Astronomy has a bright future. The universe is being revealed in exquisite detail with the current generation of large optical telescopes, reaching back close to the big bang. There’s hope that the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy will be solved. Thousands of exoplanets have been discovered, and astronomers may be closing in on […]
Space enthusiasts will know — it’s easy to get caught up in a wealth of fascinating developments, from missions to the lunar surface to new discoveries in exoplanet science. But as an astronomer, what has me really excited right now is a largely overlooked development here on Earth that could have profound implications for how […]
As we move closer to the greatest revolution of all time, the opening of the High Frontier of space to humanity, some assert this is somehow a bad thing. Based on inaccurate understandings of history and misplaced projections of those misunderstood times to the future, they are spreading ridiculous and possibly dangerous ideas that what […]
In and around totality — the brief moments during a total solar eclipse when the moon fully hides the sun — the sudden shift from light to darkness can profoundly change color perception. Keep up to date a map of the united states showing the path of the total solar eclipse on april 8, 2024 […]
Aparna Venkatesan is an astronomer and dark-sky advocate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University of San Francisco. John Barentine is an astronomer, historian, author, science communicator, and founder of Dark Sky Consulting, LLC. For as long as there have been humans, the moon has been a calendar, ancestor, ritual, inspiration, and origin […]
How do you tell the difference between a spaceship and a space rock? For astronomers like me, this question has proved tricky — so tricky that we were very nearly fooled when the first recorded interstellar object, named ‘Oumuamua, was spotted passing through the inner solar system in 2017. Astronomers once thought that any object […]
Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) was made to eat his own (old) words on Monday. During a House hearing on Republicans’ baseless bid to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) brought up an op-ed titled, “Americans are The Victims of The Impeachment Inquiry.” The subtitle was, “A lot of bipartisan legislation that […]
A recent story on Space.com presented the idea that some scientists believe we are entering what they call the “Lunar Anthropocene.” In other words, like Earth’s own Anthropocene, the moon is entering a phase where human activities will play a significant role in its natural history. This is, of course, true. The first impacts of […]
To the editor: Rabbi Danny Burkeman’s article (Dec. 31) on the rise of anti-Jewish racism and discrimination, and the widespread indifference to it in Greater Boston and nationally, resonated painfully for me. As someone who grew up in Greater Boston and who has always had a deep love for Massachusetts and New England, it has […]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote an op-ed Monday outlining three prerequisites for peace in the region: the destruction of Hamas, the demilitarization of Gaza and the beginning of a deradicalization process of Palestinian society. In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Netanyahu said once those three requirements are met, “Gaza can be rebuilt […]