This was an unusual night to look in the direction of the Bull. The constellation Taurus is always well known for hosting two bright star clusters -- the Pleaides, visible on the right, and the comparatively diffuse Hyades, visible on the left. This night... Continue Reading →
A McLean Hospital scientific team’s comprehensive analysis of recent research into how the brain shapes responses to cognitive and emotional challenges has revealed the potential for new brain treatments for psychiatric conditions that target specific brain circuits. The detailed review,... Continue Reading →
Generations of exploration have seen spacecraft bearing both the American flag and the NASA logo ranging throughout the solar system. The diagram, color-coded by decade, tracks most of those journeys. It is an illustration of ambition, of innovation, even of... Continue Reading →
Why are these people shooting a powerful laser into the center of our Galaxy? Fortunately, this is not meant to be the first step in a Galactic war. Rather, astronomers at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) site in Chile are trying to measure the distortions... Continue Reading →
In geometry, an envelope of a family of curves in the plane is a curve that is tangent to each member of the family at some point, and these points of tangency together form the whole envelope. Classically, a point on the envelope can be thought of as the... Continue Reading →
When learning something new, there are instances where trial and error helps rather than hinders, according to recent findings by Baycrest researchers. Contrary to popular belief, when a person makes a mistake while learning, it improves their memory for the... Continue Reading →
On January 3, the Chinese Chang'e-4 spacecraft made the first successful landing on the Moon's farside. Taken by a camera on board the lander, this image is from the landing site inside Von Karman crater. It shows the desksized, six-wheeled Yutu 2 (Jade Rabbit 2)... Continue Reading →
For the first time in history, a space mission has touched down on the far side of the moon. China’s Chang’e-4 probe landed in the oldest and deepest basin on the moon’s surface. One challenge of sending a probe to... Continue Reading →
The space shuttle Endeavour, mission STS-88, launched Dec. 6, 1998, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center carrying the U.S.-built Unity connecting module and two pressurized mating adapters. Unity was the first piece of the International Space Station provided by the United... Continue Reading →
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