When astronomers peer into the depths of the Milky Way galaxy, which is our home, they can see a lot of stuff going on. There are endless stars swirling masses of gas and other features, but one light source, in particular, has caught the attention of researchers that are trying to understand exactly what it …
NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars way back in February. Just moments after its safe touchdown, the massive machine sent back images of the Martian surface and began relaying all kinds of data so that its handlers back on Earth knew it was doing okay. With that quick start, you’d think that the rover would …
The Milky Way is our home, and for the entirety of human existence, it has treated us pretty well. Earth and our solar system just kinda chill out here in one of the galaxy’s curvy arms, living our day-to-day lives in relative peace, at least in cosmic terms. Fast forward 4.5 billion years, however, and …
Exoplanet discoveries used to be nothing but a dream for scientists, but new telescope technology and more advanced observation techniques have made the task of finding planets outside of our solar system easier than ever. In fact, so many new exoplanets are being found these days that scientists have to pick and choose which ones …
The Sun is one of the big reasons why we’re all here today. Without it, life likely wouldn’t have taken root on Earth — or, at the very least, the type of life that covers our planet today simply wouldn’t have been possible. That said, there’s still a lot we don’t know about our star …
We don’t really think of plants as life forms that require sleep, and while it’s true that plants don’t “sleep” in the way that animals do, they operate on a circadian rhythm all the same. Researchers have long been fascinated with the mechanisms and schedules that govern the life of a plant, and new research …
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has spent much of the past four years gazing at the massive gas giant Jupiter. The orbiter’s primary goal is to teach scientists as much about Jupiter as possible, but it’s also spent some time observing Jupiter’s many moons. Ganymede is the largest moon of Jupiter and also the largest moon in …
It sounds like the plot from a cheese science fiction movie: Scientists unearth something that’s been buried in the frozen ground of the Arctic for tens of thousands of years and decide to warm it up a bit. The creature stirs as its cells slowly wake up from their long stasis. As time passes, the …
NASA’s trusty Juno orbiter has been hanging around Jupiter for many years now. Its observations have taught us a lot about the gas giant and its intense storms. It revealed that the storms stretch farther into the planet than previously thought, and Juno is our primary eye in the sky when it comes to observing …
In case you hadn’t already heard, there are many U.S. states right now that are being invaded. No, the country isn’t being attacked by a foreign power, and in fact, the invaders have been living beneath our own feet for nearly two decades. I’m talking of course about the emergence of the periodical cicadas that …
