Space & PhysicsJuly 17, 2017
Chasing Consciousness, and the Information Revolution
A new institute gains steam, together with a new set of ideas on matter, life and information
Stories by Caleb A. Scharf
Caleb A. Scharf is a researcher and writer. He is the senior scientist for astrobiology at NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley.
Space & PhysicsJune 30, 2017
Astrobiology Roundup: Planet Nine, Planet 8.1 and Sweaty Skin
Planets in the outer solar system and terrestrial microbes in unexpected places
Space & PhysicsJune 26, 2017
Complex Life: Wimpy or Tough?
Complex life may be less resilient than microbial life by some measures, but it's not necessarily cosmically delicate
Space & PhysicsJune 22, 2017
Fun with Gravitational Waves
Even the Earth–sun system radiates gravitational waves, but just how powerful are they?
Space & PhysicsJune 12, 2017
Jupiter Now Has 69 Moons
Our local gas giant has two more natural satellites added to its roster
Space & PhysicsMay 30, 2017
Take an HD Ride around Jupiter [Video]
An exquisite time-lapse of our local, surprisingly complex gas giant
EvolutionMay 25, 2017
Life's Probability Problem
What do we even mean when we talk about the probability of life elsewhere in the cosmos?
Space & PhysicsMay 21, 2017
Alone on Mars for 150 Months
The Martian has already happened, just not with a human
Space & PhysicsMay 19, 2017
Exocomets Light Up 100 Billion Kilometers of Space
A remarkable new image reveals the teething pains of an entire planetary system
Space & PhysicsApril 26, 2017
The Crazy Scale of Human Carbon Emission
Want some perspective on how much carbon dioxide human activity produces? Here it is
Space & PhysicsApril 19, 2017
Planets: A Modest Proposal
When is a planet a planet? Always, whether it's a hecto-planet or a milli-planet
Space & PhysicsApril 18, 2017
Astrobiology Roundup: Giant Viruses, Ceres Landslides and Planet Nine
From accordion genomes to icy flows and binary trans-Neptunian objects
Space & PhysicsApril 13, 2017
New Evidence for Hydrothermal Havens in Enceladus
Spurting out molecular hydrogen and water, the icy moon Enceladus looks even tastier in the search for life
Space & PhysicsMarch 24, 2017
Mars: As You've Never Seen It Before [Video]
An astonishing rendering of 12 years of orbital images brings the planet to life
Space & PhysicsMarch 16, 2017
The Real Expanse
Human colonization of space would be terrifyingly hard, and that's the best thing about it
Space & PhysicsFebruary 28, 2017
Astrobiology Roundup: Dust Traps, Juno, Mars Lava and more
What's happening in the universe?
Space & PhysicsFebruary 26, 2017
Tiny, Tiny TRAPPIST-1
The 7-planet system of TRAPPIST-1 is remarkable in many ways, including its size
ComputingFebruary 21, 2017
Why I Love AI
Artificial Intelligence has the potential to show us new ways to think about the natural world
PolicyFebruary 15, 2017
Churchill the Astrobiologist?
Newly released writings by Winston Churchill on life in the universe reinforce how keenly scientific his thinking was
Space & PhysicsJanuary 27, 2017
Ancient Meteorites Were Different
Types of rocky meteorites rare today were abundant 466 million years ago
EvolutionJanuary 20, 2017
Despair Not This Earth
Rational thinking, creativity and wonder are powerful tools in the universe
Space & PhysicsJanuary 10, 2017
Vast Shadow Sweeps Across Young Exoplanetary System
18 years of Hubble Telescope data on a star system reveals a surprising phenomenon spanning tens of billions of miles
Space & PhysicsJanuary 9, 2017
NASA's 50 Years of Mars Exploration [Video]
Humans have been visiting and exploring Mars for more than half a century, and NASA has released a video celebrating the agency's remarkable contributions
EvolutionDecember 31, 2016
Another 1/230,000,000th of a Galactic Orbit
As the solar year ends, let's try to stop being so parochial