Thursday, August 15, 2024

Space & Physics: Dazzling auroras seen from the ISS

August 15—This week, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (including some still stuck there, for now) gaze down on dazzling auroral displays. Plus, hidden oceans on Mars and Saturn's moon Mimas, and the announcement of a historic space mission to send humans over Earth's poles. Enjoy!

--Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space and Physics


Olympic Athletes Swim the Murky Seine, and Astronauts Are Stuck on the Space Station

We cover the science stories of the Olympics, concerns about artificial sweeteners and a new theory of how the pyramids were built in this week's news roundup.

Stunning Space Station Video Shows Glimmering Northern Lights from Above

Coronal mass ejections from the sun sparked dazzling auroras that were visible from the ground and from space

Mars Hides Colossal Ocean Deep Below Its Surface

An underground Martian ocean could hold enough liquid to cover the Red Planet with a mile of water

Meet Saturn's 'Death Star' Moon and the Intriguing Ocean It May Hide

The possibility of liquid water beneath the surface of Saturn's moon Mimas may offer clues to how such seas form, and another spot to search for life

SpaceX Set to Launch First-Ever Crew over Earth's Poles

Launching in late 2024, the Fram2 mission will be the first human spaceflight to explore the planet's polar regions

A Close Encounter with SpaceX Debris Teaches an Astronomer about Space Junk

The space junk polluting low-Earth orbit sometimes makes its way to Earth. Here's how one astronomer responded when SpaceX debris fell on a nearby farm.

No, You Can't See the Great Wall of China from Space

Reports of Earth-orbiting astronauts glimpsing the Great Wall of China and many other artificial structures are wildly exaggerated, but humanity's planetary influence isn't entirely invisible from afar

Mystery Droplets Inside Cells May Play Vital Roles in Life

The novel physics of biomolecular condensates could explain how these droplets help cells do their jobs

Three of the Strangest Paradoxes in Mathematics

A barber shaves all men who don't shave themselves. Does he shave himself? Mathematics offers explanations for this and other curious contradictions

Perseid Meteor Shower Joins Stunning Mars and Jupiter Conjunction

Early risers get a double sky treat: a Mars and Jupiter conjunction and the Perseid meteor shower will occur at once

Scientist Pankaj

Today in Science: Humans think unbelievably slowly

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