What makes Earth feel so much like home? For some, crisp fall mornings and hot coffees make this planet the place to be. Others might argue in the name of our endless collection of island beaches and piña coladas that Jupiter just can’t offer. At the root of it all, though, there’s one thing that […]
Home away from home: NASA’s newest ocean-covered exoplanet Read More »
Lightning is not uncommon, nor is it particularly subtle. In fact, with approximately 9 million strikes per day, it is one of the loudest, brightest, and most common natural phenomena known to the terrestrial sciences. Most people know lightning as loud arcs of light that sometimes occur during severe storms. Indeed, this is the most
Aerial electricity: Lightning and other poorly-understood phenomena Read More »
When most people hear the name Hubble, they likely think of the groundbreaking telescope that captured unique planets, blazing stars, and clusters of light in its stunning photographs. It is less likely, however, that they think of the famous telescope’s namesake — Edwin Hubble, the astronomer who discovered the expanding universe. Until the 1920s, astronomers
Infinitely larger: How Edwin Hubble proved our galaxy is not alone Read More »
Recently, a group of scientists at the Carnegie Institution for Science created an AI model that can detect traces of extraterrestrial life. By analyzing the chemical composition and structure of past and present life preserved in sediments in different planetary samples — from Mars meteorites to the earliest specimens of life on Earth — the
A search for the extraterrestrial: Artificial intelligence detects life Read More »
The recent discovery of a peculiar supernova remnant has solved an 850-year-old mystery, and a new investigation is already forming in its place. In 1181, Chinese and Japanese astronomers observed a “guest star,” or the origin of a supernova, which they identified as SN 1181. It appeared as a dim expanding nebula that was as
The mystery of an undying star Read More »
For many, the idea of going beyond the boundaries of Earth’s atmosphere is exhilarating. Curiosity has propelled human development, allowing us to reach the stars. From inventing the airplane to landing on the moon, humanity has an obsession with what lies above. To explore the stars and be launched into the midst of a tenebrous
New trends in space tourism: Can we actually reach the stars? Read More »
In 1997, the NASA Hubble telescope discovered that there existed stars without a tie to a specific galaxy, a finding that shook the scientific community. These stars were located in the region of the Virgo supercluster, an area of space containing around 2,000 galaxies. They were around 300,000 lightyears away from the nearest galaxy and
Rogue stars: Ejected stars permanently roam space in between galaxies Read More »
Humans are becoming cognizant of two daunting possibilities: they either are or are not alone in the universe. Some assert that the former is more terrifying, while others contend that the latter is. Regardless of which is true, extraterrestrial life has still yet to reach out to humans. The ultimate conundrum, like Enrico Fermi famously
There should be aliens, but why aren’t there? Read More »
The rings of Saturn, the sixth planet and second gas giant from the sun, are no mystery. Merely tannish-brown at first glance, with more recently discovered gray and pink tones, Saturnian rings are much brighter than those of Jupiter, the fifth planet and first gas giant from the sun. While all four gas giants (Uranus
Jupiter’s rings: a lesser-known astronomical phenomenon Read More »