[ weird things ] | space
# space

right round, like a black hole baby, right round…
# space

right round, like a black hole baby, right round…

Black holes aren’t just the densest, most massive objects in space. They might also be some of the fastest.

why we need to return to the moon and do the other things
# space

why we need to return to the moon and do the other things

Space is becoming a growing commercial industry. And we need to start heavily investing in it to save ourselves from our worst decision makers.

did a solar storm set off underwater mines during the vietnam war?
# space

did a solar storm set off underwater mines during the vietnam war?

Some 25 underwater mines mysteriously exploded in the summer of 1972. A newly declassified report points its finger at a surprising culprit: the sun.

turns out the oldest known star in the universe is in our backyard
# space

turns out the oldest known star in the universe is in our backyard

It turns out that one of the oldest objects in the known universe is only a few thousand light years from Earth.

‘oumuamua, the galaxy’s slowest interstellar spaceship?
# space

‘oumuamua, the galaxy’s slowest interstellar spaceship?

A new paper about the bizarre interstellar visitor to our solar system says it may well be a lost alien spacecraft. But there’s a big snag with that idea...

are fast radio bursts the screams of cosmic zombies?
# space

are fast radio bursts the screams of cosmic zombies?

We might not know exactly what produces mysterious fast radio bursts, but we’re finally recording enough events to point the finger at potential culprits...

preparing for a very low stakes test of general relativity
# space

preparing for a very low stakes test of general relativity

A new mission to Mercury will test a quirk of general relativity. It won’t be decisive and will involve a lot of precision measurement and tedious number-crunching. And it’s exactly the kind of science we should be encouraging.

a supercluster in the making gives us a peek into the universe’s early days
# space

a supercluster in the making gives us a peek into the universe’s early days

Astronomers discovered a large proto-supercluster that shows us just how quickly the universe we see today organized itself.

americans want to remain leaders in space, but they seldom want to pay for it
# space

americans want to remain leaders in space, but they seldom want to pay for it

A recent Pew study about American attitudes on space exploration may seem like exciting news for NASA and space exploration advocates, but it doesn’t ask the questions that really matter.

ten billion times stronger than steel: scraping under the surface of a neutron star
# space

ten billion times stronger than steel: scraping under the surface of a neutron star

Nuclear pasta isn’t exactly an awe-inspiring name, but it may be the strongest substance in the universe and it’s found in only in the crust of neutron stars.

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