Mercury does not make sense. It is a bizarre hunk of rock with a composition that is unlike its neighboring rocky planets. “It’s way too dense,” said David Rothery, a planetary scientist at the Open University in England. Most of the planet, the closest to the sun, is taken up by its core. It lacks …
Shards of the Planet Mercury May Be Hiding on Earth Read More »
A couple of years later than had been hoped, Boeing’s Starliner space taxi arrived at the International Space Station on Friday evening. There were no astronauts inside for this trip, but it marked a crucial milestone that eluded Boeing during a troubled flight test in 2019, when the same uncrewed spacecraft failed to reach the …
Boeing’s Starliner Docks With Space Station for NASA Read More »
As countries, including Canada and Britain, have lifted their Covid testing requirements for vaccinated visitors in recent months, some Americans are irate that they still have to show a negative test to board a flight back to the United States. Jason Miller, a 37-year-old software engineer who lives in Texas, is so frustrated with the …
What’s Going on With the Testing Requirement for Travel? Read More »
On Thursday, Boeing will have a second chance at a do-over for the space taxi it has built for NASA. The Starliner capsule will take astronauts to and from the International Space Station, but first it has to complete a test flight without astronauts to verify that its systems all work properly. Its two previous …
How to Watch the Boeing Starliner Launch for NASA Read More »
The two kayakers were enjoying the last glimmers of summer on the Minnesota River last September when they spotted an odd brown chunk along the bank. They paddled toward it and looked closer. It appeared to be a bone, so they called the Renville County Sheriff’s Office. When Sheriff Scott Hable was told of the …
Human Skull About 8,000 Years Old Is Found in Minnesota River Read More »
At first, it seems like any other unboxing video on YouTube: A young man presents the viewer with a sealed box, expresses his excitement at what might be inside and peels away the packing tape. But instead of pulling out a collectible toy or signature sneaker, he carefully unpacks seven live tarantulas, zooming in close …
Scientists Uncover a Shady Web of Online Spider Sales Read More »
Just after dawn on May 5, scientists working along a stretch of the Mekong River in Cambodia released a giant, endangered freshwater stingray that had been caught on a fisherman’s line. At 13 feet long and 400 pounds, the gigantic animal pancake was larger than a hibachi table. “It was shaking, and I told her, …
Watch a Giant Stingray’s Safe Return to Its River Home Read More »
As the coronavirus morphs into a stubborn and unpredictable facet of everyday life, scientists and federal health officials are converging on a new strategy for immunizing Americans: a vaccination campaign this fall, perhaps with doses that are finely tuned to combat the version of the virus expected. to be in circulation. The plan would borrow …
Since You’re Already Getting a Flu Shot, Why Not One for Covid, Too? Read More »
It was 2013 when Sanjeeta Pokharel first witnessed Asian elephants responding to death. An older female elephant in an Indian park had died of an infection. A younger female was walking in circles around the carcass. Fresh dung piles hinted that other elephants had recently visited. “That is where we got curious,” said Dr. Pokharel, …
Elephants in Mourning Spotted on YouTube by Scientists Read More »
NASA’s InSight spacecraft is not quite dead yet. But InSight, a stationary robotic probe on Mars, has been steadily growing weaker as dust accumulates on its solar panels. Mission managers predict that by late summer it will not have enough energy to continue operating its instruments and that by the end of the year it …
NASA Begins Countdown for End of InSight Mars Mission Read More »
