As shipments of oil by rail skyrocket, environmentalists worry about the toll of hauling America’s crude
The Real Space Oddities: Super-Earths and Jumbo Neptunes
Stuck in a solar system in which planets come in only two sizes—big and small—we’re finally learning about all the ones in between
Congress Is Screwing Public-Transit Users — and We’ll All Pay the Price
The tax credit for public transit is set to fall by more than 45% next year while the subsidy for parking goes up. Why that’s bad news for everyone
WATCH: Astronauts Install Cameras Outside Space Station
The pair live-stream the spacewalk from their helmets
Window on Infinity: A New Year’s Photo Album From Space
The universe has been around for 13.8 billion years, and has been gorgeous for every one of them—as this year-end collection of images from 2013 helps prove.
A Newly Discovered Underground Lake in Greenland Will Help Us Understand Climate Change
An aquifer bigger than West Virginia has been found underneath the ice in Greenland. What that means for the rising seas.
NASA Astronauts Make Rare Christmas Eve Spacewalk
Update, 2 p.m. ET: The astronauts have finished their repairs, reports NBC News.
U.S. astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins are making a rare Christmas Eve spacewalk to fix vital cooling systems on the International Space Station.
Earthrise on Christmas Eve: The Picture That Changed the World
The first men to orbit the moon knew they were on an epic journey, but they never imagined the impact of a single image
Fracking for Natural Gas May Help Us Save Water
Hydraulic fracturing for natural gas is a water-intensive process—as critics love to point out. But by enabling the switch from thirsty coal to more efficient natural gas, fracking could be good for water scarcity
NASA Spacewalkers Begin Urgent Repairs
A malfunctioning pump has halted research and left the International Space Station vulnerable