Astronomers had an unprecedented front-row seat to the explosive death of a star 60 million light-years away. They witnessed the event thanks to telescopes on the ground and in space, including the Hubble Space Telescope. These observations not only provided groundbreaking insight into what happens before a star dies, but could also help astronomers develop…

British and international authorities are closely monitoring a subtype of the Delta variant that is causing a growing number of infections in the United Kingdom. This descendant of the Delta variant, known as AY.4.2, accounted for an estimated 6% of cases in the week of September 27 — the last week with complete sequencing data — and…

October’s full moon, the hunter’s moon, and the Orionid meteor shower are on this week’s celestial forecast, but you might only be able to catch one of them. The hunter’s moon will be fullest at 10:58 a.m. ET on October 20, and 99% full during the evenings of October 19 and 20, according to EarthSky.…

Five United States citizens and a permanent resident who were serving house arrest in Caracas, Venezuela, were picked up by the country’s intelligence service SEBIN on Saturday, just hours after the extradition of Alex Saab, a Colombian financier close to embattled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the families of two of the detainees and one of…

The first NASA mission that will fly by a total of eight ancient asteroids has launched on its ambitious journey. Weather conditions were greater than 90% favorable Saturday morning when the Lucy mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:34 a.m. ET. The launch team confirmed that they received a signal from…

The first NASA mission to fly by a total of eight ancient asteroids is ready for launch. Weather conditions will be 90% favorable on the morning of October 16, when the Lucy mission is set to leave Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:34 a.m. ET. If it doesn’t launch at that time, the window…

Talk about a cosmic temper tantrum. An outburst of explosions has been traced back to a mysterious repeating fast radio burst in space called FRB 121102. Using China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope, or FAST, researchers detected 1,652 bursts over the course of 47 days, between August 29 and October 29, 2019. This is the…

Venus may be a sweltering wasteland today, but scientists have questioned whether the planet was always so inhospitable. While previous studies suggested Venus might have once been covered in oceans, new research has found the opposite: Venus has likely never been able to support oceans. Researchers also determined that a similar story could have played…

Russia must accelerate Covid-19 vaccinations, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated on Tuesday as the country recorded its highest daily death toll since the start of the pandemic. Addressing newly elected lawmakers of the State Duma — Russia’s lower parliament house — Putin urged the deputies who had gathered in the Kremlin to convince the Russian…

The planet is warming rapidly, resulting in historic drought, deadly floods and unusual melting events in the Arctic. It is also causing steady sea level rise, which scientists say will continue for decades. A new study from Climate Central, a nonprofit research group, shows that roughly 50 major coastal cities will need to implement “unprecedented”…

COP26 President Alok Sharma called out the G20 nations that have not increased their pledges on climate ahead of the international talks in the Scottish city of Glasgow, which begin in less than three weeks, alluding to nations like China, India, Australia and Saudi Arabia. In a speech at the UNESCO World Heritage Center in…

Canada, Nigeria, Japan and Pakistan are among 31 parties to join a global pledge, led by the US and EU, to slash planet-warming methane emissions by 30% by the end of the decade, US climate enjoy John Kerry announced Monday. Kerry said the agreement, which was announced last month, now included nine of the top…

His messages are a mix of uncertainty and terror — with glimmers of hope. He is gay, a convert to Christianity and a member of the Hazara ethnic minority — three groups that have been historically persecuted by the Taliban. The 32-year-old man went into hiding after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August,…