Billion Sun–Bright Events Leave Radio Wave Clues
“Fast radio bursts” detected here on Earth last only a thousandth of a second, but are the result of a faraway source briefly shining a billion or more times brighter than our sun...
Stories by Lee Billings
Richard Garriott's Cabinet of the Universe, Part 4: Flexible Sandstone
Water plus rocks equal weird things – sometimes. Itacolumite is a rare sandstone riddled with tiny holes, leaving interlocking bits of mineral.
Mirror on the Cosmos: NASA's Next Big Telescope Takes Shape
After more than 20 years the giant mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope is finally complete
NASA Completing Primary Mirror for Space Telescope
NASA has reached a major landmark in the construction of the powerful 6.5-meter James Webb Space Telescope
Found: The Most Powerful Supernova Ever Seen
A stellar explosion almost 600 billion times brighter than the sun pushes the limits of physics
Richard Garriott's Cabinet of the Universe, Part 2: Earth Forms
In this episode of Richard Garriott's miniseries, he shows us how Earth formed, how remnants of that formation still wander the solar system and how our planet came to be covered by oceans...
Millions of Small Asteroids That Could Threaten Our World Remain Uncatalogued
NASA’s best hope for planetary defense resides with a proposed asteroid-seeking space telescope. Will it get funded?
Richard Garriott's Cabinet of the Universe, Part 1: The Big Bang
Richard Garriott, video game developer and space entrepreneur, explains how he and his wife collected enough artifacts to illustrate the entire history of the universe. In this video he takes us back to the very beginning...
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How to Map an Exoplanet's Rings [Video]
Dips in starlight reveal the architecture of a super Saturn around a distant star
SpaceX's Triumphant Rocket Landing Could Revolutionize Spaceflight
Once considered the stuff of science fiction, fully reusable rocketry is now closer to reality than ever before
Astronomers Rename Famous Exoplanets
More than 30 worlds have new names drawn from world mythology, literature and history
Astronomers Skeptical about "Planet X" Claims
Two controversial new studies suggest the discovery of large objects at the outer reaches of the solar system
Ceres Is Cloudy, with a Chance of Cryovolcanoes
New findings reveal a crater’s vaporous hazes, and hint at the dwarf planet’s possible origin in the outer solar system
Fast Radio Bursts Mystify Experts—for Now
Astronomers are closing in on the origins of baffling radio flashes from deep space
Collecting Meteorites in Your Own Backyard
All it takes is a magnet and knowing where to look.
How to Do Quantum Magnetic Levitation at Home
Air jets and sound waves can be used to levitate objects. But the strangest way of all taps the quantum effects of superconductors. Game developer, space traveler and friend of Scientific American Richard Garriott glides through the demonstration...
Why Humans Won't Go beyond Mars
In his new book, the founding executive director of the Planetary Society contends that humans will make it to Mars, but robots will go much farther.
Astronomers May Have Witnessed 2 Black Hole Births
Stars that disappear rather than explode could signal a black hole’s beginnings
Are We on the Cusp of War—in Space?
China, Russia and the U.S. are developing and testing controversial new capabilities to wage war in Earth orbit
Human Missions to Mars Will Look Completely Different from The Martian
The blockbuster film’s futuristic vision of interplanetary exploration could soon be out of date
