Astronomers have discovered an unusually massive and dense exoplanet that challenges conventional ideas about how rocky planets form. Called GJ 523b, the exoplanet is about 2.5 times wider than Earth, but has about 23 times the mass of our planet in that relatively compact size. Worlds this large and dense are sometimes called “mega-Earths,” an … Read more
On Sable Island, a thin crescent of windswept sand about 300 kilometers off the coast of Nova Scotia, several hundred wild horses live without predators, without veterinary care and without any human control over who breeds with whom. Researchers at the University of Calgary, the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Exeter have spent … Read more
Two astronauts, including the first French woman in history to perform a spacewalk, worked outside the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday (August 18), becoming temporary television repairmen. As often happens on Earth, the work required more time than the “appointment” allowed and a second visit had to be scheduled. NASA astronaut Anil Menon and … Read more
The family tree of humanity is long and tangled. Scientists classify our ancient relatives into three family groups: Homo, Australopithecus, and Paranthropus. Each of them is a “genus,” the rank just above a species. (In Homo sapiens, Homo is the genus and sapiens is the species). These names dominate the way we talk about human … Read more
Nshan Kazaryan, the NASA engineer responsible for communicating with the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes, is younger than the spacecraft he is talking to. At 25, Mr. Kazaryan is one of a new generation of engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California working to keep the geriatric but rugged spacecraft running. “Every … Read more
A NASA spacecraft in orbit around the Moon captured dramatic images of the impact crater left when a SpaceX rocket crashed into the lunar surface this month. The defunct upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket crashed uncontrollably into the Moon on August 5 at an estimated speed of 5,400 mph. The roughly 10,800-pound booster … Read more
New images from a NASA satellite orbiting the Moon reveal a new 60-foot-wide crater formed by a wayward SpaceX rocket that crashed into the lunar surface earlier this month. The accident involved the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket that originally launched on January 15, 2025 and was carrying two commercial lunar landers. As … Read more
A strange jellyfish-like object captured by NASA’s Curiosity rover in 2023 has some people convinced that the small shape could be something much more mysterious. The strange figure appears on a distant Martian ridge but disappears in another image of the same location taken less than a minute later, fueling speculation. The image has sparked … Read more
Some bottlenose dolphins have learned to use tools to help them fish, a clever technique that can be passed from mother to calf. Scientists in Australia observed dolphins chasing fish into empty seashells and bringing them to the surface before putting the prey in their mouths. A baby dolphin was also seen copying its mother … Read more
The liver is one of the most notable organs in the human body. This multitasking dynamo performs around 500 vital functions, including processing nutrients and filtering harmful substances from the blood. Despite the chemical toxins it has to deal with daily, the liver is preternaturally young, thanks to its unique ability to regenerate. However, not … Read more