Giant telescope could spot individual continents on exoplanets

Close-Up

A pair of physicists suggests that treating the Sun like a giant gravitational lens would give us a clear view of distant exoplanets.

Giant Telescope Could Spot Individual Continents on Exoplanets

A NASA scientist has an idea to snap incredible photos of planets in other star systems.

Spraying a Car in the WORLD'S BLACKEST Paint (Darker than Vanta Black?)

It looks like someone punched a hole in reality.

This super-black car is so dark that it looks like a silhouette

Missing Vehicle Alert

YouTubers painted a car with Musou Black, a paint that absorbs 99.4 percent of light, leaving the vehicle looking more like a silhouette than an object.

This Super-Black Car Is So Dark That It Looks Like a Silhouette

It's darker than Vantablack — like staring into a black hole.

"In this way, the amount of dark matter that we measure in the universe today is a direct result of this filtration in the first fractions of a second after the Big Bang."

New theory: Dark matter was created by "boiling" bubbles of plasma

Origin Story

Scientists have a new idea for where dark matter came from: "boiling" bubbles of plasma at the beginning of the universe.

New Theory: Dark Matter Was Created by “Boiling” Bubbles of Plasma

A team of scientists has an unusual explanation.

"An environmental monitoring satellite could 'see' a pollutant being emitted from a plant, or a spy satellite would see where explosives or uranium are being hidden."

Scientists found a way to make infrared light visible to humans

Eye Color

Scientists built a low-cost system that can be mounted on a standard camera and make infrared light visible to the human eye.

Scientists Found a Way to Make Infrared Light Visible to Humans

Okay, that's pretty cool.

This will be the most precise search for interactions between dark and visible matter yet.

Ultra-precise atomic clocks may be able to detect oscillations of dark matter

The Hunt Continues

Scientists are preparing to use an ultra-precise atomic clock to hunt oscillations of dark matter several orders of magnitude smaller than ever before.

Ultra-Precise Atomic Clocks May Be Able to Detect Oscillations of Dark Matter

Scientists are pitting their most precise tools against extremely elusive particles.

Death by spaghettification: artistic animation of star being sucked in by a black hole

Watch a black hole suck down an entire star like a spaghetti noodle

Pasta Mortem

A star about 215 million light-years from Earth got too close to a black hole, and got devoured in a process that scientists call "spaghettification."

Watch a Black Hole Suck Down an Entire Star Like a Spaghetti Noodle

"The idea of a black hole 'sucking in' a nearby star sounds like science fiction. But this is exactly what happens in a tidal disruption event."

Scientists at Princeton have good news for interstellar travel.

Physicists: Wormholes large enough to travel through are possible

Thinking With Portals

According to some bizarre theoretical physics, the human-traversable wormholes from science fiction should be possible to create.

Physicists: Wormholes Large Enough to Travel Through Are Possible

"These wormholes are the ultimate roller coaster."

NASA's Guide to Near-light-speed Travel

Finally, a kid-friendly primer on special relativity.

Video shows NASA's bizarre guide to near-light-speed travel

Off We Go

NASA recently put out a weird little cartoon that introduces kids to surprisingly complex topics like special relativity and the scale of the universe.

Video Shows NASA’s Bizarre Guide to Near-Light-Speed Travel

It's mind-blowing.

DUNE could give us a whole new understanding of how and why stars die.

This underground experiment will hunt for supernova shrapnel

Explosion Hazard

An upcoming experiment called DUNE hopes to scoop up neutrinos, elusive particles blasted out by supernova explosions, as they sail through Earth.

This Underground Experiment Will Hunt for Supernova Shrapnel

It hopes to scoop up supernova neutrinos as they fly through Earth.

This $10 course will help you go behind the headlines to learn what they really mean.

Go beyond the science headlines with the fundamentals of Physics course

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Over the last twenty years, there have been some amazing breakthroughs in physics. We’ve found new particles, listened to black holes slamming into each other, and just keep proving how right Einstein was. Yet it can be hard to be truly excited when you’ve got no idea just why this is so cool. The Fundamentals […]

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