Whistlers were a key piece of evidence in favor of Venusian lightning. New measurements question the connection.
unsolved mysteries
Posted inNews
Ocean Vessels May Trigger Lightning Strikes
Previous research indicated aerosols in ship exhaust could enhance lightning. New research indicates the ships themselves may be to blame as well.
Posted inFeatures
Here’s How Artemis Astronauts Will Navigate on the Moon
The next wave of lunar explorers is headed to terrain that promises to be both stunning and challenging. Here’s how they’ll cope with some of the difficulties they’ll encounter.
Posted inNews
Arrokoth’s Mounds Hint at How Planetesimals Form
The most remote world ever seen up close is a mash-up of smaller pieces.
Posted inNews
Did These Curious Rock Formations Inspire the Great Sphinx?
New research says it’s plausible the Great Sphinx started life as a geomorphological oddity known as a yardang.
Posted inNews
Five Martian Mysteries That Have Scientists Scratching Their Heads
Despite centuries of study and many spacecraft visits, the Red Planet still holds secrets. Here are just a few.
Posted inNews
Water Corridors Helped Homo sapiens Disperse out of Africa
Wetland conditions during the last interglacial period in parts of the Levant helped propel our ancestors into Arabia, new research suggests.
Posted inNews
Rogues’ Gallery Comes in Pairs
A new trove of free-floating planets, smaller and paired up more than expected, challenges stellar and planet formation models.
Posted inNews
Crowdsourced Science Pulls Off a Daring WWII Data Rescue
Newly declassified documents are making wartime weather observations in the Pacific Theater more robust, and could improve climate models today.
Posted inNews
A New Census of Plastic Debris Entering the Ocean
On the basis of thousands of measurements of plastic pollution spotted near coastlines and at sea, researchers estimate that roughly 500 million kilograms of plastic debris is entering the world’s oceans each year.