Zoë and Book are kidnapped on planet Bethel in Titan’s ‘Firefly: Carnival’ novel

Even though any hope of resurrecting creator Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” for the small or big screen seems to be lost in a cloudy nebula of development hell, we still have the further adventures of Captain Mal and his valiant Browncoat crew in the form of many collectibles, spinoff comics, graphic novels, and tie-in canonical books. … Read more

Here’s how to follow the progress of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

NASA’s new $10 billion observatory is completing a nerve-wracking sequence of steps to reach its final configuration and location. The James Webb Space Telescope‘s “29 days on the edge,” as NASA has dubbed the lengthy and complex deployment process, began when the spacecraft launched on Saturday (Dec. 25). Since then, the observatory has reached key … Read more

New year’s resolutions: Should you cut your carbon footprint?

Are you thinking about going green in 2022? Cutting your personal carbon footprint can help, but it is important to engage with others and encourage wider efforts to tackle climate change, says climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe Environment 29 December 2021 By Chen Ly Will you go green in 2022? Pasuwan/Shutterstock As 2021 draws to a … Read more

2022 news preview: China to host crucial meeting in a bid to save nature

By Adam Vaughan Shane Gross/naturepl.com AS THE world examines the outcome of the COP26 climate summit, spare a thought for conservationists trying to protect the planet’s natural riches. A landmark UN biodiversity summit has been postponed three times because of the pandemic and now won’t be held in person in China until April, after a … Read more

2022 news preview: Large Hadron Collider will reach for the edge of physics

By Matthew Sparkes The Large Hadron Collider has been shut down for upgrades since 2018 CERN THE Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, will start running again after a three-year shutdown and delays due to the covid-19 pandemic. The particle collider – known for its role in the discovery of the Higgs … Read more

2022 news preview: A round-up of the year’s most exciting space missions

By Leah Crane The Psyche spacecraft’s propulsion system undergoes inspection NASA/JPL-CALTECH IF ALL goes well, the first major space mission of 2022 will be the launch of the Space Launch System rocket in February. After many budget and schedule overruns, NASA’s colossal rocket is finally set for its first uncrewed flight, which will carry several … Read more

Australian wildlife: Reintroductions help threatened mammals recover

Conservationists are reintroducing threatened mammals to their former ranges with fences to keep out cats and foxes Environment 29 December 2021 By Alice Klein A greater bilby scavenging at night cbstockfoto / Alamy Stock Photo Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate in the world, having lost 34 mammal species in the past 200 years. … Read more

China Accuses US of Unsafe Space Conduct After Near-Miss With Elon Musk’s Starlink

Beijing on Tuesday accused the United States of irresponsible and unsafe conduct in space over two “close encounters” between the Chinese space station and satellites operated by Elon Musk‘s SpaceX.   Tiangong, China’s new space station, had to maneuver to avoid colliding with one Starlink satellite in July and with another in October, according to … Read more

MIT Scientists Design a ‘Flying Saucer’ That Could Float Across The Moon

Researchers have imagined a lightweight, flying saucer-style rover that can float across the surface of the Moon and other airless planetary surfaces such as asteroids. The ‘flying saucer’ would be powered by the electric field that builds up due to direct exposure to the Sun and its surrounding plasma. In the absence of an atmosphere, this … Read more

The 3,000-Year-Old Mummy of a Famous Egyptian Pharaoh Has Been Digitally Unwrapped

The mummy of ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep I was so exquisitely wrapped – decorated with flower garlands and buried with a lifelike face mask – scientists have been hesitant to open up the remains. That is, until now.   Some 3,000 years after Amenhotep’s burial, a team of researchers used CT scans to digitally unwrap his body for the first … Read more