Alien Hunters Discover Mysterious Signal from Proxima Centauri
Strange radio transmissions appear to be coming from our nearest star system. Now scientists are trying to work out what is sending them
Stories by Lee Billings
The Future of Mars Exploration
Join Scientific American for a conversation about the next steps in humanity’s reconnaissance of Mars. Featuring Casey Dreier, senior space policy adviser at the Planetary Society, and space and physics editor Lee Billings, this deep dive will begin with an overview of NASA’s upcoming Perseverance rover—slated to land on Mars in February 2021 to search for signs of past and present life and to gather samples for future return to Earth...
Seven Ways the Election Will Shape the Future of Science, Health and the Environment
Climate change, nuclear arms control, the pandemic and more will be determined by whoever wins the White House and Congress
Black Hole Scientists Win Nobel Prize in Physics
Half the award goes to Roger Penrose, with the rest split between Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez, for work revealing the “darkest secrets of the universe”...
Dark Frontiers: The Science of Black Holes
How massive can black holes become? How do astronomers typically observe them? How do they die? Scientific American presents a conversation about these mysterious cosmic phenomena with Yale University astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan...
Space Telescope Director Says Best Is Yet to Come for Hubble
Three decades into the life of the world’s most revered orbital observatory, Ken Sembach, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, reflects on its future
![The Lost Worlds of Soviet Space Graphics [Slideshow]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/C85AE849-B74E-440F-8F0A044455053586_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
The Lost Worlds of Soviet Space Graphics [Slideshow]
A new book captures the pioneering, propaganda-infused visions of mid-20th-century Soviet space exploration
Do We Live in a Lopsided Universe?
A new study of galaxy clusters suggests the cosmos may not be the same in all directions
The New Cosmos: A Conversation with Ann Druyan
Emmy and Peabody Award–winning science writer, producer and director Ann Druyan talks about Cosmos: Possible Worlds, the next installment of the Cosmos series.
Ann Druyan Is Reimagining the Future
Cosmos co-creator discusses communicating her dream for humanity
New Horizons May Have Solved Planet-Formation Cold Case
An encounter with Arrokoth at the outskirts of the solar system offers the best evidence yet for how worlds coalesce from dust
Bizarre Cosmic Dance Offers Fresh Test for General Relativity
Scientists have detected relativistic frame dragging, a prediction of Einstein’s greatest theory, around a distant pair of exotic stars
The Curious Case of Proxima C
Astronomers continue to gather evidence for a second world around the sun’s nearest neighboring star
Record-Breaking Gamma Rays Reveal Secrets of the Universe’s Most Powerful Explosions
Two teams of astronomers using ground-based telescopes to study gamma-ray bursts have detected the highest-energy light ever seen from celestial sources
Inside the World’s First Underground Gravitational-Wave Detector
Japan’s KAGRA observatory set to begin operations by the end of 2019
Proposed Interstellar Mission Reaches for the Stars, One Generation at a Time
Starting in the early 2030s, the project could become our first purposeful step out of the solar system—if it launches at all
Space Archaeologist Probes History in Orbit
Alice Gorman argues for preserving more of humanity’s off-world heritage
Astronomers Find Water on an Exoplanet Twice the Size of Earth
Water vapor in the skies of the world K2-18 b may make it “the best candidate for habitability” presently known beyond our solar system
Interview: The Once and Future Moon
Oliver Morton discusses his new book about how art, science and politics have shaped past, present and planned voyages to Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor
Did a Meteor from Another Star Strike Earth in 2014?
Questionable data cloud the potential discovery of the first known interstellar fireball
