The latest made-ya-look image from the James Webb Space Telescope is in, and it looks like… a penguin. A giant penguin in space. NASA officials on Friday marked two full years of science results from the telescope with the release of the image, which actually shows a pair of entangled galaxies known as Arp 142, … Read more
An illuminating new program leaves stargazers and science teachers beaming with inspiration. That program, called Stellar Dreams, is administered by the nonprofit organization The Science Haven. 100 telescopes will be given away, with the goal of encouraging interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) among underrepresented and disadvantaged families. Founded by molecular biologist Raven … Read more
When I sat down with Jane Rigby last month, in a conference room on the top floor of the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis—a quiet respite from the horde of families sifting through cosmic exhibits and dinosaur bones below—her eyes were warm and measured. She also carried a menagerie of gravitationally lensed galaxies. Her T-shirt was … Read more
A look into the future of exoplanet science suggests the coming European extremely large telescope (ELT) will give us the best chance of detecting nearby biosignatures over the next twenty years rocky worlds orbiting other stars. That’s the conclusion of a new study that simulated what it would take to characterize worlds beyond our solar … Read more
It’s been about 30 years since NASA astronauts… Hubble Space Telescope on an extremely daring mission. At the time, it was perhaps the most daring mission scientists had conceived. In short, Hubble was launched in 1990 with defective optics that produced blurry images. Fortunately, however, there is the space telescope that orbits the Earth Soil, … Read more
If your household is like most American families, you’ll likely be sitting around the table with family and friends for a traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner from the mid to late afternoon on Thursday (Nov. 23). As darkness falls, some of you will probably head to the living room to catch some football or other holiday … Read more