All Stories by Maria Temming
- Planetary Science
Rosetta data reveal an invisible ultraviolet aurora around comet 67P
Solar wind electrons smash water molecules in the comet’s coma to make the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s version of the northern lights.
- Environment
What we know and don’t know about wildfire smoke’s health risks
As wildfires become more frequent and severe in California, Oregon and throughout the West Coast, concerns rise about harmful air pollution.
- Microbes
50 years ago, scientists were on the trail of a brain-eating amoeba
In 1970, scientists were studying a brain-eating amoeba that had been implicated in a newfound disease. Today, infections by the parasite are still poorly understood.
- Tech
A Game Boy look-alike runs on solar panels and button smashes
A new prototype console that looks and feels like the original Game Boy harnesses user-generated energy to run without batteries.
- Space
Dark matter clumps in galaxy clusters bend light surprisingly well
Cosmologists have found one more way to be confused by dark matter.
- Animals
Sea butterflies’ shells determine how the snails swim
New aquarium videos show that sea butterflies of various shapes and sizes flutter through water differently.
- Physics
Toy boats float upside down underneath a layer of levitated liquid
The upward force of buoyancy keeps objects afloat even in unusual conditions.
- Earth
Carbon dioxide from Earth’s mantle may trigger some Italian earthquakes
In the central Apennines of Italy, spikes in natural carbon dioxide emissions line up with the biggest earthquakes.
- Paleontology
This ichthyosaur died after devouring a creature nearly as long as itself
Ichthyosaurs, marine reptiles generally thought to munch on soft prey like cephalopods, may have chowed down on fellow big marine reptiles, too.
- Earth
50 years ago, scientists clocked the speed of Antarctic ice
Today’s instruments offer a more precise view, and reveal the effects of climate change.
- Science & Society
Ethan Hawke stars in ‘Tesla,’ a quirky biopic about the iconic inventor
The new movie ‘Tesla’ follows the rise and fall of Nikola Tesla, whose early inventions panned out far better than later projects.
- Astronomy
Hubble watched a lunar eclipse to see Earth from an alien’s perspective
Hubble observed sunlight filtering through Earth’s atmosphere during a lunar eclipse to see what a habitable exoplanet’s atmosphere might look like.
