A Brain Wouldn't Survive Star Travel
January 6, 2013
Don't take a star trek unless you want to arrive demented.
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Astronomy Grab Bag
December 29, 2012
For year's end, here's a clean-out of astronomy articles—from planetary science to cosmology—to motivate further inquiry.
Are Scientists Capable of Stupidity?
December 2, 2012
Scientists are only people, and most people do or say dumb things sometimes. You can decide how to classify these "scientific" ideas.
Mars Radiation May Not Be That Bad
November 18, 2012
Data from the Curiosity rover's RAD instrument seem to indicate astronauts could survive radiation reaching the surface.
Planets and Moons Beneath the Surface
September 29, 2012
Can science peel back the surfaces of objects to see what's underneath? Can they go under the observations to find the explanations?
Hopes for Wet Mars Diminished
September 11, 2012
The clays on Mars that were thought to be indicative of a wet past could, instead, be formed by volcanoes.
Whole Lotta Evolvin’ Goin’ On
September 5, 2012
Your dog learned the most effective way to shake water off: by evolution, maybe. Maybe evolution did other things, too.
"Easy Does It" Evolution Credited with Anything and Everything
August 13, 2012
Reporters show remarkably little discernment about the limitations of natural selection, but scientists don't rebuke them.
Curiosity Set to Explore Mars
August 6, 2012
Having survived its nail-biting entry, descent and landing, the Curiosity rover is ready to roll on Mars.
Our Poisonous Moon: Better from a Distance
July 13, 2012
The moon stabilizes Earth's axis and regulates the tides, but enjoy it from a distance. Now there are more reasons you wouldn't want to live there.
Astronomers Wrestle with "Endless Mysteries"
June 3, 2012
Some of the biggest questions in the universe remain completely baffling to astronomers, a leading journal admitted.
How to Liven Up Dead Geology
May 24, 2012
A new study shows some carbon compounds from Mars formed, not by living organisms, but from geological and chemical processes. What does life have to do with it? Ask some science reporters.
Crater Count Dating Still Unreliable
May 22, 2012
Worries about the crater count dating method, widely relied upon to infer ages of planetary surfaces, began emerging in 2005. Those worries have not subsided; they have only grown worse. Crater numbers may have nothing to do with age.
Planet Theories vs. the Evidence
April 26, 2012
Planet theorists are putting up a valiant fight against new findings, but in some cases, the evidence seems to be winning.
Tilt-A-World: Another Constraint on Habitability
January 12, 2012
Did you ever ride a Tilt-A-Whirl, one of those cheap carnival rides that makes you dizzy and sick? Our planet would be like that if its inclination were out of control. Without tilt stability, a new study reveals, we wouldn't be sick, we'd be dead, or never alive in the first place. It's not enough to be in the Habitable Zone. Would-be inhabited planets need to avoid a new problem, called “tilt erosion.”