The James Webb Space Telescope has successfully reached its orbital position nearly one million miles from Earth, following the weeks-long delicate and complicated procedure required to unfold the spacecraft into its proper operating configuration. With an ability to see deeper into the infrared and sporting a primary mirror with moreread more
The more precise dating of a key geological formation at a paleoanthropological site in Ethiopia has bolstered the notion that modern humans are far older than previously assumed, being well established as a species as far back as 300,000 years ago. One of the oldest examples of modern humans isread more
A UK-based nonprofit organization has proposed a mission to explore the Solar System’s first known interstellar visitor, the strange object called ʻOumuamua, via an ambitious long-range probe that would take decades to reach the enigmatic voyager. The proposal, called “Project Lyra” by the Initiative for Interstellar Studies, involves launching a spacecraftread more
In what is being described as a once-in-a-millennium event, Tonga’s Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on January 15, obliterating the island and generating a minor, yet deadly, tsunami. Before the eruption, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai was a seamount with a peak that rose only 120 meters (390 feet) above the surface of the ocean; the smallread more