Space, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 30, 2017

Moon's Supersonic Shadow Created Waves During the Solar Eclipse

When the moon's shadow zipped across the United States during the Great American Solar Eclipse this past August, the shadow traveled so fast it created waves in Earth's upper atmosphere, a new study finds. During a solar eclipse, the moon passes between the sun and Earth, casting its shadow in...

Oct 31, 2017

First Cat in Space to Receive a Proper Memorial

When it comes to animals that heroically blasted off into space during the space race, names like Laika the dog or Ham the chimpanzee are probably the first that come to mind. But one spacefaring feline who helped to pave the way for humans to go to space has gone...

Oct 31, 2017

Stellar Zombie: Scientists Discover a Star That Won't Die

The appearance of a years-long supernova explosion challenges scientist's current understanding of star formation and death, and work is underway to explain the bizarre phenomenon. Stars more than eight times the mass of the sun end their lives in fantastic explosions called supernovas. These are among the most energetic phenomena...

Sep 30, 2017

The Next Giant Leap: US Will Return to the Moon, Pence Says

The Trump administration is committed to sending astronauts to the moon as part of a broader push to prioritize human spaceflight and firm up U.S. dominance in the final frontier, Vice President Mike Pence said. We will return American astronauts to the moon, not only to leave behind footprints and...

Sep 30, 2017

Bird Photobombs the Space Station and Sun in Awesome Photo

Talk about timing! Photographers with the European Space Agency hoping to spot the International Space Station crossing the face of the sun got more than they bargained for in this sunny snapshot. In the photo, which was taken in 2013 but only released by ESA on Wednesday (Oct. 4), a...

Sep 30, 2017

US Spy Satellite Launch Delayed Again

Editor's note: The launch of the NROL-52 spy satellite launch was delayed for the third day in a row today, Oct. 7, this time due to a telemetry transmitter problem on the satellite's Atlas V rocket. United Launch Alliance will replace and test the transmitter and select a new launch...

Sep 30, 2017

Antimatter Angst: The Universe Shouldn't Exist

The universe shouldn't exist, according to new ultra-precise measurements of anti-protons. But the fact that I'm typing this article and you're reading it, however, suggests that we are here, so something must be awry with our understanding of the physics the universe is governed by. The universe is the embodiment...

Sep 30, 2017

A Nearby Neutron Star Collision Could Cause Calamity on Earth

A long time ago in a galaxy far away—NGC 4993, to be exact—two neutron stars collided and created a spectacular light show. After billions of years spent slowly circling each other, in their last moments the two degenerate stars spiraled around each other thousands of times before finally smashing together...

Jul 31, 2017

Eclipse Overload: What If the Sun Were Blocked for Years?

Total solar eclipses are astonishing events to witness, and preparations for them — particularly for eclipses with paths that are visible to large numbers of people, such as the Aug. 21 eclipse — can generate widespread eclipse fever that lasts for months. However, the eclipse itself speeds by all too...

Jul 31, 2017

Here's How to Watch the Great American Solar Eclipse Live

If you're not one of the 12 million people who live within the approximately 70-mile-wide (113 kilometers) path of totality, or one of the 1.85 million to 7.4 million people expected to travel to that path, there are still ways to watch the eclipse live. [Total Solar Eclipse 2017: Everything...

Jul 31, 2017

Will Your Solar Eclipse Glasses Still Be Safe to Use in 2024?

The 2017 total solar eclipse has come and gone, but another one is less than a decade away for North America. And if you purchased paper eclipse glasses, you may be wondering if you can reuse them again for the next total solar eclipse in seven years. On April 8,...

Jun 30, 2017

Final New Moon Sunday Starts the Countdown to the Great American Eclipse

It seems that everyone is eagerly awaiting the shady drama that will be enacted in the skies over North America on Aug. 21. It is a play whose script was written eons ago: On that third Monday in August, the celestial wanderings of the sun, Earth and moon will cause...

May 31, 2017

Talking to E.T.? Why Math May Be the Best Language

Communication between Earthlings and intelligent aliens should be based on mathematics — exo-arithmetic greetings that form a shared lingo, some researchers say. The idea is that mathematics is as much a part of our humanity as music and art. And it is mathematics that might be understandable — even familiar...

May 31, 2017

The Missing Link: Where Are Medium-Size Black Holes?

For decades, while astronomers have detected black holes equal in mass either to a few suns or millions of suns, the missing-link black holes in between have eluded discovery. Now, a new study suggests such intermediate-mass black holes may not exist in the modern-day universe because of the rate at...

Apr 30, 2017

Mysterious Light Flashes 1st Spotted by Carl Sagan Explained

The pale blue dot has been twinkling like a brilliant diamond in satellite images, and scientists may have finally solved the mystery of why. Mysterious flashes of light from Earth were captured by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, an Earth and space weather...