The Kepler Space Telescope might have hit the motherlode
EcocentricCarbon Policy
If Carbon Markets Can’t Work in Europe, Can They Work Anywhere?
Europe has always been at the forefront of global climate policy. But its landmark carbon market is on the brink of failure.
Bombs, Instincts and Morals: Why Heroes Risk It All for Strangers
As some flee a dangerous situation, others, against millions of years of instinct, rush in
Why Your Brain Craves Music
Our highest and lowest processing regions explain the irresistible appeal of a song
Asteroid in a Bag: NASA’s Long, Strange Trip
The space agency’s latest plan for a manned mission—including capturing an asteroid and towing it to the moon—begs crddulity
All Eyes on the World: A Look Back at NASA’s Best Views of Earth
On a blue-sky day, it’s easy to look up into the far-reaching atmosphere and marvel at the wonders that it holds — and not even realize that anything is staring back at you. But in reality, fleets of satellites and aerospace …
Has the Missing 80% of the Universe’s Mass Been Found?
The search for dark matter — the glue that holds the cosmos together — takes a big step forward
Mega-Eruption: Scientists Connect a Mass Extinction to a Major Lava Flow
Scientists have wondered why there was a major extinction wave some 200 million years ago. Now they suspect that a major explosion of lava that occurred around the same time may be the cause.
Window on Infinity: Pictures from Space
Stunning images of the sun, Earth and far-away locales in our roundup of cosmic views from March 2013.
How Should We Deal With Future Near-Earth Asteroids? In the Words of NASA: ‘Pray’
NASA chief Charles Bolden did not have many reassuring words for the U.S. House of Representative Science Committee when he spoke recently about his agency’s efforts to track and mitigate recent threats from space.