Space & PhysicsJanuary 19, 2012
Solar Swan Song: NASA Satellite Witnesses a Comet's Plunge into the Sun
A sun-watching spacecraft has for the first time tracked a comet's path all the way into the solar atmosphere
Stories by John Matson
John Matson is a former reporter and editor for Scientific American who has written extensively about astronomy and physics.
Space & PhysicsJanuary 11, 2012
A Plenitude of Planets: Galactic Search Finds Exoplanets Are More Commonplace Than Stars
The ubiquity of extrasolar planets, and of relatively small worlds in particular, bodes well for searches for life-friendly Earth twins
TechnologyJanuary 5, 2012
Ohm Run: One-Atom-Tall Wires Could Extend Life of Moore's Law
New finding could help circuits keep shrinking
EngineeringJanuary 5, 2012
Time Cloak Hides Very Brief Events
Space & PhysicsJanuary 1, 2012
Why Did So Much High-Profile Junk Fall from Space Last Year?
Orbital debris hits Earth daily, but NASA says not to worry
January 1, 2012
How to Buy a Better Lightbulb
The U.S. is phasing out energy-hog lightbulbs in January. How do the alternatives stack up?
Space & PhysicsDecember 30, 2011
Our Galaxy's "Big Ears": Milky Way's Large Companion Galaxies Stand Out
The Milky Way seems to have too few galactic hangers-on, except when it comes to the big ones. What gives?
The SciencesDecember 26, 2011
Newfound Gas Cloud Points to Possible Planets Near the Milky Way's Black Hole
Space & PhysicsDecember 20, 2011
It's a Small World: Kepler Spacecraft Discovers First Known Earth-Size Exoplanets
NASA's planet-hunting observatory claims its smallest two finds yet, but neither looks hospitable to life
Space & PhysicsDecember 14, 2011
Gas Guzzler: Cloud Could Soon Meet Its Demise in Milky Way's Black Hole
The supermassive black hole at our galaxy's center may be about to shred and consume a cloud of gas and dust the size of a planet
The SciencesDecember 2, 2011
Physics in the Mix: Bartending Gets Scientific
The SciencesDecember 1, 2011
Quantum Entanglement Links 2 Diamonds
Usually a finicky phenomenon limited to tiny, ultracold objects, entanglement has now been achieved for macroscopic diamonds at room temperature
EnergyNovember 25, 2011
Can a California Start-Up Change the Way We Think about Lightbulbs?
What would it take to convince you to spend $45 on a 100-watt lightbulb? A Silicon Valley company called Switch Lighting is banking that it has the answer.
Space & PhysicsNovember 24, 2011
NASA's Massive Curiosity Rover Nears Launch toward Mars
The rover formerly known as the Mars Science Laboratory should tackle some of the biggest questions about Mars—assuming it can survive an elaborate touchdown
The SciencesNovember 19, 2011
New Museum Exhibit Invites Visitors to Smell the Moon, Nuke an Asteroid or Colonize Mars
The SciencesNovember 18, 2011
Funds Restored to Build the James Webb Space Telescope
TechnologyNovember 17, 2011
Seeing the Big (and Small) Picture: Panoramic Tool Lets Users Observe Dynamic Imagery
New imagery available through Carnegie Mellon's GigaPan Time Machine lets users move in space and time to explore the sun, a beehive or the chlorophyll content of the oceans
Space & PhysicsNovember 10, 2011
Fresh Start: Scientists Glimpse Unsullied Traces of the Infant Universe
For the first time, astronomers discover pockets of pristine gas formed in the universe's first few minutes
The SciencesNovember 9, 2011
Nanoscale Car Built with Four-Wheel Drive
November 9, 2011
Is It Just Me, or Has It Been Raining Satellites Lately?
Two well-publicized satellite falls a month apart got me wondering: Is this the new normal? After all, there is plenty of junk in orbit, and it can’t stay up there forever.
The SciencesNovember 8, 2011
How Lasers Could Help Build a Better Stereo Speaker [Video]
November 7, 2011
Life's Journey: 5 Tiny Organisms Hitch a Ride on Mission to a Martian Moon [Slide Show]
The Russian sample-return spacecraft will carry a zoo of microbes to Phobos and back to test whether life can survive the interplanetary journey
Space & PhysicsNovember 3, 2011
Wet Down: Warm, Wet Conditions on Ancient Mars May Have Been Confined to Subsurface
Mars has plenty of minerals that suggest a watery past, but that does not mean that the Red Planet once looked like Earth
November 3, 2011
Mapping Mars: Where Have All the Landers Gone? [Interactive]
The first man-made object to land on Mars arrived 40 years ago this month, and NASA's Curiosity rover should soon depart for the Red Planet. Here is a look at where humankind's many Mars landers have touched down, and where the planet betrays a history of all-important liquid water. Find out more in Exploring the Red Planet