Bright spots on Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt, point to an underground ocean that remains active today.6 min read In the asteroid belt, an immense region of space between Mars and Jupiter, millions of rocky bodies serenely move around the sun in a timeless cosmic dance. Queen among the dancers is Ceres, the belt's largest object and a "fossil" from the early days of the solar system. In 2007, launched the Dawn spacecraft to the belt to study Ceres up close. After surveying the dwarf planet, tracing its blemishes and examining its sullen features, scientists reasoned it was once...…Bright spots on Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt, point to an underground ocean that remains active today.6 min read In the asteroid belt, an immense region of space between Mars and Jupiter, millions of rocky bodies serenely move around the sun in a timeless cosmic dance. Queen among the dancers is Ceres, the belt's largest object and a "fossil" from the early days of the solar system. In 2007, launched the Dawn spacecraft to the belt to study Ceres up close. After surveying the dwarf planet, tracing its blemishes and examining its sullen features, scientists reasoned it was once...WW…

With new consoles, cloud gaming and VR just over the horizon, video games may have a greater impact on the environment than ever before.14 min read Cleopatra did not prepare for her empire to be swallowed by the ocean. The Sphinx, an icon of her kingdom, choked on water. The queen of Egypt could only watch on as her great cities drowned. Farmlands became sea beds. Citizens were swept away by the hostile, rising tide. The port of Nekhen sunk into the abyss like a wounded submarine.  had arrived in Egypt in 2140 AD. This scenario played out, turn by turn, in , a strategy video game...…With new consoles, cloud gaming and VR just over the horizon, video games may have a greater impact on the environment than ever before.14 min read Cleopatra did not prepare for her empire to be swallowed by the ocean. The Sphinx, an icon of her kingdom, choked on water. The queen of Egypt could only watch on as her great cities drowned. Farmlands became sea beds. Citizens were swept away by the hostile, rising tide. The port of Nekhen sunk into the abyss like a wounded submarine.  had arrived in Egypt in 2140 AD. This scenario played out, turn by turn, in , a strategy video game...WW…

The group, known as Drastic, has investigated, corrected, uncovered and agitated in a quest to uncover the pandemic's starting point.12 min read The Seeker poured a strong cup of chai and lit a cigarette. He was onto something. Alternating between a smartphone and a laptop, the former science teacher from the northeast Indian city of Bhubaneswar punched keywords into the search bar of CNKI, one of China's foremost databases of scientific papers.  Coronavirus, SARS, horseshoe bat, Yunnan. It was May 18, 2020. At the time, the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, had infected fewer than 5...…The group, known as Drastic, has investigated, corrected, uncovered and agitated in a quest to uncover the pandemic's starting point.12 min read The Seeker poured a strong cup of chai and lit a cigarette. He was onto something. Alternating between a smartphone and a laptop, the former science teacher from the northeast Indian city of Bhubaneswar punched keywords into the search bar of CNKI, one of China's foremost databases of scientific papers.  Coronavirus, SARS, horseshoe bat, Yunnan. It was May 18, 2020. At the time, the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, had infected fewer than 5...WW…

A Japanese spacecraft journeyed to an ancient rock and returned to Earth with a 4.6-billion-year-old relic of the early solar system. But it wasn't easy.25 min read In a gray camouflage tee and blue denim jeans, Masaki Fujimoto is dressed all too casually for a man about to make history. Queen's Don't Stop Me Now has been playing on repeat, in his head, for weeks. One line is particularly prophetic for the 56-year-old astrophysicist. "I'm burning through the sky…"It's less than 48 hours from when a 16-inch-wide steel capsule will do just that, rocketing through the atmosphere before...…A Japanese spacecraft journeyed to an ancient rock and returned to Earth with a 4.6-billion-year-old relic of the early solar system. But it wasn't easy.25 min read In a gray camouflage tee and blue denim jeans, Masaki Fujimoto is dressed all too casually for a man about to make history. Queen's Don't Stop Me Now has been playing on repeat, in his head, for weeks. One line is particularly prophetic for the 56-year-old astrophysicist. "I'm burning through the sky…"It's less than 48 hours from when a 16-inch-wide steel capsule will do just that, rocketing through the atmosphere before...WW…

FollowBankrolled by a Japanese millionaire, the DearMoon mission plans to transport eight people around the moon and back in 2023Jackson RyanScience EditorJackson Ryan is CNET's award-winning science editor. He used to be a scientist but he realized he was not very happy sitting at a lab bench all day. Now he has the best job in the world, telling stories about space, the planet, climate change and the people working at the frontiers of human knowledge. He also owns a lot of ugly Christmas sweaters. Tweet him.3 min readIn 2023, will civilians fly around the moon for the first time?...…FollowBankrolled by a Japanese millionaire, the DearMoon mission plans to transport eight people around the moon and back in 2023Jackson RyanScience EditorJackson Ryan is CNET's award-winning science editor. He used to be a scientist but he realized he was not very happy sitting at a lab bench all day. Now he has the best job in the world, telling stories about space, the planet, climate change and the people working at the frontiers of human knowledge. He also owns a lot of ugly Christmas sweaters. Tweet him.3 min readIn 2023, will civilians fly around the moon for the first time?...WW…

A black hole gobbled up a star in deep space and flung a high-energy subatomic bullet at the Earth. Don't worry, the planet's doing fine.On Oct. 1, 2019, Earth was struck by an invisible, high-energy cosmic bullet moving at almost the speed of light. Trillions of these intergalactic bullets pass through our bodies every second without us even knowing, so there's no great concern for the planet -- but this particular projectile was special. At the bottom of the world, the ghostly particle met its end after colliding with an ice molecule. Fortunately, it did so right next to an extremely...…A black hole gobbled up a star in deep space and flung a high-energy subatomic bullet at the Earth. Don't worry, the planet's doing fine.On Oct. 1, 2019, Earth was struck by an invisible, high-energy cosmic bullet moving at almost the speed of light. Trillions of these intergalactic bullets pass through our bodies every second without us even knowing, so there's no great concern for the planet -- but this particular projectile was special. At the bottom of the world, the ghostly particle met its end after colliding with an ice molecule. Fortunately, it did so right next to an extremely...WW…

FollowFebruary is Mars month. Three spacecraft launched in July 2020 will make it to the red planet within days.Jackson RyanScience EditorJackson Ryan is CNET's award-winning science editor. He used to be a scientist but he realized he was not very happy sitting at a lab bench all day. Now he has the best job in the world, telling stories about space, the planet, climate change and the people working at the frontiers of human knowledge. He also owns a lot of ugly Christmas sweaters. Tweet him.4 min readJuly 2020 was a huge month for Mars. Taking advantage of its nearby position in orbit, on...…FollowFebruary is Mars month. Three spacecraft launched in July 2020 will make it to the red planet within days.Jackson RyanScience EditorJackson Ryan is CNET's award-winning science editor. He used to be a scientist but he realized he was not very happy sitting at a lab bench all day. Now he has the best job in the world, telling stories about space, the planet, climate change and the people working at the frontiers of human knowledge. He also owns a lot of ugly Christmas sweaters. Tweet him.4 min readJuly 2020 was a huge month for Mars. Taking advantage of its nearby position in orbit, on...WW…

FollowA collision between two stars thousands of years ago produced two interstellar ice cream cones full of hot gas.Jackson RyanScience EditorJackson Ryan is CNET's award-winning science editor. He used to be a scientist but he realized he was not very happy sitting at a lab bench all day. Now he has the best job in the world, telling stories about space, the planet, climate change and the people working at the frontiers of human knowledge. He also owns a lot of ugly Christmas sweaters. Tweet him.3 min readTake a moment from this hellish year to imagine that a small star has been orbiting...…FollowA collision between two stars thousands of years ago produced two interstellar ice cream cones full of hot gas.Jackson RyanScience EditorJackson Ryan is CNET's award-winning science editor. He used to be a scientist but he realized he was not very happy sitting at a lab bench all day. Now he has the best job in the world, telling stories about space, the planet, climate change and the people working at the frontiers of human knowledge. He also owns a lot of ugly Christmas sweaters. Tweet him.3 min readTake a moment from this hellish year to imagine that a small star has been orbiting...WW…

We're building a Great Garbage Shell around the Earth, full of defunct satellites and tiny pieces of junk.10 min read The Pacific Ocean is home to two monstrous, swirling vortices of human junk. Tangled fishing nets, garbage bags and millions of tiny pieces of plastic twirl in the waves east of Japan and sway in the current along the California coast. The kipple at opposite ends of the Pacific is connected by a stream of debris, weaving its way across the world's largest ocean.The disjointed mass of waste is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It's often portrayed as a , an...…We're building a Great Garbage Shell around the Earth, full of defunct satellites and tiny pieces of junk.10 min read The Pacific Ocean is home to two monstrous, swirling vortices of human junk. Tangled fishing nets, garbage bags and millions of tiny pieces of plastic twirl in the waves east of Japan and sway in the current along the California coast. The kipple at opposite ends of the Pacific is connected by a stream of debris, weaving its way across the world's largest ocean.The disjointed mass of waste is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It's often portrayed as a , an...WW…

Every major launch and celestial event as we head into 2021.7 min read We're in the final stretch of 2020, and we're all looking forward to saying goodbye to it for good, I'm sure. But as much as we want to bid farewell to 2020, there are still a few events on the science and space calendar that should get you excited. There's a total solar eclipse coming in December, and SpaceX is constantly launching .Speaking of, Elon Musk's spaceflight company has already ticked off one big milestone this year. In May, the took astronauts to the International Space Station, the first time a commercial...…Every major launch and celestial event as we head into 2021.7 min read We're in the final stretch of 2020, and we're all looking forward to saying goodbye to it for good, I'm sure. But as much as we want to bid farewell to 2020, there are still a few events on the science and space calendar that should get you excited. There's a total solar eclipse coming in December, and SpaceX is constantly launching .Speaking of, Elon Musk's spaceflight company has already ticked off one big milestone this year. In May, the took astronauts to the International Space Station, the first time a commercial...WW…