Some of the world’s most advanced robots are preparing for an extraordinary expedition to one of the planet’s most dangerous environments. Beginning this July, a fleet of autonomous drones, robotic boats, underwater vehicles and intelligent sensors will travel to Greenland to investigate how its glaciers are melting where they meet the ocean. The mission, known…
For decades, astronomers have searched for the birthplace of globular clusters, the dense spherical collections of stars that orbit galaxies today. These ancient systems are among the oldest visible structures in the Universe, yet their earliest history remains surprisingly difficult to reconstruct. Most theories have focused on crowded regions inside young galaxies, where gas was…
Australia’s renewable energy boom has reached a remarkable milestone. The country now generates so much electricity from rooftop solar panels that, during the middle of the day, wholesale power prices frequently fall to zero or even below zero. Instead of allowing surplus electricity to go to waste, eligible households in parts of Australia can now…
Football has a habit of borrowing the language of space. Players become stars, matches are described as astronomical, and careers are measured by how brightly they shine. Every so often, though, the comparison drifts into something more literal. More than a decade ago, astronomers studying one of the earliest known galaxies in the universe chose…
Archaeologists have deciphered a 1,700-year-old inscription at an ancient Roman temple in Turkey that offers rare written evidence of the shift from Mithraism to Christianity during the Roman period.The inscription was found at an underground Temple of Mithras inside Zerzevan Castle, a Roman fortification about 40 miles from the Syrian border. It was written in…
Carl Jung (Image: Wikipedia) Carl Jung is widely credited with this line: “The first half of life is devoted to forming a healthy ego, the second half is going inward and letting go of it.” It splits a human life into two very different jobs. In your younger years, the task is building a self,…
Picture credit: True Anomaly For decades, space battles have belonged to the world of Star Wars and science fiction. But as more satellites fill Earth’s orbit, military powers are now preparing for a future where satellites may have to track, approach and respond to rival spacecraft in orbit.That idea moved a step closer to reality…
Sea ice melts on the Franklin Starait (AP file photo) Scientists have tested an idea that could help reduce the melting of Arctic sea ice, and the initial results are promising. The method involves spraying of seawater onto existing sea ice in winter and letting it freeze into a new layer.The on-site experiment took place…
For most people, asteroids are distant objects that remain hidden behind telescope lenses and scientific instruments. That will briefly change in April 2029, when one of the best-known near-Earth asteroids is expected to become visible without specialist equipment across large parts of the world. The object, called Apophis, has attracted scientific attention for more than…
Quote of the day by John Locke (AI-generated image) You cannot know something you have never actually encountered in some form. That is the whole idea behind John Locke’s line, “No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience.” He wrote it in 1689, in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, while arguing against the idea…