Illustration of a tidal disruption eventMark Garlick/Science Photo Library/Getty Images Astronomers have caught a supermassive black hole eating a giant star in the biggest and brightest example of this powerful event ever seen. It could be the missing link that...
JN.1 spread widely despite many people being vaccinated and having previous covid-19 infectionsDebarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto/Shutterstock One mutation may have been crucial to the covid-19 variant JN.1 spreading rapidly around the world last year, demonstrating how quickly the virus can adapt. “A...
A building’s design can influence its temperatureAlistair Scott/Getty Images Walls with a protruding zigzag pattern could stay up to 3°C (5.4°F) cooler than regular walls, without using any energy. This approach could reduce the energy used by cooling systems and...
Colds Bring Lots of Snot, But Just How Much? Science Is Strangely SilentSnot is one of the immune system’s efforts to ditch a virus, but how much we produce when sick is a slippery subjectBy Bethany BrookshireWhen sick, our noses...
When I was a mere lad, probably in middle school, I remember a friend telling me that the Apollo astronauts could see the Great Wall of China from the moon.If someone told me that now, I’d know almost instinctively that...
The goal is simple: save the world. Rob Jackson, climate scientist and author of Into the Clear Blue Sky, is trying to save the world by removing things: removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, removing fossil fuels from our cars,...
Perseid Meteor Shower Joins Stunning Mars and Jupiter ConjunctionEarly risers get a double sky treat: a Mars and Jupiter conjunction and the Perseid meteor shower at onceBy Phil PlaitPerseid Meteor Shower over Lassen Volcanic National Park Jerry Hamblen/Getty ImagesSetting an...
A satellite view of AntarcticaScience History Images / Alamy Antarctica’s polar vortex could be about to split in two for the first time in more than 20 years after a series of sudden spikes in stratospheric temperatures. If that happens,...
Gravitational waves are vibrations in space-time itselfPeter Jurik/Alamy The following is an extract from our Lost in Space-Time newsletter. Each month, we hand over the keyboard to a physicist or mathematician to tell you about fascinating ideas from their corner...
These 352 Asteroids Likely Have Cute Little MoonletsIdentifying asteroids with potential moons could aid researchers in understanding unique aspects of our solar systemBy Kate Graham-ShawIllustration of binary asteroids. Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library/Alamy Stock PhotoAn ultraprecise satellite tasked with mapping more...
