Space & Physics: Severe space weather lights up the sky

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November 13 — This week, spectacular auroras from severe space weather dazzle the U.S., the final clues emerge for an enigmatic cryptographic puzzle, astronomers catch the Milky Way doing "the wave," and more. Enjoy! —Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Physical Sciences

Top Stories

See Photos of the Northern Lights That Dazzled the U.S. A severe geomagnetic storm brought spectacular auroras to much of the U.S. on Tuesday night Meghan Bartels

Final Clues to Mystery of CIA Kryptos Puzzle Released "Kryptos has not been solved," said artist Jim Sanborn after releasing his parting clues to the "K4" section of his sculpture puzzle Dan Vergano

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Is Space the Place for Earth's Next Evolutionary Leap? In a new book, NASA astrobiologist Caleb Scharf says the fate of life on Earth may hinge on leaving our planet behind Lee Billings

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Our Milky Way's Warped Disk Keeps Getting Weirder Observations show the disk of our galaxy is not flat but warped and waving. Astronomers are still working out the reasons why Phil Plait

Powerful Solar Storm Could Trigger Far-Reaching Auroras across U.S. The sun just spat out several coronal mass ejections that could trigger a serious solar storm on Wednesday Meghan Bartels

Rubin Observatory Discovers Surprise 'Tail' on Iconic Galaxy The first image from the Vera C. Rubin telescope reveals a previously unnoticed feature of the galaxy M61 that may explain its mysterious properties Jenna Ahart, Nature magazine

How to Identify a Prime Number without a Computer For years, a French mathematician searched for a proof that a gigantic number is prime. His method is still used 150 years later Manon Bischoff

Scientists See 'Eureka' Moments in Mathematicians' Chalkboard Writings Researchers spot the "tipping point" before mathematicians' moments of discovery Matthew Hutson

What We're Reading

What would a "simplified" Starship plan for the moon actually look like? | Ars Technica NASA's bold new telescope will do more than just hunt for life | Nature Astronomy The Harvard scientist, Kim Kardashian and the comet that probably isn't an alien spaceship | New York Times

From the Archive

The Threat of a Solar Superstorm Is Growing—And We're Not Ready Someday an unlucky outburst from our sun could strike Earth and fry most of our electronics—and we've already had some too-close-for-comfort near misses Phil Plait

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