All Stories by Maria Temming
- 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.
- Space
Paradoxically, white dwarf stars shrink as they gain mass
Observations of thousands of white dwarf stars have confirmed a decades-old theory about the relationship between their masses and sizes.
- Earth
Predictions for the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season just got worse
Wind patterns and abnormally warm seawater are conspiring to create especially hurricane-friendly conditions in the Atlantic.
- Space
An Antarctic ice dome may offer the world’s clearest views of the night sky
The highest point in East Antarctica could be an ideal place for an optical telescope, a new study finds.
- Archaeology
Stone artifacts hint that humans reached the Americas surprisingly early
Finds uncovered in a Mexican cave suggest North America may have had human inhabitants more than 30,000 years ago — way before archaeologists thought.
- Space
50 years ago, NASA prepared to launch America’s first space station
In 1970, NASA was building Skylab. The orbiting laboratory led to many scientific firsts but was plagued by technical difficulties.
- Physics
A giant underground motion sensor in Germany tracks Earth’s wobbles
A giant underground gyroscope array has taken its first measurements of how the world goes ’round.
