Space Sciences

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Sheer Magnetism: What’s a Magnetar?

You may have never heard of a magnetar before and that’s not surprising. Magnetars may sound like some sort of niche electric guitar brand, but they’re actually very weird dead stars doing weird magnetic things in weird ways. Let’s talk about those...
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Planetary Profile: Mad Mars

You might think that Mars has the least amount of mystery to it (well, for planets that aren’t Earth anyway). But the Red Planet has a way of confuddling us like no other world. Every time we learn something new it just raises twelve new questions. So let...
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JWST Captures Star’s Death: Our Sun’s Future

Thanks to the ‪James Webb Space Telescope, we have a preview: a stunning planetary nebula, formed when a Sun-like star swells to giant size and loses its glowing outer layers to space.
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How Space Affects Vision: NASA’s Mission to Fix It

Astronauts on the ISS often develop space-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS), where fluid shifts toward the head cause swelling in the optic disc and even reshape the eye itself, leading to vision problems.
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The Trials and Tribulations of the Thirty Meter Telescope

Let's meet the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), a proposed superlative astronomical instrument that has barely seen any actual construction happen since its groundbreaking. So what is TMT? What is the controversy? And what are some potential solutions? Join...
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90 Meteors Per Hour! Don't Miss the Perseid Meteor Shower!

You could see up to 90 shooting stars an hour with the Perseid Meteor Shower! Each summer, Earth passes through the debris of Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although a bright, gibbous moon may obscure some of the fainter meteors, fireballs will still be visible.
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Why Time Is Strange on Venus

On Venus, every day is your birthday, thanks to some wild planetary physics. The planet spins backward, and so slowly that one day lasts 243 Earth days. But a year on Venus? Just 225 Earth days.
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NASA Astronaut José Hernández's Perspective on Earth

When NASA astronaut José Hernández floated in space for the first time and looked out the port window, he saw something unexpected. Canada, the United States, and Mexico—all connected. No borders. Just one planet. It was a powerful moment of clarity.
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Looking Stellar: How We Classify Stars

How exactly do we classify stars? And why the absolute heck do we use what appears to be a totally random set of letters to do it? This one includes history, science, and women scientists being completely awesome. Let's examine just how we categorize...
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Frozen for 7 Billion Years? Meet the Fossil Galaxy

What happens when a galaxy doesn’t evolve for 7 billion years? Unlike most galaxies that collide, create stars, and transform over time, this newly discovered “fossil galaxy” has remained virtually untouched since the early universe.
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Don’t Miss The Delta Aquariids Meteor Shower Show!

You could see a shooting star every three minutes during the Delta Aquariids meteor shower! The Delta Aquariids, known for their fast, faint yellow streaks, are active from July 18 to August 12, peaking overnight July 28 to 29 with ideal dark-sky...
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The “Summer” Triangle

The topic for this post is a pattern that, despite its name, is visible in both summer and autumn nights, the Summer Triangle. This trio of stars are not a constellation, but are the brightest stars of three different constellations: Vega in Lyra, Altair...
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Interstellar Comet Incoming: 3I

Is there an alien visitor in our solar system right now? Not exactly—but there is something just as rare. A comet from another star system, named 3I, is currently passing through our solar system. Astrophysicist Erika Hamden explains why discoveries like...
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How to See Alpha Capricornids Meteor Shower - Up to 30 Meteors per Hour

Fireballs that crawl across the sky? 🌠 The Alpha Capricornids meteor shower is one of the year’s most unique celestial events. Peaking overnight from July 29 to July 30, 2025 this shower is known for producing rare, bright fireball meteors—slow-moving...
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Big Crunches and Hubble Bubbles: A Dark Energy News Dive

The Hubble Tension is a problem, at least if you’re an astro nerd. Two different stories came out this past week, each claiming different potential solutions to the Hubble Tension. We have no idea which one is wrong or if both are, because dark energy...