Tag: astronomy

How and why we’re sampling asteroid Bennu – with NASA’s OSIRIS-REx team

12.05.18.

Help us improve this podcast: take our short survey. How did our early solar system form? What are the origins of life? How likely are we to get hit by a dangerous asteroid? A daring NASA mission called OSIRIS-REx hopes to find the answers to these big questions at an asteroid named Bennu. This week,…
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Life on Mars? Watery new discovery raises tantalizing possibilities

07.26.18.

A huge announcement this week from the European Space Agency: they have found liquid water on Mars. Originally aired on the PBS NewsHour. Previous detections of water on the Red Planet were have all been frozen–though both imaging and on the ground sampling have also shown that liquid water was present on Mars’ surface in…
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New Jupiter moons, CRISPR issues, “secret science” battle: this week in science

07.19.18.

Here’s a look back at this week in science, with stories you don’t want to miss. CRISPR causes previously undetected DNA damage CRISPR-Cas9 may not be all that it is cracked up to be. A study published this week reports previously overlooked issues with using the versatile genetic editing tool taking biology by storm. Scientists…
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Exploring junk news, Pruitt slammed on the Hill, CRISPR for coral: this week in science.

04.27.18.

Here’s a look back at this week in science, with stories you don’t want to miss: Members of Congress yesterday offered up some must-see TV that appeals to a few big interests of mine: the conduct and policies of the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Scott Pruitt and the insidious, often corrosive role…
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Birth of first stars, clues about dark matter revealed by new radio astronomy technique

02.28.18.

Some of the most ancient light has been detected, giving the stars their birthdate, helping characterize dark matter, and opening up a new field of astronomy. The Early Universe The oldest light we can see is the cosmic microwave background, the remnant hiss of the universe’s massive expansion following the Big Bang. After that, the…
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Hubble, most of world’s telescopes likely have glitch, new study finds

02.27.18.

A newly discovered error in the way electronic systems record light casts doubt on data collected by many of the world’s telescopes–and even those off-world, like the Hubble Space Telescope. WATCH: Miles revisits the time the Hubble had a different technical issue, right after it launched. An international team of astrophysicists discovered the glitch while…
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