Topic

Space & Astronomy

A collection of 35 issues

When the Sun Stands Still: The Surprisingly Modern Story of Lāhainā Noon

Twice a year, the sun passes directly over Hawaii, causing vertical objects to cast no shadow. This surreal event, known as Lāhainā Noon, has an origin story as surprising as the phenomenon itself, born from a public contest that reconnected science with culture.

Science & Nature Culture & Design Space & Astronomy

The Beautiful, Mundane Mystery of John Glenn's Space Fireflies

Aboard his historic 1962 flight, astronaut John Glenn reported a stunning swarm of 'fireflies' in the void of space, baffling Mission Control. The truth was not extraterrestrial but a simple lesson in orbital physics hiding in plain sight.

Space & Astronomy Mysteries & Unsolved Cases History

That Time the U.S. Air Force Built a Ring of Needles Around the Earth

Fearing Soviet sabotage of undersea cables, the U.S. military launched 480 million copper needles into orbit to create a radio-reflecting ring around the planet—a brilliant Cold War solution with a lingering legacy as the ancestor of modern space junk.

Military Technology & Strategy Space & Astronomy History

The Day the Sun Almost Started World War III

At the height of the Cold War, U.S. early-warning radars suddenly went blind, an act military commanders assumed was Soviet aggression. As nuclear bombers prepared for takeoff, a small team of solar forecasters raced to prove the real culprit was an unprecedented solar storm.

History Military Technology & Strategy Space & Astronomy

How a Laser Beam in 2013 Gave the Moon Faster Internet Than Your House

In 2013, NASA achieved a data connection to a lunar orbiter that dwarfed typical home broadband. By swapping radio waves for lasers, a groundbreaking experiment proved a new method for high-speed interplanetary communication was not just possible, but inevitable.

Technology & Innovation Space & Astronomy Inventions & Discoveries

The Astronauts Who Insured Their Lives With an Autograph

Unable to secure life insurance for their perilous journey to the moon, the Apollo 11 astronauts created their own financial safety net. They signed hundreds of envelopes, designed to become priceless collector's items for their families to sell in the event of tragedy.

History Space & Astronomy Business & Economics

The Planet That Could Swim

It's a cosmic paradox: the second-largest planet in our solar system is so light it would float. Saturn's secret isn't that it's hollow, but that its immense atmosphere of hydrogen and helium gives it an average density lower than that of water.

Space & Astronomy Science & Nature Oddities & Curiosities

Earth's Terrestrial Galaxy: The Planet with More Trees Than Stars

It defies intuition, but our planet hosts a forest far vaster than our galaxy's sea of stars. Groundbreaking research reveals Earth is home to over 3 trillion trees, dwarfing the Milky Way's estimated 100-400 billion suns by a factor of at least seven.

Science & Nature Space & Astronomy Environment & Climate

Course Correction in the Cosmos: How Spacecraft Nudge Their Way Through the Void

Unlike cars, spacecraft can't turn in the frictionless void. They alter their path with precise bursts from thrusters in a Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM). Each burn changes the craft's velocity, subtly reshaping its orbit to meet a target millions of miles away.

Space & Astronomy Technology & Innovation Science & Nature

The Siren's Song: How a Passing Sound Unlocked the Secrets of the Universe

The familiar pitch change of a passing siren is the Doppler effect in action. It describes how the frequency of a wave, like sound or light, changes for an observer when the source is moving. Approaching sources have a higher pitch; receding ones have a lower pitch.

Science & Nature Space & Astronomy Inventions & Discoveries

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