SpaceX completes sixth Starship flight, with both booster and spacecraft splashing down
SpaceX launched the sixth test flight of its Starship rocket on Tuesday, as the company looks to keep up momentum of the mammoth vehicle’s development. The rocket took off from SpaceX’s private “Starbase” facility near Brownsville, Texas. There were not any people onboard the Starship flight. Starship reached space and traveled halfway around the Earth before reentering […]
A mythical harbinger of doom washes up on a California beach
The legendary “doom fish” has returned to California. A long, ribbon-shaped oarfish, rarely seen and believed to signal disaster, has washed up on California’s shores for the second time this year. PhD candidate Alison Laferriere from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego discovered the nearly 10-foot-long oarfish on a beach in Encinitas, […]
Ecosystem that predates the dinosaurs uncovered in the Alps by a hiker and melting snow
Beneath the snowy slopes lay a prehistoric surprise: an ecosystem that predates the dinosaurs, revealed by melting snow before being stumbled upon by a hiker in the Italian Alps. The discovery, made public Wednesday, includes well-preserved footprints of reptiles and amphibians that scientists say date back 280 million years to a geologic period known as […]
Pentagon received hundreds of new UAP reports, but says no evidence of extraterrestrial activity
The Pentagon has released its annual report on UFO sightings, or what it officially calls unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) — and found 21 particularly curious incidents. In total, 757 new reports of UAPs were received between May 2023 and June 2024 and investigated by the Defense Department’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), according to the […]
35,000-year-old frozen saber-toothed cat mummy studied for first time ever
Calling all “Ice Age” lovers: The frozen remains of a 35,000-year-old saber-toothed cat have been studied for the first time in history, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. The animal’s mummified remains, which include its head, arms and part of its chest, were found well-preserved in Yakutia, Russia, in 2020 […]
Scientific American Editor-in-chief leaves after anti-Trump comments
The Summary Scientific American editor-in-chief Laura Helmuth is leaving the publication. Soon after the election, she posted several profanity-laced comments on social media posts about the results. It was not clear if Helmuth’s posts or backlash to them played a role in her departure. Scientific American editor-in-chief Laura Helmuth is leaving the publication less than […]
Beaver Moon, last supermoon of the year, and Leonid meteors to light up sky on same weekend
Stargazers are in for quite the double feature this weekend: The Beaver Moon, the last supermoon of the year, will share the celestial stage with the dazzling Leonid meteor shower. The Beaver Moon will reach the crest of its full phase at 4:29 p.m. ET on Friday. This is the final supermoon of this year’s […]
The Northeast drought and wildfires in photos
Drought has parched the Northeast United States for weeks, draining reservoirs, priming the landscape for damaging wildfires and pushing politicians to implement water-saving measures. More than 58% of the Northeast is in moderate drought or worse, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The drought is particularly extreme in New Jersey, which has seen its driest conditions […]
World’s largest coral found in Solomon Islands
Tiny organisms called coral polyps come together in complex networks to form colonies that then make up even larger coral reefs. This one is mostly brown with bright splashes of yellow, blue and red, and its rippled surface resembles ocean waves, according to the team. Moreover, the mega coral is “in excellent condition,” providing essential […]
Unprecedented failure led to the collapse of the world-renowned radio telescope in Puerto Rico, report shows
Four years after the radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico collapsed, a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine is shining a light on the unprecedented failures that caused its destruction. The steel cables holding up the telescope’s 900-ton receiver platform became loose because the zinc-filled sockets built to […]