Stories by Caleb A. Scharf

Forty-eight years ago human eyes first witnessed Earth rising over the moon; today we can all see it in high-definition

Understanding life in the cosmos includes tackling the problem of consciousness—a new institute called YHouse intends to help

Long-lived space mission starts a bold last-dance with gas giant Saturn

Where in the world did Fermi go?

An extraordinary new image shows a protostellar disk fragmenting into multiple stars

The Arctic now has seven times less old sea ice than it did 30 years ago. What does that mean for our planet's habitability?

NASA's Curiosity rover finds a foreign object on Mars, and engages in some science awesomeness

As All Hallow's Eve approaches, take a look at what's brewing in the cosmic night

New studies indicate that ionizing radiation might cause neurodegenerative disease. The implications could be profound for interplanetary or interstellar species.

Getting to Mars is hard. Getting down onto Mars is harder. The unfortunate demise of ESA's ExoMars Schiaparelli demonstrator module is a case in point

NASA's MAVEN mission returns stunning ultraviolet images of the Red Planet

The SpaceX vision for a multiplanet species prompts thinking on how to make a planet more habitable

A simulation of Sputnik Planum's formation supports the idea of a deep, salty ocean 

Hubble Space Telescope catches the details of a complex cometary breakup as it approaches the sun

The recent SpaceX launchpad explosion is a reminder that rocketry is tricky, but also remarkable for accomplishing as much as it does

Astronomers obtain convincing evidence of a potentially habitable world around our nearest neighboring star—this could change everything

What are some of the most intriguing and unexpected puzzles about the universe?

What are some of the most intriguing and unexpected puzzles about the universe?

What are some of the most intriguing and unexpected puzzles about the universe?

Can we connect the microscopic and macroscopic factors involved in starting life on a planet?

Laboratory research suggests that an unexpected layer of semimetallic, optically dark hydrogen lurks inside worlds like Jupiter and Saturn

The first 21st-century images of a dark vortex in Neptune's atmosphere will help probe the ice giant's atmospheric behavior

King Jove is one hell of a planet. It's also hell for a spacecraft

Latest New Horizons images of Pluto are the mission's highest-resolution captures