Posts by 

Editors of EarthSky

Harnessing the sun’s energy during the day for use at night

"It's not practical to talk about powering a planet with energy stored in batteries. It's more reasonable to store energy in the chemical bonds of molecules." - Tom Meyer

Starting fire with water

Astronauts on the ISS are experimenting with "supercritical water," a form of water with a strange property: it can help start fire.

These stars are so fast they can escape the Milky Way

These sun-like stars that are moving at speeds of more than a million miles per hour relative to our galaxy - fast enough to escape its gravitational grasp.

NASA orbiter spies Chang’e 3 and Yutu rover on the moon

Cool image of the landing site of China's moon mission, taken by a NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Also, a word on first science results from Chang'e.

Flower preserved in 100-million-year old amber one of most complete ever found

The perfectly-preserved scene is from the mid-Cretaceous, when flowering plants were changing the face of the Earth forever, adding beauty, biodiversity and food.

Future NASA space probes could be robot super balls

The Super Ball Bot could help overcome the most difficult and expensive part of sending a robotic mission to another planet: landing safely.

Electric-blue clouds appear over Antarctica

A vast bank of electric-blue clouds has appeared over Antarctica, signaling the start of the season for southern hemisphere noctilucent clouds.

Use of media can save lives in bad storms

A new study shows that the risk of injury from tornados and severe storms can be reduced significantly with the use of certain media.

Illness-causing bacteria linger hours or days outside body

Scientists report that bacteria can persist on surfaces, like furniture and toys, significantly longer than previously thought.

Your help needed for new research on zombie ants

A fungus takes over the ants' brains - makes them do things they normally wouldn't do - then kills them. You can help fund new research on these ants.