Science
2,000-year-old Vesuvius eruption that buried Pompeii helps scientists date Earth’s history more precisely
A new study has made argon-argon dating more precise using the well-recorded eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Sunset over the ancient ruins of Pompeii, Italy. Credit: Nirjhar Basak The eruption buried Pompeii and killed Pliny the Elder. His nephew, Pliny the Younger, witnessed the event and recorded a detailed account. The researchers used … Read more
Harvard Scientists Detect Radio Signal Coming Directly From Planet Outside the Solar System
Sign up to see the future today. Unmissable innovations from the cutting edge of science and technology. So far, astronomers have confirmed more than 6,300 exoplanets orbiting a host star beyond our solar system. They range from small rocky worlds to huge gas orbs like our own Jupiter or Saturn. Some, scientists suspect, could harbor … Read more
Will SpaceX’s Starship finally make it to orbit? We’re about to find out
There’s a lot riding on SpaceX’s upcoming Starship launch, both physically and conceptually, as the company prepares the giant rocket for its biggest test flight to date. SpaceX is targeting September 28 for Starship Flight 14, the next liftoff of its industry-shaking launch vehicle, and plans to fly the towering spacecraft farther and longer than … Read more
Scientists Found a Deep-Sea ‘Death Pool’ That Vanished. It May Show How Earth’s First Life Survived
Marine ecologists used to call them “black puddles of death.” Just a decade ago, blue-green deep-sea brine pools were assumed to be oxygen-depleting dead zones, despite the wealth of deeply strange and extraterrestrial “extremophiles” that biologists have found living at their margins. But something was alive inside these phenomenally salty underwater lakes, and now researchers … Read more
Microbes could survive on Saturn’s moon Enceladus — and scientists think we can find them
In the enduring search for life in the universe, new evidence is pointing researchers toward Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Enceladus is Saturn’s sixth largest moon with a diameter roughly equal to the width of Arizona, and is believed to have a huge underground ocean that spews columns of water into space. Enceladus, one of 145 known … Read more
Tonga’s 2022 ‘Ultra’ Eruption Rewrote the Rules for Tsunamis. Now We Know Why
Every single house on Mango Island was leveled by the tsunami that radiated when the underwater Hunga-Tonga volcano Hunga-Ha’apai exploded off the coast of Tonga in 2022. Only two buildings survived on nearby Fonoifua Island. Seven people were killed and at least 19 more were injured, and many cries for help were lost when the … Read more
James Webb Space Telescope looks back in time, finds our ancient universe wasn’t as pure as we thought
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered that just 500 million years after the Big Bang, galaxies were already pumping heavy elements into their surroundings. That means the early universe was not as pure and pristine as previously believed, which could affect our theories of cosmic evolution. Shortly after the universe began, it … Read more
SpaceX Preps For ‘Milestone’ Starship Flight 14. NASA Updates ISS Mission Date.
SpaceX is preparing the launch pad for its Starship Flight 14 next week. Elon Musk’s rocket company completed testing for its historic flight on Thursday. NASA this week released a new date for its next SpaceX mission after a delay due to issues with the Dragon spacecraft. Meanwhile, SPCX stock is trading around a key … Read more
Two Researchers Say Humans Are In the Midst of an Evolutionary Shift Like Never Before. But Not Everyone Is Convinced
AI generated illustration. Credit: ZME Science/Midjourney. Some scientists say humans may be entering a new phase of evolution, one in which culture is becoming more powerful than genes in shaping our survival and future. At the heart of that idea is a provocative idea from University of Maine researchers Timothy Waring and Zachary Wood. They … Read more