The two Proba-3 spacecraft will work together to create an artificial solar eclipse ESA The European Space Agency (ESA) is aiming to create an artificial eclipse in space with its upcoming Proba-3 mission, which will help study the sun and demonstrate extremely precise formation flying, down to just a millimetre. Scheduled to launch on an…
The shadow of a laser beam appears as a horizontal line against the blue background Abrahao et al. (2024) Light normally makes other objects cast shadows – but with a little help from a ruby, a beam of laser light can cast a shadow of its own. When two laser beams interact, they don’t clash…
SpaceX says on its website that it aims to conduct the sixth test flight of Starship as early as 18 November SpaceX SpaceX is making preparations for the sixth test flight of the world’s most powerful rocket, Starship. The company has been taking a “fail fast, learn fast” approach to research and development more akin…
Measuring the massive coral Inigo San Felix/National Geographic Society In the south-west Pacific, off the coast of one of the tropical Solomon Islands, a giant structure beneath the water’s surface has just been identified as the world’s largest known coral. Visiting the remote site in mid-October, a team of scientists and film-makers from National Geographic…
Air pollution is hard to avoid, particularly for city dwellers Ron Adar/Alamy Air pollution is increasingly being linked to a raised risk of eczema, with the latest study showing a clear relationship between exposure and the skin condition. Vehicles and power plants release pollutant particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less, called PM2.5.…
Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR Bathed in a ghostly purple-red light, these floating lettuces are barely distinguishable from those grown outdoors, but require one-tenth as much land. The high-tech greenhouse where they live, in Maasbree in the Netherlands, is one possible remedy for a global food industry in crisis, facing a shortage of land due to climate…
Atoms and their electron clouds nobeastsofierce Science/Alamy Philosopher Helen De Cruz, in her new book, Wonderstruck: How wonder and awe shape the way we think, explains that “wonder is a useful emotion, because it points to gaps in what you thought you knew”. I read this line while also working my way through Annie Jacobsen’s…
Josie Ford Quantum loving The Netflix show Love Is Blind had rather passed Feedback by. It’s a dating show in which participants aren’t allowed to see each other face to face and only communicate by voice. Only if they get engaged are they allowed to meet in person. Like so many reality shows, it bills…
Nash Weeraseker I vividly remember getting my first pair of glasses as a child. My mum is very near-sighted and dispatched me to the optician every year. My older sister was diagnosed at around the age of 8 and I prayed I wouldn’t follow suit for fear of being made fun of, but by the…
Hairy animals including mice and dogs shake themselves dry atikinka2/Getty Images If you have ever been close to a dog after it has gone for a swim, you have probably been sprayed with water flinging from its fur. We now know the brain pathway that causes animals to rapidly wiggle themselves dry – a phenomenon…