An arist’s depiction of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which is set to take NASA astronauts to the International Space Station May 27. SpaceX hide caption toggle caption SpaceX An arist’s depiction of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which is set to take NASA astronauts to the International Space Station May 27. SpaceX Because of the coronavirus, NASA’s top […]
Antarctica And Greenland Are Losing Thousands Of Gigatons of Ice — That’s A Lot
Warming oceans are melting the ice around Antarctica, accelerating how much ice flows off the continent. NASA/Jeremy Harbeck hide caption toggle caption NASA/Jeremy Harbeck Warming oceans are melting the ice around Antarctica, accelerating how much ice flows off the continent. NASA/Jeremy Harbeck As the climate has warmed, Antarctica and Greenland have lost enough ice in […]
Climate Change Undercuts Air Pollution Improvements
Wildfires caused high levels of air pollution in San Francisco in November 2018. Climate change is making wildfires and heat waves more likely, and driving more days of unhealthy air in many U.S. cities. Eric Risberg/AP hide caption toggle caption Eric Risberg/AP Wildfires caused high levels of air pollution in San Francisco in November 2018. […]
The Killer At Home: House Cats Have More Impact On Local Wildlife Than Wild Predators
Cats who roam outdoors tend to stick close to home, having a big impact on local wildlife. Louise LeGresley/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Louise LeGresley/Getty Images Cats who roam outdoors tend to stick close to home, having a big impact on local wildlife. Louise LeGresley/Getty Images What does an outdoor cat do all day? […]
Deep Sea Squid Communicate by Glowing Like E-Readers
A Humboldt squid shows its colors in the lights of a remotely operated vehicle off the coast of California. MBARI hide caption toggle caption MBARI A Humboldt squid shows its colors in the lights of a remotely operated vehicle off the coast of California. MBARI Deep in the Pacific Ocean, six-foot-long Humboldt squid are known […]
The Oldest String Ever Found May Have Been Made By Neanderthals
SEM photo of Neanderthal cord from Abri du Maras. M.H. Moncel hide caption toggle caption M.H. Moncel SEM photo of Neanderthal cord from Abri du Maras. M.H. Moncel Tiny bits of twisted plant fibers found on an ancient stone tool suggest that Neanderthals were able to make and use sophisticated cords like string and rope. […]
Spring Starts Today All Over America, Which Is Weird
Spring begins today in America. Good. Perhaps you are mildly surprised to learn that March 19 is the first day of spring. Perhaps you learned as a child that the spring equinox — when day and night are roughly the same length — occurs on either March 20 or March 21. Indeed, the equinox has […]
Texas Criminal Trial Highlights Climate Liability For Factories In Floodplains
Smoke from chemical fires at a Houston-area facility owned by the company Arkema, which flooded during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Trailers and storage containers that burned in the fires released soot and other air pollution. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images Smoke from chemical fires at a Houston-area facility owned by […]
Physicist And Iconoclastic Thinker Freeman Dyson Dies At 96
Freeman Dyson was known for thinking big on topics ranging from extraterrestrials to fundamental physics. New York Daily News Archive/NY Daily News via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption New York Daily News Archive/NY Daily News via Getty Images Freeman Dyson was known for thinking big on topics ranging from extraterrestrials to fundamental physics. New […]
Sell Or Stay? Australia’s Fire Zone Experiment
Catastrophic bushfires burned through areas of Australia’s Victoria state on Feb. 7, 2009 — a day commonly referred to as Black Saturday. The fires were the most deadly ever recorded in Australia. Nick Carson hide caption toggle caption Nick Carson Catastrophic bushfires burned through areas of Australia’s Victoria state on Feb. 7, 2009 — a […]