster technology

Categories: Astronomy

Proposed House Bill Would Weaken Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangering Whales, Dolphins and More

Wed, 08/06/2025 - 1:30pm

Proposed amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act would cut down protections to whales, dolphins, polar bears and other species

Categories: Astronomy

MRI Accidents Explained: What Causes Deaths and Injuries in Scanners

Wed, 08/06/2025 - 11:20am

When serious accidents happen in magnetic resonance imaging scanners, it’s usually because people ignore one very important rule

Categories: Astronomy

Why the EPA’s Latest Move Could Worsen the Climate Crisis

Wed, 08/06/2025 - 11:00am

If the EPA abdicates its responsibility to address climate change, it will harm health and the planet in exchange for pandering to fossil fuel interests

Categories: Astronomy

How to Detect Consciousness in People, Animals and Maybe Even AI

Wed, 08/06/2025 - 7:00am

Insights from human brains could inform how scientists search for awareness in all its possible forms

Categories: Astronomy

NASA Budget Cuts Could Halt Space Missions, Climate Research, Experts Warn

Wed, 08/06/2025 - 6:00am

NASA faces historic budget cuts that could shutter missions and stall vital research, prompting a bipartisan outcry from all of the agency’s living former science chiefs.

Categories: Astronomy

Bird Flu Could Be Spreading through the Air on Dairy Farms, Preliminary Study Shows

Tue, 08/05/2025 - 2:45pm

Infectious bird flu virus was found in milk, on equipment, within wastewater and aerosolized in the air on California dairy farms

Categories: Astronomy

Vibrio pectenicida Identified as Cause of Sea Star Wasting Disease Affecting Billions

Tue, 08/05/2025 - 2:40pm

A devastating bacterium has decimated populations of sunflower sea stars, predators that play a crucial role in their environment

Categories: Astronomy

Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak in New York City Linked to Cooling Towers

Tue, 08/05/2025 - 1:15pm

Fifty-eight people have been infected—and two have died—in a New York City outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease—a severe type of pneumonia caused by a bacterium commonly associated with air-conditioning systems and cooling towers

Categories: Astronomy

NASA Boosts Plans for Nuclear Reactor on the Moon

Tue, 08/05/2025 - 11:40am

Spurred by competition from China and Russia, the Trump administration is pushing for nuclear power on the moon by 2030

Categories: Astronomy

Terracotta Is a 3,000-Year-Old Solution to Fighting Extreme Heat

Tue, 08/05/2025 - 6:45am

Companies are adapting this humble clay-based ceramic to keep people cool—without electricity

Categories: Astronomy

How to Watch the Fall Bird Migration Happening Now

Mon, 08/04/2025 - 3:36pm

Birds are starting to make their way south for the winter, and you’ve got a front-row seat to the show

Categories: Astronomy

How Teen Mathematician Hannah Cairo Disproved a Major Conjecture in Harmonic Analysis

Mon, 08/04/2025 - 12:30pm

When she was just 17 years old, Hannah Cairo disproved the Mizohata-Takeuchi conjecture, breaking a four-decade-old mathematical assumption

Categories: Astronomy

Teens Are Flocking to AI Chatbots. Is this Healthy?

Mon, 08/04/2025 - 12:00pm

Kids crave approval from their peers. Chatbots offer an alternative to IRL relationships, but they can come at a price  

Categories: Astronomy