Science

With the 2024 total solar eclipse coming to the United States on Monday, April 8, a lot of us are looking to the stars. And there’s nothing that will give you an existential crisis (or make you appreciate your life) more than taking a gander at space. From stars to planets to galaxies, there’s a...

Terry Virts peered down from the International Space Station in March 2015. The NASA astronaut saw a massive, unusual shadow cast upon Earth. “It was this big, dark thing that wasn’t natural,” Virts, a retired astronaut and former International Space Station commander, told Mashable. He watched a shadow created by the cosmic dance of the...

The first U.S. transcontinental railroad, completed with a spike hammered into the track in 1869, transformed the nation. Perhaps the same will happen on the moon. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA — an ambitious federal innovations division — has begun collaborating with over a dozen companies on potential future lunar technologies, including...

About seven years ago, photographers grabbed their cameras for the rare chance to shoot a total solar eclipse, with the sun’s wispy atmosphere revealed against the dark sky.  But perhaps the most memorable photos taken during 2017’s Great American Eclipse were not of the corona but of former President Donald Trump stepping out on the...

What an extraterrestrial view. The long-lived Mars Express Orbiter — a European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft that has flown around Mars for over two decades and recently eclipsed 25,000 orbits — captured a highly detailed image of the Red Planet. And among the giant Martian volcanoes is a surprise. “The stunning view shows volcanoes, valleys,...

Solar eclipse experts recommend picking up your eclipse glasses now — before it’s too late. These relatively cheap, specialized viewers — which allow you to safely view the sun — are essential for watching the much-anticipated celestial event on April 8, 2024 as the moon gradually blocks our star. Only during some three to four...

Just seven years ago, Americans emptied their homes for a chance to witness a total solar eclipse, an astronomical event hailed as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Back then, you might have heard this was the first to cut across the United States from coast to coast in a century — and it was. But lately, you...

The corona isn’t the only thing optimistic eclipse chasers will try to see when the moon completely covers the sun over parts of North America next month. Spectators will have a wee chance of seeing a comet with the naked eye or a standard pair of binoculars during the total solar eclipse on April 8....

Since seeing his first solar eclipse at age 12, Ralph Chou has tried to relive that profound experience over and over, chasing the moon‘s shadow around the world. It’s what inspired him to become a professional astronomer, then an optometrist with a special research interest in how to protect human eyes while viewing the sun....

A total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada on April 8, the likes of which won’t return to the continent until 2044. This special astronomical phenomenon happens when the moon lines up between the sun and Earth in space, completely blocking the face of the sun for...