Total Lunar Eclipse Visible Across North America Wednesday Morning
Here in North America, we are in the midst of a tetrad of lunar eclipses, the second one visible Wednesday morning. A tetrad of lunar eclipses means that there are four total lunar eclipses in a row.
How the Ansari X Prize Altered the Trajectory of Human Spaceflight
Looking up into the bright Mojave sky in 2004, I strained to keep my eyes on the tiny spaceship 50,000 feet up. "Three, two, one... release, release, release!" came the call over the loudspeakers.
Predictions for the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics
Excitement is building — at least in science circles — for the upcoming announcements of the 2014 Nobel Prizes, along with the inevitable speculation about who might be among this year’s winners.
Meet NASA’s One and Only Planetary Protection Officer
Catharine Conley’s job is to watch out for cross-contamination in the solar system
Interstellar Environments May Breed Complex Organic Molecules
If biologically important organic molecules like amino acids could form in interstellar space, the implications would be enormous. On the Earth we find plenty of amino acid species inside certain types of meteorites, so at a minimum these compounds can form during the assembly of a proto-stellar, proto-planetary system (at least this one) and end [...]
India Spacecraft Successfully Arrives at Mars
The Mangalyaan probe, the country's first mission to another world, has entered the Red Planet's orbit
Making Astronomy Accessible for the Visually Impaired
A couple of years ago, one of my thesis mentors sought visually impaired scientists working at a major space science agency in the United States.
Spacecraft Investigates What Happened to Mars’ Atmosphere
NASA’s MAVEN orbiter arrived at Mars to study how gas escapes from around the planet
Wanted by NASA: Space Telescope Director with Spy Credentials
The leader of the James Webb Space Telescope must have clearance that allows access to the highest level of classified information, according to a NASA want ad
Book Review: The Edge of the Sky
Books and recommendations from Scientific American
The Great Alien Debate: How Unlikely is Life?
This post is one in a series covering, and expanding on, topics in the book The Copernicus Complex (Scientific American/FSG). The conversation usually goes like this: Do you think we’re alone in the universe?
Physics Week in Review: August 16, 2014
This week on Virtually Speaking Science, I chatted with astrophysicist Katie Freese, author of a new book, The Cosmic Cocktail: Three Parts Dark Matter.