Videos

Twenty-seven percent of the Universe is made of invisible dark matter. But what is it? In this episode, we cover the top five candidates that may fit the bill.

Host/writer: Sophie Bushwick Production assistant: William Herkewitz Editor: Kathryn Free Producer: Eric R. Olson

There were a lot of firsts on Apollo 9, but thankfully the mission didn't pioneer the contingency of abandoning astronauts in orbit. For more, check out Dave Scott's autobiography, written in cooperation with cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, called "Two Sides of the Moon."

On March 17th, physicists with the BICEP2 experiment announced they had detected the remnant of gravitational waves in the cosmic microwave background, the light left over from the big bang. Although still needing confirmation, the discovery lends weight to the idea that the early universe underwent rapid expansion.

Video credits - writer/host: Sophie Bushwick, production assistant: Geoffrey Giller, editor: Kathryn Free, producer: Eric R. Olson

As legend it has it, finding a four-leaf clover is supposed to be a sign of good luck. If we put our collective scientific knowledge to the task, however, we stand a better chance of finding a lucky charm. Scientific American editor Eric R. Olson explains.

Video credits: Edited by Kathryn Free & Eric R. Olson

Since at least the 1960s, astronauts and satellites have been snapping photos of planet Earth from on high. While many of these photos possess an intrinsic beauty, some hold important clues about the goings-on of the inhabitants below. In this episode of The Countdown, we bring you five images that speak loudly about the challenges facing the human race.

Video credits - Host/writer: Sophie Bushwick, production assistant: William Herkewitz, editor: Kathryn Free, producer: Eric R. Olson

Why do the number of spirals in a sunflower match up with the integers 34,55, 89 and 144; numbers found in the famous Fibonacci Sequence? Scientific American editor John Matson explains.

There were more complications on Apollo 13's failed lunar mission than most people realize. The astronauts carried plutonium on the lunar module they brought back to Earth with them.

We take for granted that we exist as 3-D beings in a 3-D universe, but physicists suggest that our world is just the projection of a reality written in 2-D. Scientific American editor Michael Moyer explains.

Video credits - Production assistants: Kathryn Free & William Herkewitz, produced by Eric R. Olson

With jet thrusters and an aluminum alloy casing, the Exosuit is a submarine you can wear. Later this year, scientists will suit up and plunge 300 meters below the ocean surface to study bioluminescent organisms. Diving safety officer Michael Lombardi of the American Museum of Natural History explains how the Exosuit extends the time a diver can stay submerged at 30 times the surface pressure.

Video credits - Interviewer: Larry Greenemeier, produced by Kathryn Free
 

The Saturn IB rocket was vital to the Apollo era, launching the first manned mission of the lunar landing program, all three Skylab missions, and the Apollo half of the Apollo-Soyuz mission.

According to NASA, more than 500,000 pieces of debris are tracked as they orbit the earth. Individual pieces can travel at speeds of up to 28,000 kilometers per hour, creating a potentially dangerous situation for both satellites and astronauts alike. In this episode of The Coundown, we look at some of the strangest proposals to combat the ever-growing cloud of space junk. One of them, an electrified tether created by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will launch on February 28th, 2014.

 

Anyone that's chopped into an onion is familiar with the noxious fumes and irritating pain induced by an otherwise delicious vegetable. Scientific American editor Ferris Jabr explains how this bulbous member of the Allium genus can bring us to tears.

Video credits: edited by Kathryn Free, produced by Eric R. Olson