Sign Up for Our Amazing Newsletter!
A daily update by email. Science news, great photos, sky alerts.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
6.6-magnitude earthquake rocks Italy
Felt in Rome, it's the strongest earthquake to hit Italy in 36 years and the largest in an on-going sequence of damaging earthquakes in Italy in 2016.
October 30, 2016
2016’s longest lunar month starts October 30
Lunar months vary in part because the moon's orbit around Earth isn't a perfect circle. Longest (and shortest) lunar months in 2016, here.
October 30, 2016
Venus-Saturn conjunction October 30
When you hear the word "conjunction" for sky objects, you know 2 objects appear close. Look in the sunset direction for Saturn and Venus.
October 30, 2016
October’s end, Virginia
"Nothing like some fall colors and the Milky Way to start off the weekend!"
October 29, 2016
Huge new Antarctic marine reserve
The new Antarctic safe zone in the Ross Sea will encompass 600 thousand square miles (1.5 million square km) and be the largest marine protected area in the world.
October 28, 2016
New Horizons returns last of Pluto data
Remember when they said it would take more than a year for New Horizons to send its data back from Pluto? Now, say scientists, "We have our pot of gold."
October 28, 2016
Mars’ perihelion is in late October 2016
Perihelion is Mars' closest point to the sun, a once-in-2-years event. On a much-longer timescale, perihelion marks the most special times to see Mars.
October 28, 2016
Catching the elusive gegenschein
The gegenschein, or counterglow, is a faint brightening of the night sky in the region opposite the sun. It's sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust.
October 28, 2016
Earth-sized planets with lots of water
A computer simulation suggests that low-mass stars might be a good place to look for Earth-sized exoplanets, in their stars' habitable zones.
October 27, 2016
2nd massive ice avalanche in Tibet
"Even one of these gigantic glacier avalanches is very unusual. Two within close geographical and temporal vicinity is, to our best knowledge, unprecedented."
October 27, 2016
