Space: A New Hope or an Old Dream?
The release of a long-awaited National Academy of Sciences report on the state and future of the US space program has triggered wide-reaching commentary on what it means to be space-faring.
When Galaxy Clusters Crash, Light Warps and Particles Fly
New observations of a behemoth collision reveal extreme physical forces at work
Humans on Mars as Soon as 2037 Should Be NASA's Goal: Panel
A prestigious panel of scientists recommends sending humans to the Red Planet as the space agency's wisest long-range goal
Doubt Grows about Gravitational Waves Detection
Two analyses suggest that the signal of big bang ripples announced earlier this year was too weak to be significant
The Real Sally Ride: Astronaut, Science Champion and Lesbian
In a Q&A biographer Lynn Sherr explains the public and personal sides of the notoriously private Sally Ride, America’s first woman in space, which she chronicles in a new book
9 Exceptional Scientists Receive the 2014 Kavli Prizes
Cosmic inflation, nano-optics, memory and cognition are among the topics to earn recognition
Hunting the Wild Neutrino
Astrophysicist Ray Jayawardhana, of the University of Toronto, talks about his new book Neutrino Hunters: The Thrilling Chase for a Ghostly Particle to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe
Time Machines Would Run Afoul of the Second Law of Thermodynamics
Last year I got talking to theoretical physicist Aron Wall about the thermodynamics of quantum gravity. Now that's a deceptively beautiful phrase: in four words, you get three of the deepest areas in modern science.
Pluto-Bound Spacecraft Faces Crisis
A scramble is on to find an object in the outer solar system's Kuiper Belt in time for a close-up visit
Backlash to Big Bang Discovery Gathers Steam
Physicists cast doubt on a landmark experiment’s claim to have observed gravitational waves from the big bang
Comet Steams Off as Spacecraft Homes In
The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft came out of a three-year hibernation period this winter and is set to attempt a soft-landing on 67P-Churyumov–Gerasimenko in November
When Will We Find Dark Matter?
One of the most fundamental but elusive constituents of the cosmos could soon be cornered