Science Articles

NASA's Swift Observatory, which was launched in 2004, was designed to last just two years. Yet more than two decades later, the orbiting space telescope is still helping scientists study gamma-ray bursts. These powerful flashes of energy occur when stars die or collide. They help scientists learn about the history of the universe....

There are numerous meteor showers throughout the year. However, few are as popular, or as reliable, as the Perseids. The shower has been producing about a dozen meteors an hour since mid-July. But the best time to see them will be on the night of August 12 into the morning of August 13, 2026. That is when the number of meteors will increase sharply to between 50 and 100 an hour. This year, the peak of the shower coincides with a new moon. This means the meteors will be easier to spot in the dark skies....

On August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will sweep across Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean, and narrow parts of northern Spain and Portugal. It will be the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Europe since 1999....

Thousands of firefighters across France and Spain are working to contain historic wildfires that have forced more than 300,000 people to evacuate. The blazes have been fueled by extreme heat, dry conditions, and powerful winds. They have burned hundreds of thousands of acres of forests and other vegetation across both nations....

For decades, people in The Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa have reported seeing tiny shellear fish climb the steep walls of Luvilombo Falls. In 2009, a local scientist even captured the fish on video, but the recordings were later lost. Now, 17 years later, a new study published in Scientific Reports on April 2, 2026, finally provides evidence of the remarkable feat....

On May 15, 2026 — nearly three years after its launch in October 2023 — NASA's Psyche space probe used Mars' gravity to slingshot itself toward its final destination. Traveling at over 12,300 mph, the spacecraft flew just 2,864 miles above the surface of Mars. The planet's gravity helped it change direction and speed up without using extra fuel. This flyby was a key step in the probe's 2.2-billion-mile (3.5-billion-km) journey to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. There, it will study a unique, metal-rich asteroid named 16 Psyche....

When you think of rats, "hero" is probably not the first word that comes to mind. But Magawa was no ordinary rodent. From his birth in 2013 to his passing in 2022, this African giant pouched rat helped save hundreds of lives in Cambodia by sniffing out hidden landmines. On April 3, 2026, Magawa was honored with a seven-foot (2.1 m) stone statue in the city of Siem Reap. The unveiling was timed to coincide with the International Day for Mine Awareness on April 4....

An international team of scientists has successfully retrieved the longest sediment core from beneath an Antarctic ice sheet. The 748-foot-long (228 m) sample of rock and mud offers a geological record spanning roughly 23 million years. Researchers hope these ancient layers will reveal how the region responded to past warming periods. This data could help improve predictions about future climate change....

Since late March 2026, millions of bright blue creatures have been washing ashore on the US West Coast, from California to Washington. While they look like jellyfish, these organisms are a type of zooplankton called Velella velella. The word comes from the Latin vēlum, meaning "sail."...