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Want to start stargazing? Here's why June is the perfect time for newcomers
Short nights and bright stars make the midsummer night sky surprisingly beginner-friendly.
Researchers found a Wordle strategy that wins 99% of the time
Researchers developed a Wordle-solving strategy that succeeds 99% of the time by focusing on information gain rather than likely answers. The method uses Shannon entropy to identify guesses that reveal the most about the hidden word. Each guess is designed to slash uncertainty and narrow the possibi
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What Amazon’s Astro Taught Me About Giving Robots a Soul
In 2018, Amazon brought me in as the lead UX Sound Designer for Astro, its first consumer home robot. Astro used cameras and other sensors to map and navigate your home and workplace, and could proactively patrol, check up on loved ones, and transport small items using its built-in cargo bin. While
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Juicy new details emerge about an asteroid NASA's Lucy spacecraft flew by last year
Evidence of chemical alteration by liquid water has been found on the asteroid Donaldjohanson, which formed further from the sun before being shoved inwards.
Einstein’s “biggest blunder” may finally have an explanation
Scientists have uncovered a surprising connection between quantum gravity and an exotic quantum state of matter that could explain why the universe isn’t expanding wildly fast. The study suggests that the very shape of space-time may protect the cosmological constant from disruptive quantum effects.
Black hole winds may be robbing giant galaxies of their future stars
Astronomers may be closing in on a long-standing cosmic mystery: why some of the universe’s biggest galaxies seem to have far fewer stars than expected. Using NASA- and JAXA-supported XRISM observations of a galaxy called NGC 4151, researchers found strong evidence that supermassive black holes can
Medable’s Digital Data Flow Agent focuses on protocol translation as the agentic race accelerates
In January 2024, Medable, the decentralized clinical-trial company headquartered in Palo Alto, used AI to translate a study protocol directly into a configured eCOA mobile app, complete with questionnaires, workflows and translation into roughly 25 languages. The company said then the feature could
SpaceX wants to build AI data centers in space. Will it work?
The race to build data centers in space is gaining momentum as AI drives unprecedented demand for computing power. Orbital facilities could tap into abundant solar energy and avoid many of the environmental challenges faced on Earth. Yet space remains a harsh and expensive place to operate, with maj
How a new permafrost climate model fits a dangerous pattern in climate science
For years, international climate targets have been calculated using the assumption that the world’s northern permafrost would act as a carbon sink through the end of the century. Now, a paper published in Science Advances finds that the northern land carbon sink will become a carbon source in the 20
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Scientists trace high-energy ghost particle to the 'Shadow Blaster' galaxy
"If confirmed, Shadow Blaster would be the first-ever individual dusty star-forming galaxy directly linked to a high-energy neutrino event."
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James Webb Space Telescope finds a salty surprise on famous 'Pink Planet'
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered that one of the coldest exoplanets ever discovered, the so-called Pink Planet, harbors a salty surprise.
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Jared Leto's unreal Skeletor transformation for 'Masters of the Universe' only took '15 minutes' (interview)
'He was a joy to work with on set, he really was. He was a lot of fun and there was this charismatic presence every day.'
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SpaceX launches new batch of US spy satellites from California (video)
SpaceX launched the latest batch of spy satellites for the U.S. government early Friday morning (June 19).
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You can get my favorite image-stabilized binoculars for their cheapest ever price in this incredible anti-Prime Day deal
The Fujinon Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars are perfect for steady stargazing with 16x magnification, 40mm objective lenses and strong image stabilization, on sale for $1,125 at Walmart.
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Sun-like star may have swallowed an exoplanet with help from a mysterious companion: 'You are what you eat, right?'
"That's what makes this field so exciting. You really are solving a mystery."
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Astrophotographer captures a cosmic lagoon glowing 5,200 light-years from Earth (photo)
The Lagoon Nebula is best spotted in the months surrounding August in the Northern Hemisphere.
The NIH is proposing a grant cap that could help some labs and strain others
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a formal Request for Information (RFI) regarding a proposal to limit the number of Research Project Grants (RPGs) an individual investigator can hold simultaneously. The agency is considering caps ranging from two to four grants per Principal Invest
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These Mars valleys are hiding 30 dust devils | Space photo of the day for June 18, 2026
Europe's Mars Express orbiter recently imaged a huge valley system on the Red Planet — and dust devils dot the alien landscape.
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'It's quite a bit more than we expected': Satellite reveals immense scale of GPS signal tampering
For the first time, an experimental satellite has mapped the scale of GPS jamming across Europe and the Middle East from space.
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Astronomers solve the mystery of black holes' delayed cosmic 'burps'
A new study reveals why black holes let out massive radio "burps" years after eating stars, giving astronomers a chemical blueprint to predict them early.