Space

#21: Fresh Hints of Life on Mars

Could underground life be emitting methane clouds during warm periods? 01.25.2010

#28: Probe Shows Mercury’s Hidden Face

Messenger shows how the surface was formed and how the surface forms the atmosphere. 01.25.2010

The Science & the Fiction

The intrepid Bad Astronomer, Phil Plait, picks the best and worst science moments at the movies. 01.21.2010

Are Black Holes the Architects of the Universe?

Long known for their obliterating power, black holes may also have been a creative force: New evidence suggests that they gave order to the chaotic mess produced by the Big Bang. 01.04.2010

The Moon Makes a Splash

Thanks to new-and-improved imaging, the Earth's nearest neighbor is looking a lot more interesting. 01.04.2010

#56: Earth-like Storms Mysteriously Appear on Saturn’s Moon Titan

“For so long, it was cloud-free. Then, all of a sudden, they dramatically appeared.” 12.29.2009

Discover Interview: Miles of Wire, Reams of Print-Outs, and a Giant Discovery

Jocelyn Bell Burnell worked through old-school equipment and old-school sexism to find the first pulsar—the beginning of an extraordinary life in science. 12.29.2009

#59: Amazing Images of the Heart of the Milky Way

Earth's placement on one of the outer arms of the galaxy gives us a view of what's happening in the center. 12.29.2009

#62: Sooth-Saying Science—First-Ever Prediction of a Meteor

Telescopes spotted it, computers traced it, onlookers watched it, and students picked up the pieces. 12.28.2009

#63: Did NASA’s Phoenix Find Liquid Water on Mars?

If fluid water does persist on Mars, life could be hanging on in thin layers of salty water just beneath the surface. 12.28.2009

#67: Where Do Enceladus' Mysterious Geysers Come From?

Ammonia spotted in the jets could act as antifreeze in under-ice oceans. 12.26.2009

#69: Science Sets Its Eyes on the Prize

Big money awaits innovators who can build rockets, sequence genomes, predict people's movie preferences, harvest energy from the tides, or explore the Moon. 12.25.2009

#77: Did an Early Pummeling of Asteroids Lead to Life on Earth?

Early organisms apparently survived the Late Heavy Bombardment—which may have made our planet a much comfier place to live. 12.22.2009

#79: Sonic Black Hole Created in Lab

No atoms could escape the void within the cloud: “It’s like trying to swim upstream in a river whose current is faster than you.” 12.22.2009

#84: Dear Liza, Now There's a Hole in Jupiter

A comet or asteroid had slams into Jupiter with the force of 2 billion tons of TNT, blowing a giant hole in the clouds over the gas giant. 12.20.2009

#100: Hubble's New Mind-Blowing 'Scopes

The Hubble Space Telescope's new equipment, including the Wide Field Camera 3, provide even better images of the heavens. 12.16.2009