Videos

Leading up to Yuri Gagarin's historic Vostok 1 flight, the Soviet Union launched two missions with a man-like mannequin, Ivan Ivanovich, on board.

The Countdown is a biweekly video show highlighting the best stuff happening in space, astronomy and physics. In this episode: Mercury's Magma Ocean, Flinging Space Trash, Spectacular Solar Images, Van Allen's Third Belt & Fast-Spinning Black Hole

Dinosaurs died out some 65 million years ago, so how could we possibly determine the color of their skin--or feathers? As Scientific American's Eric R. Olson explains, new fossil evidence is pointing the way. Episode written by Kate Wong.

The Countdown is a biweekly video show highlighting the best stuff happening in space, astronomy and physics. In this episode: Supernova Space Rays, Liquid Lunar Mystery, Red Dwarf Exoplanets, Name Pluto’s Moons and Meteor Attack from Space.

NASA's first orbital triumph was also its first near disaster. John Glenn, already a national hero in 1962, was almost lost in space.

The Countdown is a biweekly video show highlighting the best stuff happening in space, astronomy and physics. In this episode: Sailing on Sunlight, ‘Goldilocks’ Redefined, Supernova Outburst,Columbia‘s Worms, Spring on Mars.

Films like The Invisible Man and the more recent Harry Potter series speak to the fascination humans have with invisibility. Will new technology grant us this ability? Scientific American's John Matson explains how it might work.

From the time of Charles Darwin science has painted a picture of our earliest ancestor in the image of a chimpanzee. Scientific American editor Katherine Harmon explains how new fossil evidence is redrawing the lines of human evolution.

The Countdown is a biweekly video show highlighting the best stuff happening in space, astronomy and physics. In this episode: Inflatable Space Station, Monkey Launch, Lunar Hedgehogs, Martian Groundwater and Saturn’s Super-Sized Storm

Overshadowed by the success of NASA's Mars rover missions, few recall that the USSR once had its own rover program.

The winning entry in Scientific American's 2012 Iron Egghead video contest explains how the adrenal glands work using only common objects found around the home. Warning: This video may cause uncontrollable laughter.

The last several years have seen a number of horrific maulings at the hands of chimpanzees. How can animals that share 99 percent of their genes with us, yet are only a fraction of our weight, possess such amazing strength?