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Ghost Particle (neutrino): Did it come from the evaporation of a primordial black hole near Earth?
An immensely powerful neutrino struck a deep-sea detector. Did it come from the evaporation of a primordial black hole near Earth? Neutrinos are often called "ghost particles" because they have almost no mass and rarely interact with matter. Trillions pass through your body every second. But recently, the KM3NeT collaboration—a massive telescope network submerged in the deep Mediterranean Sea—detected something extraordinary.
Feb 221 min read


When an asteroid slammed into Earth 6.3 million years ago, it launched a spray of molten rock across South America.
When an asteroid slammed into Earth 6.3 million years ago, it launched a spray of molten rock across South America. Today, researchers have finally found the fragments.
Tektites are natural glasses formed under extreme conditions. When an extraterrestrial body strikes the Earth with immense energy, it melts the local rock and flings it into the atmosphere. The molten droplets cool rapidly as they plummet back to the surface, forming distinct, aerodynamic shapes.
Feb 221 min read


A piece of off-the-shelf lab equipment the size of a cellphone is set to revolutionize how we conduct biological research in low Earth orbit.
A piece of off-the-shelf lab equipment the size of a cellphone is set to revolutionize how we conduct biological research in low Earth orbit. Space science requires patience. Historically, running biological tests on the International Space Station meant freezing samples, loading them into a return capsule, waiting for splashdown, and transporting them to a lab on Earth. The process takes months.
Feb 221 min read


For decades, space weather forecasts only gave us hours to prepare for catastrophic solar flares.
For decades, space weather forecasts only gave us hours to prepare for catastrophic solar flares. A new AI tool is changing that to weeks. Space weather is a silent but potent threat. When the sun unleashes a solar flare or a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), the resulting blast of radiation and charged particles can cripple GPS, fry power grids, and threaten astronaut safety.
Feb 221 min read


How a decades-long mission to measure the delicate equilibrium between the Sun's incoming energy and Earth's outgoing heat revolutionized our understanding of climate.
How a decades-long mission to measure the delicate equilibrium between the Sun's incoming energy and Earth's outgoing heat revolutionized our understanding of climate.Attempts to understand Earth's radiation budget started around 1880, but the space age transformed everything. On Jan. 31, 1958, Explorer 1 became the first US satellite, carrying a cosmic ray detector to measure radiation. It was the first step in a long journey.
Feb 221 min read


An international collaboration has published the most detailed radio sky map ever created
An international collaboration has published the most detailed radio sky map ever created, revealing 13.7 million cosmic sources hiding in the dark.
When we look up at the night sky, we see light from stars. But if we tune our eyes to low-frequency radio waves, the universe looks dramatically different. The stars vanish, replaced by the violent, energetic remnants of dying stars and the immense, invisible jets fired by supermassive black holes.
Feb 221 min read


When a SpaceX rocket created a spectacular fireball over Europe, scientists rushed to their lasers.
When a SpaceX rocket created a spectacular fireball over Europe, scientists rushed to their lasers. What they found was a permanent, human-made chemical fingerprint high above Earth.
In the early hours of February 19, 2025, the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket tumbled back to Earth, exploding into a fireball that made headlines from the UK to Poland. While stargazers marveled at the light show, a team from the Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics saw an unprecedented sci
Feb 221 min read


How a rugged, affordable, open-source microscope is revealing the secret lives of cells during the chaotic freefall of the "Vomit Comet."
How a rugged, affordable, open-source microscope is revealing the secret lives of cells during the chaotic freefall of the "Vomit Comet."
As space agencies gear up for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars, understanding how the absence of gravity affects living cells is crucial. We know astronaut cellular signaling—like insulin processing—is altered in space, but watching it happen in real-time has been extraordinarily difficult and expensive.
Feb 221 min read


Are galaxies held together by invisible Dark Matter, or is our understanding of gravity fundamentally flawed?
Are galaxies held together by invisible Dark Matter, or is our understanding of gravity fundamentally flawed? Wide binary stars are finally providing the answer.
In the outer edges of galaxies, stars orbit much faster than Newton's and Einstein's laws of gravity predict. To explain this "low-acceleration anomaly," scientists invented Dark Matter—a hypothetical, invisible halo providing extra gravitational pull.
Feb 221 min read


Space junk burning up on re-entry isn't just disappearing. It's chemical fingerprint high in Earth's pristine upper atmosphere.
Space junk burning up on re-entry isn't just disappearing. It's leaving a permanent, human-made chemical fingerprint high in Earth's pristine upper atmosphere.
What goes up must come down. With approximately 14,000 active satellites in orbit and proposals for up to one million more, the sheer volume of spacecraft re-entering Earth's atmosphere is skyrocketing.
Feb 221 min read


SpaceX is pivoting. The immediate dream of a Martian metropolis has given way to a lunar reality.
SpaceX is pivoting. The immediate dream of a Martian metropolis has given way to a lunar reality. But what biological toll will either world extract from us?
It’s an age-old debate in space circles: Should humanity’s first city on another world be built on the Moon, or on Mars? As recently as last year, SpaceX founder Elon Musk saw missions to the Moon as a "distraction," declaring his company was going "straight to Mars."
Feb 221 min read


NASA has given the Mars rover "GPS" capabilities. Perseverance can now find itself without calling Earth.
NASA has given the Mars rover "GPS" capabilities. By repurposing a helicopter chip, Perseverance can now find itself without calling Earth.
Imagine driving in a desert with no map, no GPS, and only one phone call a day to ask for directions. That was life for Perseverance—until now.
Feb 221 min read
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