Phenomenally durable crystals called zircons are used to date some of the earliest and most dramatic cataclysms of the solar system. One is the super-duty collision that ejected material from Earth to form the moon roughly 50 million years after Earth formed. Another is the late heavy bombardment, a wave Continue Reading

Flying airborne science missions requires skill, patience and adaptability. The C-130H pilots flying now over the eastern United States measuring carbon dioxide and methane for NASA’s ACT-America field campaign are asked to fly precise routes, giving scientists an opportunity to gather very specific sets of data on sources, absorption and movement of Continue Reading

It takes rocket science to launch and fly spacecraft to faraway planets and moons, but a deep understanding of how materials perform under extreme conditions is also needed to enter and land on planets with atmospheres. X-ray science is playing a key role, too, in ensuring future spacecraft survive in Continue Reading

When it comes to words that carry a political charge, the innocent little “the” couldn’t possibly be one of them. Or could it? Turns out “the” is far less innocuous than it seems. A new study by linguist Eric Acton of Eastern Michigan University, found that pairing a “the” with a plural Continue Reading

One day, you’re a tech-obsessed high school senior rummaging through old computers at a West Virginia recycling center. The next you’re in LA, getting the celebrity treatment for your role in a new film about young science stars. So it’s been for Robbie Barrat, one of nine high school students Continue Reading