Space & PhysicsJune 4, 2014
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
Cosmology
Space & PhysicsJune 2, 2014
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 Young American Scientists Issue—Read Now
Space & PhysicsJune 1, 2014
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
The SciencesMay 30, 2014
9 Exceptional Scientists Receive the 2014 Kavli Prizes
Cosmic inflation, nano-optics, memory and cognition are among the topics to earn recognition
Space & PhysicsMay 23, 2014
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
Space & PhysicsMay 23, 2014
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.
Space & PhysicsMay 21, 2014
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
Space & PhysicsMay 21, 2014
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
Space & PhysicsMay 17, 2014
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
Space & PhysicsMay 16, 2014
When Will We Find Dark Matter?
One of the most fundamental but elusive constituents of the cosmos could soon be cornered
The SciencesMay 14, 2014
For Admirers of Audubon and Sibley, Two Recurring Art Exhibits
If you appreciate John J. Audubon’s exacting detail and beautiful compositions and you marvel at the encyclopedic knowledge and delicate illustrations in the famous Sibley Bird Guides you may be interested to know that there are many contemporary masters following in their footsteps today.
May 2, 2014
Cloud Bound for Milky Way's Black Hole Puzzles Astronomers
For the past year, astronomers around the world have been watching the center of the Milky Way in anticipation of a once-per-eon event. Right around now (or, technically, 24,000 years ago--that's roughly how far away the galactic center is in light years), a cloud of gas and dust plummeting toward our galaxy's supermassive black hole, [...]