Imagine keeping a laser beam trained on a dime that’s 200 miles away. Now imagine doing that continuously for 24 hours, while riding a merry-go-round. Seem difficult? Well, that’s basically what the Hubble Space Telescope does.After months of technical issues, NASA announced June 4 that Hubble would shift into one-gyroscope mode. This essentially means that the telescope will have to rely on just one of the several gyroscopes – devices that measure an object’s orientation in space – it ...read more

Marcus Aurelius, one of the most celebrated Roman Emperors and a central figure in the philosophical school of Stoicism, continues to capture the imagination of historians and enthusiasts alike. Known for his philosophical writings and his reign as emperor from 161 to 180 AD, Aurelius' life has been well-documented. However, the exact circumstances of his death are less certain, leaving it somewhat shrouded in mystery.Here, we’ll explore the life of Marcus Aurelius, from his historic ascent to ...read more

A new look at a nearly forgotten old bone could change the way we think about the reptiles that preceded the dinosaurs. And the revelation that the bone is the oldest fossil of an oceanic reptile from the Southern Hemisphere — reported in Current Biology — also serves as a legacy to the scientist who prompted its re-evaluation.Dinosaurs and Ancient ReptilesReptiles ruled the seas for millions of years before dinosaurs dominated the land. Sauropterygians, were the most diverse and geologicall ...read more

The U.S. Southwest holds natural treasures that take top spots on a lot of people’s bucket lists, but there are some archaeological rarities that tourists would never know exist. Rock art sites, for example, often go unnoticed as cultural destinations. While certain sites attract thousands of curious visitors, countless others remain hidden from public sight in remote locations. Rock art can be extremely challenging to find, especially in one of the most beloved national parks, the Grand Canyo ...read more

NASA has set its sights on the Moon, aiming to send astronauts back to the lunar surface by 2026 and establish a long-term presence there by the 2030s. But the Moon isn’t exactly a habitable place for people.Cosmic rays from distant stars and galaxies and solar energetic particles from the Sun bombard the surface, and exposure to these particles can pose a risk to human health.Both galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles, are high-energy particles that travel close to the speed of l ...read more

Humans have long been fascinated by organisms that can produce light. Aristotle, who was a scientist as well as a philosopher, wrote the first detailed descriptions of what he called “cold light” more than 2,000 years ago. More recently, pioneering researchers like World War II Army veteran Emmett Chappelle and deep submergence vehicle pilot Edith Widder advanced the study of this phenomenon with novel technologies.At least 94 living organisms produce their own light through a chemical react ...read more

Millions of years before the Tyrannosaurus rex roamed the Earth, another group of gigantic meat-eating dinosaurs reigned supreme in the Early to Mid-Cretaceous period. The theropod, known as the Carcharodontosaurus, reached a truly enormous size, some growing even bigger than the icon of the Jurassic Park series. Blade-Like Teeth of the CarcharodontosaurusThese enormous predators were amongst the largest to ever walk the Earth. They roamed North Africa around 99 million years to 94 million years ...read more

Jonah Choiniere, a paleobiologist at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, was boating around the world’s largest artificial lake in 2018 when he and his team found the first known fossils of Musankwa sanyatiensis — an ancestor of the sauropod dinosaurs from around 210 million years ago.Part of a flood of similar discoveries from the past decade or so, the fossils hint at how the four-legged sauropods developed from the two-legged sauropodomorphs that preceded them. “We knew r ...read more

For hundreds of years, mariners and fishermen knew this sea creature as a herald of woe. Seeing one in the water or even washed up on shore was an omen, a warning of some impending disaster, typically a natural one, such as an earthquake or tsunami. In Japan, the creature was named “ryugu no tsukai,” a messenger from the palace of the sea god. Others dramatically dubbed it the Harbinger of Doom, or simply the Doomsday Fish. You may know it as the oarfish.Then again, this might be your first ...read more

The Oregon Cascade Range is ... complicated. From the surface it looks like the chain of volcanoes that we started exploring back in British Columbia remains the same. However, once you start looking at the deep geologic processes that are causing volcanoes in Oregon, you quickly realize there is a lot going on."How much?" you say? Here's a short list:The Juan de Fuca plate is still subjecting (sliding underneath) North America just off the Pacific Coast.Much of the basin that follows the Columb ...read more