Space A Neutron Star Might Have Just Collided with a Black HolePopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanScientists at the Hawaii-based Keck Observatory believe they might have an exciting find on their hands, something like a galactic playoff game: nebula star vs. black hole. The black hole wins, but capturing
Galaxies This Supercomputer Is Out Here Just Generating Millions of UniversesPopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanHow does one study the formation of a galaxy? Or the formation of the oldest thing known to exist, the universe? There are many ways, including powerful telescopes both on land and in space. But Peter
Space The Power Source for a Mars Outpost Could Be Ready in 3 YearsPopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanAn experimental miniature nuclear reactor known as Kilopower, meant to power manned outposts beyond Earth, could be ready for an in-flight test as early as 2022, says a project lead project at the Department
Space Hey, What's Up With Jupiter's Great Red Spot?Popular Mechanics - By David GrossmanIt's one of the most iconic destinations in the solar system: Jupiter's Great Red Spot, moving around the planet like a wandering eye. But the famous storm is filled with plenty of mysteries. Here's what
Space How To Watch the Perseids Meteor Shower TonightPopular Mechanics - By Daisy HernandezTonight, you might be able to catch the spectacle that is the Perseid meteor shower depending on where you are. AccuWeather reports that during peak hours, spectators may be treated to close to 100 meteors
Space There Will Be Great Views of Jupiter, Saturn, and the Moon This WeekendPopular Mechanics - By Elizabeth GulinoStarting this Friday, August 9, you'll be able to see Jupiter, Saturn, and the moon all align side-by-side across the sky through Sunday, August 11. Why does this happen? According to EarthSky, August
Space A Meteor Slammed Into Jupiter So Hard We Saw It From EarthPopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanAn amateur astronomer captured what appears to have been a meteor exploding into Jupiter. Ethan Chappel, who captured the incident while taking photos for his Chappel Astro project, is awaiting further
Space Map Shows Dwindling Number for Prime Stargazing LocationsPopular Mechanics - By Daisy HernandezTechnology has made it possible to take photos and capture footage of space we could've only dreamed of a few decades back. But astronomers and amateur stargazers are facing a major issue affecting their
Galaxies Scientists Just Found 39 Ancient GalaxiesPopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanCombining the strength of various observatories spanning the globe and off-planet space telescopes, scientists have discovered 39 previously unknown ancient massive galaxies, as well as the revelation
Play buttonTardigrades Tardigrades Have Landed on the Moon. Here's What Their Survival Could Mean for Humanity.Popular Mechanics - By William Herkewitz and Daisy HernandezTardigrades are one of the most fascinating creatures on Earth—and now, the moon, too. The mysterious microscopic critters have landed on the lunar surface in what sounds like the beginning of a sci-fi
Space Really Old Star Corpse Found Inside Another Really Old StarPopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanThe universe, to put things mildly, is very, very old. But it's not so old that its earliest days are unknowable. And so scientists at the Australian National University have discovered what they describe
Space Mars Used to Have a Huge Ocean, but Then a Mega-Tsunami Ruined EverythingPopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanThe history of Mars is up to almost as much scrutiny as the history of Earth. The fourth planet from the Sun is a cold and lifeless world these days, but scientists believe the planet once had a large
Exoplanets NASA Exoplanet Hunter Finds 'Hot Earth'Popular Mechanics - By David GrossmanFor the first time, NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered a distant planet within the zone of potential habitability. The planet is part of a trio orbiting a star known as
Space New Map Simulates 220 Million Years of Star FormationPopular Mechanics - By John WenzOur galaxy is filled with hundreds of billions of stars, but plotting where they are in relation to one another is a cosmic cartographical undertaking. But a new study in Science this week uses an old
Play buttonSpace Bicep Curls and Batteries: The Mars 2020 Rover Is Coming TogetherPopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanNASA's Mars 2020 rover will make history on the red planet as it explores the body's geological history and attempts to make an assessment on past habitability, or even the chance that there was once And
Light Sail LightSail 2, the Solar Sailing CubeSat That Could, Declared a SuccessPopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanThe Planetary Society has declared "mission success" on LightSail 2, its crowdfunded solar sailing CubeSat traveling around the planet. While LightSail 2 successfully unfurled its sail last week, it has
Solar Wind This 'Big Red Ball' Can Replicate Solar Winds on EarthPopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanThe sun is the most powerful source of energy in the solar system, and the solar winds that escape its gravity affect just about everybody they can reach. On and around Earth, solar winds interfere with
Asteroids How a City-Killing Asteroid Got So Uncomfortably Close to EarthPopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanOn July 25, an asteroid measuring somewhere between 87 and 427 feet wide got unusually close to Earth. No scientists had even detected the asteroid until a few hours before it passed by the planet. While
Aliens The Blink-182 Guy Hasn’t Found Aliens Yet, But He Did Find Some Weird MetalsPopular Mechanics - By Andrew DanielsLike any 30-something with a one-time penchant for power chords and poop jokes, I’m a recovering Blink-182 fan. If you were an impressionable teen in the late ‘90s or early aughts, the gateway pop-punk
Play buttonSpaceX SpaceX Successfully Tests Hopper PrototypePopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanThe journey of a thousand Starships begins with a single hop. After multiple delays, SpaceX was finally able to achieve liftoff on its "hopper," a prototype for its next-generation Starship reusable spacecraft
Play buttonMoon The Moon: An ExplainerPopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanSome basic facts about the satellite everyone is talking about these days. It's always in the sky. Countries and businesses around the world are eyeing it with economic hopes and dreams. The moon is Earth's
Moon Landing 8 Lesser-Known Players Who Made the Moon Landing PossiblePopular Mechanics - By Daisy HernandezMankind owes its giant leap to approximately 400,000 people, from engineers and scientists to secretaries. Here, we honor a few lesser-known faces behind the world's greatest technological feat as we up
Light Sail LightSail 2 Is Now Flying Through Space, Powered by the SunPopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanIt won't be the last spacecraft to take advantage of the free power source. The LightSail 2, a small spacecraft powered solely by the sun's rays, has successfully unfurled and is now flying through low
NASA Onward To Mars: What Our Journey To the Red Planet Might Look LikePopular Mechanics - By Chuck ThompsonThe moon landing was a historic achievement, but landing on Mars will be an even greater challenge. At 12:50 PM EDT, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins splashed down in the Pacific Ocean,
Space The Art of the Return Trip: How NASA Got Apollo 11 HomePopular Mechanics - By Alex HollingsLanding astronauts on the moon is hard...getting them back home is harder. Welcome to Apollo Week, celebrating 50 years since the Apollo 11 mission, explaining what it means today, and exploring how its
NASA Chris Kraft's Greatest NASA AccomplishmentsPopular Mechanics - By Daisy HernandezNASA's first flight director died Monday at 95 years old. Christopher Kraft, Jr., the first person to fill the role of Flight Director at NASA, has died at 95 years old. Kraft passed away Monday, July
Apollo Missions How Our Trip to the Moon Pushed Innovation Here on EarthPopular Mechanics - By Matt BlitzYou can thank NASA for the Dustbuster, memory foam mattresses, and more. Welcome to Apollo Week, celebrating 50 years since the Apollo 11 mission, explaining what it means today, and exploring how its
NASA NASA Finally Completes the Orion Crew CapsulePopular Mechanics - By David GrossmanNASA hopes the capsule will take astronauts back to the Moon, and Mars after that. Over the weekend, Vice President Mike Pence announced that NASA had completed work on the Orion crew capsule, which will
Moon The 6 Challenges We Need To Conquer on Our Way to MarsPopular Mechanics - By Anatoly ZakAnd how NASA sees the moon as a dress rehearsal for the Red Planet. Welcome to Apollo Week, celebrating 50 years since the Apollo 11 mission, explaining what it means today, and exploring how its legacy
