Science News

China releases first photo of an asteroid some consider Earth’s ‘quasi moon’ - NBC News
China releases first photo of an asteroid some consider Earth’s ‘quasi moon’ - NBC News

China’s Tianwen-2 space probe has beamed back the first photo of an asteroid that some astronomers think might have once been part of the moon. The mission aims to return a sample to Earth.

Source: NBC News
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Even astronauts in space saw America 250 fireworks on the Fourth of July. See their ISS view of Los Angeles (video) - Space
Even astronauts in space saw America 250 fireworks on the Fourth of July. See their ISS view of Los Angeles (video) - Space

"A celebration so bright it reached all the way to space!"

Source: Space.com
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen announces space agency retirement weeks after historic moon mission - CNN
Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen announces space agency retirement weeks after historic moon mission - CNN

The Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, who captivated the world during the historic moon mission, said Monday he’d soon step back from a full-time astronaut role.

Source: CNN
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Antarctica Froze Millions of Years Before the Arctic. We May Finally Know Why - Gizmodo
Antarctica Froze Millions of Years Before the Arctic. We May Finally Know Why - Gizmodo

A new study presents a geological explanation for the East Antarctic Ice Sheet's head start.

Source: Gizmodo.com
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Scientists Say We May Have Been Wrong About the Origin of Life - Yahoo
Scientists Say We May Have Been Wrong About the Origin of Life - Yahoo

Research rethinks amino acid origins, revealing insights into life’s earliest building blocks on Earth and potential clues for finding life on other planets.

Source: Popular Mechanics
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Cave finds reveal modern humans and Neanderthals may have shared long-term cultural continuity - Phys.org
Cave finds reveal modern humans and Neanderthals may have shared long-term cultural continuity - Phys.org

Tens of thousands of years ago, Homo sapiens coexisted with Neanderthals, Homo neanderthalensis. Many of us living today carry a small amount of Neanderthal DNA, indicating that the two species may have shared much more than just the same land. Now, a breakth…

Source: Phys.Org
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
'What we found was striking': Physicists take the closest-ever look at a black hole's mysterious event horizon - Live Science
'What we found was striking': Physicists take the closest-ever look at a black hole's mysterious event horizon - Live Science

Physicists isolated the ‘last sound’ of a black hole collision, providing an unprecedented glimpse of the region right next to the event horizon — the black hole’s mysterious point of no return.

Source: Live Science
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Earth’s Hidden Eighth Continent Is No Longer Lost - Yahoo
Earth’s Hidden Eighth Continent Is No Longer Lost - Yahoo

Zealandia, Earth’s eighth continent, was mostly lost to the sea. Geologists say they’ve now mapped the entirety of the underwater land mass.

Source: Popular Mechanics
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Paleontologists make 'one in a million' discovery of soft tissue preserved in 450-million-year-old fossil - Phys.org
Paleontologists make 'one in a million' discovery of soft tissue preserved in 450-million-year-old fossil - Phys.org

Before the oldest dinosaur, before animals or even plants had expanded onto dry land, ancient relatives of starfish called crinoids, resembling stalked sea flowers, were among the first creatures to flourish in Earth's earliest coral reefs more than 450 milli…

Source: Phys.Org
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Five questions for Dr. Rubin, who’s armed with a mic and a bowtie - The Verge
Five questions for Dr. Rubin, who’s armed with a mic and a bowtie - The Verge

A doctor on the front lines against misinformation has a lot to say.

Source: The Verge
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Katalyst's satellite rescue mission is now in pursuit of NASA's Swift - Ars Technica
Katalyst's satellite rescue mission is now in pursuit of NASA's Swift - Ars Technica

It will take several weeks for the Link spacecraft to rendezvous with NASA's Swift observatory.

Source: Ars Technica
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Researchers make breakthrough discovery about fast-spreading invasive fern - Yahoo
Researchers make breakthrough discovery about fast-spreading invasive fern - Yahoo

"When the plant tries to undergo meiosis, those differences prevent proper chromosome pairing."

Source: Yahoo Entertainment
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
On 13 April 2029, a 375-metre asteroid called Apophis will sweep past Earth closer than many telecommunications satellites — and, under clear dark skies, around two billion people across Europe, Africa and parts of Asia may be able to watch it move across t - Space Daily
On 13 April 2029, a 375-metre asteroid called Apophis will sweep past Earth closer than many telecommunications satellites — and, under clear dark skies, around two billion people across Europe, Africa and parts of Asia may be able to watch it move across t - Space Daily

On 13 April 2029, an asteroid the size of a large skyscraper, roughly 375 metres across and named Apophis, will sweep past Earth closer than many telecommunications satellites orbit. And for once, we will be able to watch. Under clear, dark skies, an estimate…

Source: Space Daily
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Both Pluto and Titan Share a Mystery Molecule That’s Never Been Seen Before - Gizmodo
Both Pluto and Titan Share a Mystery Molecule That’s Never Been Seen Before - Gizmodo

Whatever it is, it's nothing registered in our chemical database, researchers say.

Source: Gizmodo.com
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
'Acceleration without fuel:' Revolutionary superconducting thruster harnesses Earth's magnetic field in 1st orbital test - Space
'Acceleration without fuel:' Revolutionary superconducting thruster harnesses Earth's magnetic field in 1st orbital test - Space

"We are essentially looking to remove all reliance on Earth's resources so that we can build a sustainable industry in space."

Source: Space.com
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
This Gut Microbe Could Be the Secret to Staying Strong as You Age - SciTechDaily
This Gut Microbe Could Be the Secret to Staying Strong as You Age - SciTechDaily

Scientists have identified a gut microbe that appears to be associated with stronger muscles and better fitness, with levels declining as people age.

Source: SciTechDaily
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Want to Live Like a Deep-Space Colonist for a Year? NASA Will Pay You to Do It - extremetech.com
Want to Live Like a Deep-Space Colonist for a Year? NASA Will Pay You to Do It - extremetech.com

The selection process will be quite strict, though.

Source: ExtremeTech
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Larger brain, smaller face: Human evolution took a different course than previously thought - Phys.org
Larger brain, smaller face: Human evolution took a different course than previously thought - Phys.org

A new study, published July 6, 2026, in the journal Nature Communications, suggests that two of the best-known trends in human evolution—brain growth and the reduction in the size of the face and jaw—may be far less attributable to directed natural selection …

Source: Phys.Org
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More
Researchers Reveal the Power of ‘Quantum Proofs’ - Quanta Magazine
Researchers Reveal the Power of ‘Quantum Proofs’ - Quanta Magazine

When checking that solutions to certain problems are correct, it turns out, you can’t get around the inherent complexity of the quantum world.

Source: Quanta Magazine
Published: 2026-07-06 Read More