1+ hour, 6+ min ago   (28+ words) In our fifth installment, we explore the most exotic proposals for interstellar travel, including the Alcubierre Warp Metric, wormhole travel, the Halo Drive, and other truly advanced concepts....

2+ hour, 10+ min ago   (88+ words) Since the dawn of human space exploration, astronauts, scientists, and engineers have examined the short- and long-term effects of microgravity (often mistakenly called zero-gravity) on the human body. This includes the distribution of fluids to the upper body (called “puffy…...

1+ day, 2+ hour ago   (207+ words) Planetary protection at NASA is managed by the agency’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance and lists risk of contamination into Mission Categories I to V. Each category is assigned based on the mission type and the target’s potential for…...

1+ day, 6+ hour ago   (707+ words) Observing comets is tricky. They're easier to see when they're closer to the Sun, but proximity to the star heats them up and releases volatiles. That creates a coma around the comet, which shrouds its nucleus, hiding it from studious…...

1+ day, 8+ hour ago   (953+ words) There's some misunderstanding among the public at large in regards to what a scientific theory is. They're statements about nature based on logic, evidence, and observation. But they're not papal pronouncements about reality that can never be challenged, lest the…...

2+ day, 9+ hour ago   (110+ words) Some of the strangest weather in the solar system doesn’t happen on Earth, or even Jupiter’s Great Red Spot - it happens in the interior of the Ice Giants like Neptune and Uranus. Specifically, scientists have long believed that, at certain…...

2+ day, 10+ hour ago   (416+ words) The ESA's Sentinel satellites captured a 76 sq. km. chunk of ice breaking off from Greenland's Petermann Glacier. They watched the cracks and deformations happen in real time leading up to the calving. While calving is normal, it's happening more often,…...

3+ day, 8+ hour ago   (1070+ words) Mass transfer between stars isn't rare. Most stars, including massive ones, are born in binary pairs, and this situation is ripe for mass transfer between the stellar siblings. Since stars expand as they age and evolve, it makes interactions between…...

3+ day, 9+ hour ago   (110+ words) An illustration of globular clusters associated with the Milky Way Galaxy. Most galaxies have globular clusters. Credit: NASA/ESA, A. Feild. Since dark matter is a major part of the Universe, astronomers are using any method they can to understand its…...

3+ day, 11+ hour ago   (613+ words) Comet 220P flares back into binocular visibility. It has been a busy month for astronomy. In the midst of an eclipse season bookended by the total solar eclipse on August 12th and the deep partial lunar eclipse coming right up this week…...