The Best Articles in Space

Sending rockets into space requires sacrificing expensive equipment, burning massive amounts of fuel, and risking potential catastrophe. So in the space race of the 21st century, some engineers are…

In our mind’s eye, the universe seems to go on forever. But using geometry we can explore a variety of three-dimensional shapes that offer alternatives to “ordinary” infinite space.

First, stop refusing to look.

Physicists are building neural networks out of vibrations, voltages and lasers, arguing that the future of computing lies in exploiting the universe’s complex physical behaviors.

The scientific evidence is clear: the only celestial body that can support us is the one we evolved with. Here’s why

Satellite navigation systems for lunar settlements will require local atomic clocks. Scientists are working out what time they will keep.

Early scientists didn’t know it, but we do now: The void in the universe is alive.

JWST can detect atmospheres for the first time.

It's slow, expensive, the engineering is mostly port-a-potty chemistry, and the best-case outcome is that thirty years from now we’ll get to watch someone remotely operate a soil scoop from Mars…

The real reason that we cannot travel faster than light speed is far more interesting than the textbook answer.

«On the bright side, now that you know about spacetime, the next time your boss gets on your case for just sitting there, you can tell them that they are being unreasonable. You’re moving as fast as possible.»

Thanks to observations of gravitational waves recorded in 2017, we now know that gravity and light travel at the same speed.

A recent gamma-ray burst known as the BOAT — “brightest of all time” — appears to have produced a high-energy particle that shouldn’t exist. For some, dark matter provides the explanation.

A new kind of black hole analog could tell us a thing or two about an elusive radiation theoretically emitted by the real thing.

In this excerpt from "Cosmogenesis," cosmologist Brian Thomas Swimme explains how physics can approach questions about meaning in life.

«We are universe. The universe made us. In a most primordial way, we are cosmological beings.»

There will always be "wolf-criers" whose claims wither under scrutiny. But aliens are certainly out there, if science dares to find them.

Photons come in every wavelength you can imagine. But one particular quantum transition makes light at precisely 21 cm, and it's magical.

The great hope is that beyond the indirect, astrophysical evidence we have today, we'll someday detect it directly. But what if we can't?

Is science absolute? Its truths and discoveries guide us towards the nature of reality, but we must always remain open-minded to revisions.

Some 200 places around the world have now achieved Dark Sky status. Frankie Adkins explores the benefits nights with out light pollution can bring.

«LED lighting – despite its reputation for energy efficiency – often contains high proportions of blue light in its spectrum, which creates a harsh glar»