Space

Cambodians admire the Nov. 2016 supermoon, which was closer to earth than its 2017 counterpart - visible Dec. 3.

Science

Dance By The Light Of The 2017 Supermoon: The How And When

8:08pm November 27, 2017

by Rebecca Feldhaus Adams

The last and only visible such moon of 2017 will appear Dec. 3. The best time to see it is at sunset or the following morning at sunrise, when the moon is near the horizon.

This false-color image, Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8, shows the Atchafalaya Delta in Louisiana on Dec. 1, 2016. The colors emphasize the difference between land and water while allowing viewers to observe waterborne sediment, which is typica

Video: A View Of A Breathing Earth

9:48am November 27, 2017

by Marcelo Gleiser

In this visualization, based on data collected by scientists, we see Earth changing — its plants, surface winds, and sea currents responding to the energy coming from the sun, says Marcelo Gleiser.

The moon is high as twilight descends on the hills and woods on the outskirts of the small Idaho mountain town of Stanley. On a clear night, the galactic dust of the Milky Way is visible overhead.

Idaho Dims The Lights For One Of The Best Night Skies Anywhere

11:35am November 25, 2017

by Matt Guilhem

Central Idaho hopes to land on a very short list of the best places on Earth to see the Milky Way at night.

Queue Listen Now

A virtual reality program developed by NASA could help scientists visualize the magnetic fields around the earth.

Science

NASA Taps Young People To Help Develop Virtual Reality Technology

8:02am November 24, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

Scientists at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center are hoping to use virtual reality technology to study space, and Earth, without leaving their offices. Talented high school students are helping.

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A technician examines the mirror on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. Scientists at two national laboratories are currently building the components for an enormous digital camera that will capture images from the telescope.

The Largest Digital Camera In The World Takes Shape

5:00am November 17, 2017

by Joe Palca

A two-story tall, digital camera is taking shape in California. It will ultimately go on a telescope in Chile where it will survey the sky, looking for things that appear suddenly or change over time.

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Nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi, as seen on a 2001 USA postage stamp.

Science

On The Alien Question: Where Are They?

11:25am November 14, 2017

by Marcelo Gleiser

The great physicist Enrico Fermi asked this question in the 1950s. There are more than 50 possible "solutions" to Fermi's Paradox: Here, astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser explores a few.

The unmanned Antares rocket launched from Wallops Island, Va. Sunday, carrying with it a Cygnus capsule containing some 7,400 pounds of supplies for astronauts at the International Space Station.

Science

3-Plus Tons Of Supplies Headed To International Space Station After Virginia Liftoff

10:19am November 12, 2017

by Jason Slotkin

The Sunday launch of an Antares rocket from Wallop Islands has some 7,400 pounds aboard. The rocket was developed by private firm Orbital ATK, which conducts supply missions for NASA.

This view of a stellar nursery taken by the Very Large Telescope on May 23, 2013, also shows a group of thick clouds of dust known as the Thackeray globules silhouetted against the pale pink glowing gas of the nebula.

Science

The Answer To Life, The Universe — And Everything? It's 63

8:57am November 12, 2017

by Caleb Scharf

Over time, the expansion of the cosmos and the passage of light has unlocked 63 orders of magnitude to us, each one a new opportunity for novelty and complexity, says guest blogger Caleb Scharf.

Science

iPTF14hls: The Star That Won't Die

7:52am November 12, 2017

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Iair Arcavi, postdoctoral fellow in astrophysics at UC Santa Barbara, about the strange behavior of supernova iPTF14hls. This star doesn't seem to want to die.

A supermoon appears above Antwerp, Belgium, on Sept. 28, 2015. Andy Weir's second novel takes place on the first human colony on the moon.

Books
Arts

In New Novel, 'Martian' Author Andy Weir Builds A Colony On The Moon

7:51am November 11, 2017

by Scott Simon

Artemis imagines the first moon settlement as a mining town and tourist trap. "I had a lot of fun doing the world building," Weir says.