You awaken to your Alexa alarm blaring. You ask the virtual assistant for the weather report and a reminder of the day’s appointments. After a quick FaceTime with a friend across the world, you casually scroll past the headline “New SpaceX crew blasts off to International Space Station.” Only 50 years ago, Stanley Kubrick’s cult […]
Starchild Awaits: The Technology of ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ Read More »
Painted in his chariot ascending towards the light, the Greek god Apollo has long been known to represent archery, prophecy, and above all else, the sun. His twin, Artemis, is most famously the goddess of the hunt, nature, and the moon. Greek mythology follows us wherever we roam, from the constellations over our heads to
NASA’s plan to return to the moon and land on Mars Read More »
The United States has landed nine payloads on Mars — the fourth planet from the sun, with a reddish-brown coloration — dating all the way back to 1976. And yet, no human has ever set foot on Mars. Although Earth’s and Mars’ days are approximately equivalent lengths, many stark differences exist between the two celestial
Sending humans to Mars: Outlook, barriers, and timeline Read More »
We experience three common spatial dimensions in our universe: depth, width, and length — with time sometimes considered as a fourth dimension. Each progressive dimension adds complexity and therefore requires more information to describe. For example, more information is needed to describe a three-dimensional cube than a less-complex two-dimensional square. Although certain theories have suggested
The trees dance in the morning light, their branches waving in the breeze. The meadows stretch vast, decorated with swaths of verdant reds, blues, and purples. A ribbon of water cuts through the valley, bending towards the horizon. Such images often come to mind when considering the singular beauty of Earth, especially in comparison to
Imagine if science was scrapped and rewritten in an instant. The behavior of phenomena associated with quantum physics, gravity, and black holes has historically challenged our very perception of the universe. The scientific world potentially stands on the verge of enormous advancement through the reconciliation of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity (in part macroscopic gravitational
Down a holographic rabbit hole: Black holes, wormholes, and holes in physics theories Read More »
Nuclear fusion power promises to revolutionize the world’s energy production infrastructure and combat climate change head-on. In the 1970s, physics researchers confidently proclaimed that nuclear fusion power was “30 years away.” The phrase has been parroted time and time again, reverberating through popular science, but as time moved forward, the 30-year estimate remained constant —
The future of energy: Why fusion power is always ’30 years away’ Read More »
Water is undeniably the source of life. Consequently, it is one main factor that scientists look for when combing the universe for habitable locations. As it turns out, they may not have to look far. Our neighboring planet, Mars, has been confirmed to have liquid water lakes deep beneath its southern polar ice cap. Evidence
Diving under Mars’ ice cap Read More »
An apocalypse: the end-all-be-all of Earth as we know it. Various pieces of literature and films have attempted to capture the concept, fueling a fear of the end of the world. Suitably, the collapse of society is quite frightening and not easily acceptable. For centuries, humans have tried to rationalize and control this unease through