Parsing the Science of Interstellar with Physicist Kip Thorne
In an earlier blog post about Christopher Nolan's latest blockbuster movie, Interstellar, I lauded the film for its ambition, its visuals and the strong performances of its cast.
Physics Week in Review: November 22, 2014
Here’s a disquieting thought for your weekend: Dark Energy Might Be Stealing the Glue Holding the Universe Together. A new invisibility cloak simultaneously works for heat flow and electrical current.
Are Scientists on the Cusp of Knowing How Weird We Are?
I’m writing this post for two reasons. One is to recommend a new book by Columbia astrobiologist Caleb Scharf (who also writes a terrific Scientific American blog, “Life, Unbounded“), and the other is to defend an old book of mine.
Neutrinos on Ice: How to Build a Balloon
Editor's Note: Welcome to ANITA, the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna! From October to December, Katie Mulrey is traveling with the ANITA collaboration to Antarctica to build and launch ANITA III, a scientific balloon that uses the entire continent of Antarctica for neutrino and cosmic ray detection.
Meteorite Bears Evidence of Magnetic Fields in Early Solar System
New research shows that magnetic fields played a role in the solar system's formation
That Comet? That's You, 4.5 Billion Years Ago
As the European Space Agency’s Philae lander bounced and settled onto the surface of comet 67P/C-G’s crumbly nucleus it wasn’t just space exploration, it was time travel.
Dark Matter Black Holes Could Be Destroying Stars at the Milky Way’s Center
If dark matter comes in both matter and antimatter varieties, it might accumulate inside dense stars to create black holes
Physics Week in Review: November 8, 2014
It was a big week for physics in the movies, with the premiere of Interstellar, and the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything. That translates into lots of pixels commenting on the science behind the films.
Half of Stars Lurk Outside Galaxies
A rocket experiment has captured the glow attributed to renegade stars in intergalactic space
Spectacular View of Newborn Planetary System Captured by Radio Telescope
A planet-forming disk around a million-year-old star has been imaged in unprecedented detail
The Surreal Task of Landing on a Comet
On November 12th 2014 the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission will eject the small robotic lander Philae on a trajectory that should take it down to the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (or 67P/C-P for short).
Crash Analysis: How SpaceShipTwo's Feathered Tails Work
The cause of the deadly crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo on Friday remains unknown, but the commercial spaceplane's feathered reentry system looks to have been involved.