The seabed is not flat and smooth like the shimmering ocean above it. It’s a jagged, uneven landscape of submerged mountains and valleys, all hidden from sight – but not from science. By analysing the isotopic composition of the rocks that make up these underwater mountains networks – called mid-ocean ridges – scientists can identify
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KING GEORGE ISLAND, Antarctica (Reuters) – In a remote island outpost on the edge of the Antarctic, hundreds of miles from the southern tip of Chile, scientists at a research base are scouring the ice for clues about everything from climate change to cures for cancer. FILE PHOTO: The scientific investigation vessel of the Chilean
You still want to be very careful about raw turkey breast. (Photo: Getty Images)Getty Let’s talk turkey. If someone gave you a box of raw turkey for Valentine’s Day, either throw it away or cook it real well. Don’t even think of doing what FOX News’ Pete Hegseth may or may not have been joking
SEATTLE — NASA is considering buying two additional seats on Soyuz spacecraft to ensure a continued American presence on the International Space Station amid worries about additional delays in commercial crew flights. In a presolicitation notice filed Feb. 13, NASA announced it was considering contracting with the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos for two Soyuz
ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – NASA said on Friday it was weighing an option to buy two additional astronaut seats aboard a Russian rocket as a contingency plan against further delays in the launch systems being developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Boeing Co. FILE PHOTO: Photo of the International Space Station (ISS) photographed by Expedition
Rover and Pyramids on MarsGetty NASA’s Martian rover Opportunity breathed its last digital gasp this week. What was a busy scurrying robot picking over and investigating the Martian landscape is now a slowly decaying pile of metal and circuitry. That is to say, Opportunity has entered my world, the world of abandoned things that is
WASHINGTON — An experimental Air Force small satellite intended to test space situational awareness technologies will be a secondary payload on the upcoming Falcon 9 launch of a commercial communications satellite and lunar lander. Spaceflight, the Seattle-based company that brokers rideshare launch services, confirmed in a Feb. 11 statement that it will be flying the
While many people’s reaction to big hairy spiders is usually “AHHH”, you’ve got to admit, this spider’s odd-looking back appendage does look rather amusing. The peculiar and previously undocumented protrusion belongs to the tarantula Ceratogyrus attonitifer found in Angola, Central Africa. While scientists have observed related species of baboon spiders with a back bulge before, they’ve never
Astronomers have known for some time that the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies will collide on some future date. The best guess for that rendezvous has been about 3.75 billion years from now. But now a new study based on Data Release 2 from the ESA’s Gaia mission is bringing some clarity to this
“Nurdles” may sound cute but they pose a huge risk to the marine environment. Also known as “mermaid tears”, these small plastic pellets are a feedstock in the plastic industry. Instead of being converted into household items, many end up in the ocean, collecting toxins on their surfaces and being eaten by marine wildlife. Not
Sleep is pretty great. In humans, evidence suggests it has a whole range of benefits, including this one: it keeps the brain healthy by letting neurons prune unnecessary synaptic connections we make during the day. This process, called synaptic homeostasis, prevents the brain from being overrun by useless memories. It’s possible that it helps to improve
A planetary conjunction over Brighton Pier in West Sussex, England just before sunrise.Getty Have you ever seen two planets pass so close together in the night sky that they appear to be next to one another? You will get a chance on Monday morning when bright planet Venus and giant planet Saturn get just 1.1° from each other.
WASHINGTON — NASA is now emphasizing speed in its lunar exploration plans, including seeking to fly payloads on commercial lunar landers before the end of this year as it works with industry on lander concepts. In a briefing with reporters at NASA Headquarters here Feb. 14, prior to an industry day for a new human
Classic sci-fi writer Jules Verne once imagined a whole subterranean landscape deep inside the planet, complete with lost prehistoric species and plant life. The book was aptly titled Journey to the Centre of the Earth. We might not actually find dinosaurs down there, but new research is revealing features in the underworld resembling structures on the
The British Columbia Coroners Service has asked the public to help identify a foot found in West Vancouver, on the shores of the Salish Sea. It might sound like a gruesome find at first, but it’s actually a surprisingly common occurrence in these parts. Detached human feet in various states of decay have been appearing
Our Sun can let out some solar flare rip-snorters from time to time, but it’s actually pretty quiet when compared to some other stars out there. Particularly, it seems, turbulent young stars. And astronomers have just caught one belching out a real corker. It’s called JW 566, a young star about 389 parsecs (1,269 light-years)
It’s a puzzle piece that has eluded shark scientists for years: just why exactly did the ancient Otodus megalodon, the largest shark to ever swim in our planet’s oceans, disappear? While recent movies and mockumentaries have toyed with the idea that “the Meg” is still alive, it is unquestionably extinct according to marine biologists. Theories have
This article was first published in the SN Military.Space newsletter. If you would like to get our news and insights for national security space professionals every Tuesday, sign up here for your free subscription. During a recent conversation with a senior defense official about the changes coming to military space, he pointed out that under the proposed reorganization
A new study shows that Mars may very well be volcanically active. Nobody’s seen direct evidence of volcanism; no eruptions or magma or anything like that. Rather, the proof is in the water. In the past, Mars was a much warmer and wetter place. Now, Mars is still home to lots of water, mostly as
[Illustration] Life in the Ediacaran Sea.Open Source | Ryan Somma | Wikimedia Commons According to the fossil record, much of life as we know it today appeared on Earth nearly 540 million years ago in an event that paleontologists refer to as the Cambrian Explosion. The fossilized remains of many of these marine critters (such as