http://discovermagazine.com Science, Technology, and The Future http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/16-search-aliens-gets-harder-but-more-encouraging http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/16-search-aliens-gets-harder-but-more-encouraging Saturn's surprising moons have broadened scientists' ideas about where extraterrestrial life might be found. Andrew Grant http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/16-search-aliens-gets-harder-but-more-encouraging/key_image Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:15:00 -0600 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:15:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/10-a-yardstick-for-the-universe http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/10-a-yardstick-for-the-universe A decade ago scientists discovered that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, not slowing down as they had long assumed. Understanding why, and determining the ultimate fate of the cosmos, depends on making more accurate measurements of distance across vast expanses of space. Drawing on new observations, astronomers have just formulated the best estimate to date of exactly how quickly the universe is growing. Andrew Grant http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/10-a-yardstick-for-the-universe/key_image Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:30:00 -0600 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:30:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/04-will-our-universe-collide-with-neighboring-one http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/04-will-our-universe-collide-with-neighboring-one Relaxing on an idyllic beach on Grand Cayman Island in the Caribbean, Anthony Aguirre vividly describes the worst natural disaster he can imagine. It is, in fact, probably the worst natural disaster that anyone could imagine. An asteroid impact would be small potatoes compared with this kind of event: a catastrophic encounter with an entire other universe. As an alien cosmos came crashing into ours, its outer boundary would look like a wall racing forward at nearly the speed of light; behind that wall would lie a set of physical laws totally different from ours that would wreck everything they touched in our universe. “If we could see things in ultraslow motion, we’d see a big mirror in the sky rushing toward us because light would be reflected by the wall,” says Aguirre, a youthful physicist at the University of California at Santa Cruz. “After that we wouldn’t see anything—because we’d all be dead.” Zeeya Merali http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/04-will-our-universe-collide-with-neighboring-one/key_image Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:45:00 -0600 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:45:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/nov/02-visual-science-polishing-a-cosmic-spyglass http://discovermagazine.com/2009/nov/02-visual-science-polishing-a-cosmic-spyglass A tune-up for one of the most sophisticated imaging devices ever made http://discovermagazine.com/2009/nov/02-visual-science-polishing-a-cosmic-spyglass/key_image Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:00:00 -0600 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:00:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/20-visual-science-nasa-unveils-its-new-rocket http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/20-visual-science-nasa-unveils-its-new-rocket Visual Science: The Rollout of a New Rocket [pic] Eliza Strickland http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/20-visual-science-nasa-unveils-its-new-rocket/key_image Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:20:00 -0500 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:20:00 -0500 Web Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/sep/28-is-this-bizarre-moon-our-best-hope-finding-extraterrestrial-life http://discovermagazine.com/2009/sep/28-is-this-bizarre-moon-our-best-hope-finding-extraterrestrial-life NASA is gambling $4 billion that there's life beneath the thin atmosphere, lethal radiation, and miles-thick ice on Europa. Andrew Lawler http://discovermagazine.com/2009/sep/28-is-this-bizarre-moon-our-best-hope-finding-extraterrestrial-life/key_image Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:00:00 -0500 Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:00:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jul-aug/16-reviews http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jul-aug/16-reviews Sam Kissinger, Jeremy Labrecque http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jul-aug/16-reviews/key_image Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:50:00 -0500 Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:50:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jul-aug/30-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-eclipses http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jul-aug/30-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-eclipses LeeAundra Temescu http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jul-aug/30-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-eclipses/key_image Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:30:00 -0500 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:30:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/27-staring-at-the-sun-just-like-galileo-did http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/27-staring-at-the-sun-just-like-galileo-did Astronomers at the Mount Wilson Observatory sketch sunspots every day, continuing a tradition started by Galileo. Dava Sobel http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/27-staring-at-the-sun-just-like-galileo-did/key_image Wed, 27 May 2009 08:25:00 -0500 Wed, 27 May 2009 08:25:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/24-building-very-wimpy-space-thrusters http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/24-building-very-wimpy-space-thrusters The ESA's new system is designed to counter the force of sunlight on a spacecraft—about the same as the force of gravity on a single human hair. Andrew Moseman http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/24-building-very-wimpy-space-thrusters/key_image Sun, 24 May 2009 20:35:00 -0500 Sun, 24 May 2009 20:35:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/21-russias-dark-horse-plan-to-get-to-mars http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/21-russias-dark-horse-plan-to-get-to-mars The Fobos-Grunt mission might pave the way for humanity's first permanent space base—on Phobos, Mars' bizarre moon. Jamie Oberg http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/21-russias-dark-horse-plan-to-get-to-mars/key_image Thu, 21 May 2009 12:50:00 -0500 Thu, 21 May 2009 12:50:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/11-a-scientists-guide-to-finding-alien-life http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/11-a-scientists-guide-to-finding-alien-life A variety of new findings point to the "habitable zones" where we're likely to find extraterrestrials. Adam Frank http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/11-a-scientists-guide-to-finding-alien-life/key_image Mon, 11 May 2009 07:35:00 -0500 Mon, 11 May 2009 07:35:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/10-frontiers-of-astronomy http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/10-frontiers-of-astronomy DISCOVER's panel of top astronomers and astrophysicists discuss some of the biggest questions in the universe. http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/10-frontiers-of-astronomy/key_image Sun, 10 May 2009 23:55:00 -0500 Sun, 10 May 2009 23:55:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/07-inspiring-boom-in-super-earths http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/07-inspiring-boom-in-super-earths At last we are finding rocky planets like our own. But some are pretty weird: The smallest may have a mineral-vapor atmosphere that condenses as lava rain or rock snow. Stephen Battersby http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/07-inspiring-boom-in-super-earths/key_image Thu, 07 May 2009 23:55:00 -0500 Thu, 07 May 2009 23:55:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/apr/07-satellite-aims-succeed-where-icarus-failed http://discovermagazine.com/2009/apr/07-satellite-aims-succeed-where-icarus-failed NASA's Solar Probe Plus study the sun from close up, braving temperatures that would melt stainless steel. To survive, the probe will hide behind a nearly 3-yard-wide thermal shield. The shield is designed to keep the probe’s scientific instruments at a comfortable average of 86°F and to constantly adjust its orientation while the spacecraft races along at up to 450,000 miles per hour. http://discovermagazine.com/2009/apr/07-satellite-aims-succeed-where-icarus-failed/key_image Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:10:00 -0500 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:10:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/apr/31-he-charted-moon-before-galileo-but-you.ve-probably-never-heard-him http://discovermagazine.com/2009/apr/31-he-charted-moon-before-galileo-but-you.ve-probably-never-heard-him Thomas Harriot produced remarkable drawings showing the locations of the moon’s craters, and his cartography was not bettered for decades. So why does Galileo enjoy lasting fame while Harriot has been forgotten? Oxford professor Allan Chapman says “Harriot had no one to protect him, because his patrons were worried about having their heads chopped off.” Eliza Strickland http://discovermagazine.com/2009/apr/31-he-charted-moon-before-galileo-but-you.ve-probably-never-heard-him/key_image Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:50:00 -0500 Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:50:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/26-violent-mysterious-dynamics-of-star-formation http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/26-violent-mysterious-dynamics-of-star-formation Lighting up the universe is a rough-and-tumble business. Adam Frank http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/26-violent-mysterious-dynamics-of-star-formation/key_image Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:05:00 -0500 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:05:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/06-world.s-hardest-working-telescope http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/06-world.s-hardest-working-telescope How much of the universe have we actually seen? How much more is out there? Thanks to the newest map from the Sloan telescope, the world's hardest-working telescope, we finally have some answers. Michael Lemonick http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/06-world.s-hardest-working-telescope/key_image Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:20:00 -0600 Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:20:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/22-like-milky-way-candy-bar-milky-way-contains-sugar http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/22-like-milky-way-candy-bar-milky-way-contains-sugar Ever wonder if your love of sugar comes from the cosmos? Astronomers have found glycol­aldehyde, a type of sugar, in the Milky Way—and it may help explain the origins of life on Earth. Andrew Grant http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/22-like-milky-way-candy-bar-milky-way-contains-sugar/key_image Sun, 22 Feb 2009 14:20:00 -0600 Sun, 22 Feb 2009 14:20:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/best-new-science-books http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/best-new-science-books Neil deGrasse Tyson, Area 51, modern life vs human nature, and more http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/best-new-science-books/key_image Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:05:00 -0600 Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:05:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/15-rocket-could-save-astronaut-lives http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/15-rocket-could-save-astronaut-lives NASA's Orion space capsule features a new escape clause. Jennifer Barone http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/15-rocket-could-save-astronaut-lives/key_image Sun, 15 Feb 2009 11:00:00 -0600 Sun, 15 Feb 2009 11:00:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/12-hi-tech-communications-beacons-infamous-toolbag http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/12-hi-tech-communications-beacons-infamous-toolbag After yesterday's first-ever satellite collision, here's a closer look at these free-falling objects. Jeremy Jacquot http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/12-hi-tech-communications-beacons-infamous-toolbag/key_image Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:30:00 -0600 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:30:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/11-we-all-live-in-darwins-world http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/11-we-all-live-in-darwins-world “Survival of the fittest” is helping us understand not only the origin of species but also love, politics, and even the cosmos. Karen Wright http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/11-we-all-live-in-darwins-world/key_image Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:15:00 -0600 Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:15:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/05-what-is-this-a-windshields-worst-nightmare http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/05-what-is-this-a-windshields-worst-nightmare It may look like a worthless rock, but it can be encrusted with diamonds or used to find black gold. Andrew Grant http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/05-what-is-this-a-windshields-worst-nightmare/key_image Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:30:00 -0600 Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:30:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/03-are-you-there-et-its-me-maggie http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/03-are-you-there-et-its-me-maggie Ever wonder who the scientists are who spend their days searching for Earth-like planets that contain extraterrestrial life? Well, here's one of them, up close and personal. Amy Barth; Photography by David Ellis http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/03-are-you-there-et-its-me-maggie/key_image Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:25:00 -0600 Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:25:00 -0600 Print Article