Cassini’s First Years at Saturn
For many years, the Cassini probe to Saturn provided a stable research platform that scientists used to transform our understanding of the ringed planet.
Saturn’s Ocean Moon Enceladus Is Able to Support Life
This research team is working out how to detect extraterrestrial cells in the liquid water ocean hidden beneath Enceladus’s icy crust.
How the Universe Forges Stars from Cosmic Clouds
A deep dive into the chaotic journey of star formation.
Alfalfa: A Crop that Feeds Our Food
In 2023, American farmers grew more than 9 million acres of alfalfa. What makes this legume hay so special?
Life in the Islands of the Dead
Though part of the mainland county of Cornwall, the Scilly Islands offer visitors an encounter with history and the environment like no other.
100 Years after the “Great Debate”: How Edwin Hubble Expanded the Cosmos
In 1924, Edwin Hubble found proof that the Milky Way isn't the only galaxy in the Universe.
Free Wheeling: Shopping Carts and Culture
The invention of the shopping cart changed our purchasing patterns, but the way we use it also reflects how we live life on the streets.
We Might Have Accidentally Killed the Only Life We Ever Found on Mars Nearly 50 Years Ago
In one experiment, the Viking landers added water to Martian soil samples. That might have been a very bad idea.
How Rocks and Minerals Play with Light to Produce Breathtaking Colors
Rocks and minerals don’t simply reflect light. They play with it and interact with light as both a wave and a particle.
Is Star Trek’s Warp Drive Possible?
The concept of the warp drive is currently at odds with everything we know to be true about physics.