Neon vortex

A Universe Where Time Runs Backwards

Running out of time? Not in a universe where time runs backwards.
Illustration of the Kepler spacecraft

Kepler: The Little Telescope That Could

A year after a potentially fatal setback, a rejuvenated Kepler telescope discovered the first exoplanet (outside the solar system) of its new mission.
A comet moving through a starry sky

Where is Water From? Probably Not Comets

A recently completed analysis of comet 67P/C-G by the Rosetta Space Craft has effectively ruled out comets as the primary source of Earth’s water.
A satellite near a large space rock in the middle of space

How to Catch a Comet

Last week, the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully landed an unmanned probe (Philae) on a comet, a feat heretofore unmatched in human history
Illustration a satellite orbiting Saturn

The Cassini Saturn Mission and the Allure of the Unknown

What the Cassini Saturn Mission teaches us about scientific discovery
A stamp depicted the first earthling in space, Laika, a dog.

Laika: The First Earthling in Space

The first Earthling was Laika, a Russian mongrel found on the streets of Moscow.
Astronomical image of Alpha Capricorni

Ole Rømer and the Speed of Light

In 1676, Danish astronomer Ole Rømer predicted that an eclipse of one of Jupiter’s moons would occur ten minutes later than expected. How did he know?
Illustrated imagining of American and Soviet spacecrafts docking from 1973.

Space Is The Place: The US, USSR, and Space Exploration

Even during the Cold War, US and Russian cooperation succeeded in space exploration.