Artist's Impression of Dragonfly on Titan’s surface.--On Monday, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that Ingenuity succeeded in being The space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California confirmed the news after scientists received data from the four-pound rotorcraft at 6:46 a.m. east coast time."Ingenuity is the latest in a long and storied tradition of NASA projects achieving a space exploration goal once thought impossible," said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk. "We don't know exactly where Ingenuity will lead us, but today's...…Artist's Impression of Dragonfly on Titan’s surface.--On Monday, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that Ingenuity succeeded in being The space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California confirmed the news after scientists received data from the four-pound rotorcraft at 6:46 a.m. east coast time."Ingenuity is the latest in a long and storied tradition of NASA projects achieving a space exploration goal once thought impossible," said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk. "We don't know exactly where Ingenuity will lead us, but today's...WW…

The narrow galaxy elegantly curving around its spherical companion in this image is a fantastic example of a truly strange and very rare phenomenon. This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, depicts GAL-CLUS-022058s, located in the southern hemisphere constellation of Fornax (the Furnace). GAL-CLUS-022058s is the largest and one of the most complete Einstein rings ever discovered in our universe. The object has been nicknamed by astronomers studying this Einstein ring as the "Molten Ring," which alludes to its appearance and host constellation.--On December 14th, Hubble...…The narrow galaxy elegantly curving around its spherical companion in this image is a fantastic example of a truly strange and very rare phenomenon. This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, depicts GAL-CLUS-022058s, located in the southern hemisphere constellation of Fornax (the Furnace). GAL-CLUS-022058s is the largest and one of the most complete Einstein rings ever discovered in our universe. The object has been nicknamed by astronomers studying this Einstein ring as the "Molten Ring," which alludes to its appearance and host constellation.--On December 14th, Hubble...WW…

Spiral galaxy--NASA to launch Q-PACEMars2020 will finally get to workThe Parker Solar Probe will make two more Venus flybysJames Webb Space Telescope launchThe Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper will map water on the moonNicole Karlis is a senior writer at Salon. Tweet her .MORE FROM…Spiral galaxy--NASA to launch Q-PACEMars2020 will finally get to workThe Parker Solar Probe will make two more Venus flybysJames Webb Space Telescope launchThe Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper will map water on the moonNicole Karlis is a senior writer at Salon. Tweet her .MORE FROMWW…

The 11-Jupiter-mass exoplanet called HD 106906 b, shown in this artist's illustration, occupies an unlikely orbit around a double star 336 light-years away. It may be offering clues to something that might be much closer to home: a hypothesized distant member of our solar system dubbed "Planet Nine." This is the first time that astronomers have been able to measure the motion of a massive Jupiter-like planet that is orbiting very far away from its host stars and visible debris disk.--Of all the that humans have discovered in other solar systems, most of them orbit to their parent star....…The 11-Jupiter-mass exoplanet called HD 106906 b, shown in this artist's illustration, occupies an unlikely orbit around a double star 336 light-years away. It may be offering clues to something that might be much closer to home: a hypothesized distant member of our solar system dubbed "Planet Nine." This is the first time that astronomers have been able to measure the motion of a massive Jupiter-like planet that is orbiting very far away from its host stars and visible debris disk.--Of all the that humans have discovered in other solar systems, most of them orbit to their parent star....WW…

A computer simulation of the surface of the planet Venus, circa 1990.--In September, news about the possibility of floating, cloud-based life on Venus caused a storm in the science world as tumultuous as the sulfur clouds that rain acid down on the second planet from the Sun.A paper published in by a group of international astronomers explained how they detected phosphine (PH₃), a gaseous molecule composed of one phosphorus and three hydrogen atoms, in the upper atmosphere of Venus. Researchers saw phosphine's signal in spectrograms from two radio telescopes they used to...…A computer simulation of the surface of the planet Venus, circa 1990.--In September, news about the possibility of floating, cloud-based life on Venus caused a storm in the science world as tumultuous as the sulfur clouds that rain acid down on the second planet from the Sun.A paper published in by a group of international astronomers explained how they detected phosphine (PH₃), a gaseous molecule composed of one phosphorus and three hydrogen atoms, in the upper atmosphere of Venus. Researchers saw phosphine's signal in spectrograms from two radio telescopes they used to...WW…

Donald Trumpview in app--November 11, 2020 1:18AM (UTC)Moreover, the Founding Fathers prophesied this happening: as my colleague  noted, in early American history George Washington warned against Americans electing a president who'd refuse to step down.But in a historical first, Trump is the first president to flat out refuse to concede, leading some to believe he's setting the gears in motion for a coup d'etat. While a coup may not be imminent, some fear Trump's baseless election lies are eroding faith in democracySome political scientists are arguing that...…Donald Trumpview in app--November 11, 2020 1:18AM (UTC)Moreover, the Founding Fathers prophesied this happening: as my colleague  noted, in early American history George Washington warned against Americans electing a president who'd refuse to step down.But in a historical first, Trump is the first president to flat out refuse to concede, leading some to believe he's setting the gears in motion for a coup d'etat. While a coup may not be imminent, some fear Trump's baseless election lies are eroding faith in democracySome political scientists are arguing that...WW…

This illustration highlights the Moon’s Clavius Crater with an illustration depicting water trapped in the lunar soil there, along with an image of NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) that found sunlit lunar water.view in app--October 27, 2020 12:20AM (UTC)Earth news is a bit anxiety-provoking these days, which might be one reason why the Internet pulled out all the stops to communicate collective enthusiasm over the discovery of vast amounts of water on the moon.The finding could be useful to humans who want to leave Earth immediately and live on the moon....…This illustration highlights the Moon’s Clavius Crater with an illustration depicting water trapped in the lunar soil there, along with an image of NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) that found sunlit lunar water.view in app--October 27, 2020 12:20AM (UTC)Earth news is a bit anxiety-provoking these days, which might be one reason why the Internet pulled out all the stops to communicate collective enthusiasm over the discovery of vast amounts of water on the moon.The finding could be useful to humans who want to leave Earth immediately and live on the moon....WW…

U.S. President Donald Trump removes his mask upon return to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on October 05, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump spent three days hospitalized for coronavirus.--Nicole Karlis is a senior writer at Salon. Tweet her .MORE FROM…U.S. President Donald Trump removes his mask upon return to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on October 05, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump spent three days hospitalized for coronavirus.--Nicole Karlis is a senior writer at Salon. Tweet her .MORE FROMWW…

Planet Venus--When looking around our solar system for bodies that could potentially harbor life, astrobiologists have generally focused on a few usual suspects: , with its ,  and . Or Jupiter's moon Europa, thought to be . But for obvious reasons, — an Earth-sized world with sulphuric acid clouds and hellacious surface temperatures — hasn't been first of mind in terms of prospects for extraterrestrial life. Until today.A new discovery made by an international group of scientists using powerful telescopes suggests that it is not otherworldly to believe that...…Planet Venus--When looking around our solar system for bodies that could potentially harbor life, astrobiologists have generally focused on a few usual suspects: , with its ,  and . Or Jupiter's moon Europa, thought to be . But for obvious reasons, — an Earth-sized world with sulphuric acid clouds and hellacious surface temperatures — hasn't been first of mind in terms of prospects for extraterrestrial life. Until today.A new discovery made by an international group of scientists using powerful telescopes suggests that it is not otherworldly to believe that...WW…