Astronomers have discovered a perplexing trend in Neptune’s atmosphere: Ever since the planet’s southern hemisphere summer began almost two decades ago, atmospheric temperatures in this region have plummeted, and scientists aren’t sure why. Neptune is the most distant planet in the solar system, around 30 times farther from the sun than Earth is. Just like … Read more
So far no one has found evidence of intelligent aliens elsewhere in the cosmos. But if they do exist, they might be hanging out on Dyson spheres circling the husks of sunlike stars called white dwarfs scattered throughout the Milky Way, a new paper argues. And that’s there we should be focusing our search for … Read more
Venus is a hot and hellish world and the second planet from the sun. The Earth-size planet could be considered our twin if not for its thick, toxic atmosphere and surface temperatures that are hot enough to melt lead. Despite such extremes, researchers have long wondered if organisms could exist in the upper cloud layers … Read more
NASA’s marsquake-hunting lander has detected its two largest seismic events to date — and on the far side of the planet, no less. NASA’s InSight lander touched down on Mars in November 2018 carrying the most sensitive seismometer ever designed. Since the mission’s arrival, it has detected countless events dubbed marsquakes, using the signals to … Read more
A new warp speed experiment could finally offer an indirect test of famed physicist Stephen Hawking’s most famous prediction about black holes. The new proposal suggests that, by nudging an atom to become invisible, scientists could catch a glimpse of the ethereal quantum glow that envelops objects traveling at close to the speed of light. … Read more
Why has humanity never been visited by aliens (that we know of)? The question has confounded scientists for decades, but two researchers have come up with a possible — and disturbing — explanation: Advanced civilizations could be doomed to either stagnate or die before they get the chance. The new hypothesis suggests that, as space-faring … Read more
In space, rockets zoom around with no air to push against. What’s their secret? Turns out, the engines that power rockets are different than the kind of engines that power aircraft or other Earth-based equipment. Rocket engines carry everything they require into space, rather than relying on air. Like Earthly engines, rocket engines operate using … Read more
The seven wonders of the ancient world were a selection of exceptional pieces of architecture and art in the Middle East, North Africa and southern Europe. A number of ancient and medieval writers from Europe and Middle East debated and described what are today called the seven “wonders” of the world (not all writers used … Read more
The “secret code” the brain uses to create a key type of memory has finally been cracked. This type of memory, called working memory, is what allows people to temporarily hold on to and manipulate information for short periods of time. You use working memory, for example, when you look up a phone number and … Read more
Salt crystals from Central Australia hold ancient microorganisms that became trapped 830 million years ago, new research finds. And there’s a chance that some of the microorganisms might still be alive. The single-celled organisms are locked in tiny fluid pockets — smaller than the width of a human hair — in halite, or salt, from … Read more
