Science

Helene is, as of this writing on Thursday afternoon, a “dangerous major hurricane,” and conditions are expected to rapidly worsen in the next several hours as landfall approaches. Tweet may have been deleted The west coast of the Florida peninsula saw storm surge and rain all day, but what was visible Thursday may be deceptive,...

Hurricane Helene is a formidable category 2 Hurricane creeping north through the Gulf of Mexico as of Thursday midday — and, importantly, it’s still gaining strength. The situation is serious, with NOAA warning Floridians in particular to prepare for landfall this evening, and noting that “preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to...

When astronomers pointed the James Webb Space Telescope at the early universe, they found an ancient galaxy with an unusual light signature.  After a thorough study of the data, scientists determined stars within that galaxy aren’t the direct culprit of its extraordinary brightness. It’s space gas.  This finding, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal...

Helene is expected to make landfall as a major hurricane, and whether you’re concerned about loved ones in Florida, or you’re an armchair meteorologist, you can check out camera views of these adverse weather conditions by watching webcam livestreams. Florida’s gulf coast — particularly the Big Bend section of the Panhandle — is bracing for...

Hurricane Helene is growing into a vast, powerful storm. The National Hurricane Center’s computer modeling, which ensures such storms don’t sneak up on anyone, predicts Helene will make landfall as a potent cyclone in Florida’s Big Bend region on Thursday. But the impacts of such a sprawling storm will be widespread, including in areas like...

On Mars, some 120 million miles away in space right now, anything that isn’t another version of dusty red stands out like a sore thumb.  That’s how the Perseverance rover, a lab on wheels about the size of a Mini Cooper, spotted an unusual rock with black and white zebra stripes two weeks ago. Scientists...

As of Tuesday morning, reliable predictors were saying a roiling tropical storm called Helene just south of Cuba was on track to intensify over the coming days, and almost certainly hit Florida as a hurricane on Thursday. Now is the time when we all love to stare at cones and “spaghetti models” showing potential paths...

Astronomers have discovered that Earth’s large, ever-looming moon is about to get company. Beginning on Sunday, the planet will capture an asteroid sailing nearby, drawing it in for one loop around Earth before making its exit on Nov. 25. When it leaves, it will continue its trajectory around the sun. The two-month visit puts this...

The James Webb Space Telescope will soon begin a massive study of rocky worlds outside the solar system, specifically to discover if planets orbiting closely to small cool stars could have air.  Scientists plan to start with LTT 1445 Ac and GJ 3929 b, and though those exoplanets might not be household names, they are...

We’re small. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft, barreling through our solar system, recently used Earth’s gravity to slingshot to Venus. The spacecraft, now millions of miles away, has looked back home. We’re floating in an unconscionably vast black ether. “These two little marbles we call our cosmic home were photographed by Juice from...