Three new planets appear to be the universe’s most likely locations for alien life. The planets, all of which are about the size of the Earth, were located by a telescope in Chile called the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope, or TRAPPIST, according to Fox News. … [Read more...]
Dwarf Planet Ceres Holds Treasures and Suffers Landslides
Evidence of a landslide, bright features and a "hidden treasure" are on brilliant display in new NASA photos of the dwarf planet Ceres. The new images were taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft from its lowest orbit around Ceres yet, about 240 miles above the world's surface. … [Read more...]
Thanks to Science, We Now Know How Long It Takes for Conspiracies to be Disproved
The online warring between renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and Atlanta rapper Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr., who goes by the stage name B.o.B, has taken on a life of its own, escalating into a full-blown rap battle. B.o.B isn’t alone in his conviction of the Flat Earth conspiracy theory, one that asserts that common-held or scientifically disproved beliefs are part of a … [Read more...]
New Horizons Has Made its Closest Approach to Pluto!
After nine years and over 3.26 billion miles, the New Horizons spacecraft made its closest approach to Pluto earlier today. Assuming it survived the encounter, the probe is now drifting away from the dwarf planet as it heads deeper into the Kuiper Belt. … [Read more...]
The LHC Has Discovered a New Sub-Atomic Particle Called a Pentaquark
After restarting to run at higher power than ever, the Large Hadron Collider has made its first proper discovery. Today, a team of scientists announced that they’ve found a new class of sub-atomic particles known as pentaquarks. … [Read more...]
It’s Open Season on Interpreting the Geology of Pluto and Charon
At less than a million miles from Pluto leading up to closest approach flyby on Tuesday, the New Horizons probe is sending back outright spectacular images of the dwarf planet and its largest moon. … [Read more...]
Global Warming “Pause” Never Actually Happened
There’s been much debate these past few years over the cause of the so-called global warming “hiatus”—a pause in the overall uptick up of Earth’s temperature due to cooling at the surface of the Pacific Ocean since the early 2000s. Did climate warming stop? Nope, we just weren’t looking deep enough. … [Read more...]
Infrared Outlines Jupiter’s Great Red Spot In a Bright Glow
In preparation for Juno’s approach on Jupiter in 2016, NASA’s InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF) took infrared images of Jupiter on May 16, 2015. Doing this now will give context for what Juno’s instruments will get when it gets up close and personal to the gas giant. … [Read more...]