Your sunscreen sits in the bathroom cabinet, slowly changing. The mayonnaise in your fridge gradually separates. That prescription cream loses effectiveness over time. All these materials share something fundamental, they're soft matter, substances like gels, foams, and colloids whose internal structure reorganises slowly and mysteriously over months or years.
Space News & Blog Articles
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This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 5 – 14
The Moon, waning away from full, groups up with Jupiter, Castor and Pollux on two nights. Later in the week the grand Geminid meteor shower comes into full bloom.
When Ancient Scribes Accidentally Became Scientists
On a summer day in 709 BCE, scribes at the Lu Duchy Court in ancient China looked up to witness something extraordinary. The Sun vanished completely from the sky, and in its place hung a ghostly halo. They recorded the event carefully, noting that during totality the eclipsed Sun appeared "completely yellow above and below." Nearly three millennia later, that ancient observation has helped modern scientists measure how fast Earth was spinning and understand what our Sun was doing at a time when Homer was composing poetry.
Earth from Space: Singing dunes and mysterious lakes
Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-1 image features part of the Badain Jaran Desert in northwestern China.
Glowing bridge links dwarf galaxies in stunning new image from the James Webb Space Telescope
A spectacular new view of two dwarf galaxies caught in the middle of a cosmic collision reveals a glowing gas bridge, streams of newborn stars and the ongoing gravitational tug-of-war reshaping both galaxies.
'Hubble tension' is back again as a new cosmic map deepens the puzzle
"It means cleaning house, narrowing the viable paths forward, and no longer spending energy on what are evidently dead ends."
SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites to orbit from California (video)
SpaceX launched yet another batch of its Starlink internet satellites on Thursday (Dec. 4), sending 28 of them up from California's central coast.
New Research Could Explain Why Earth has Active Tectonics and Venus Does Not
Plate tectonics is a fundamental aspect of Earth's geological activity and history. In addition to constantly rearranging the placement of continents, they also play a major role in maintaining the conditions that ensure Earth's continued habitability. However, Earth is the only terrestrial (rocky) planet in the Solar System with active plate tectonics. While this is understandable for Mercury and Mars, which are single-plate planets that are largely geologically inactive, due to rapid cooling in their interiors billions of years ago. But Venus, Earth's "Sister Planet," has remained something of a mystery.
Scientists discover one of our universe's largest spinning structures — a 50-million-light-year-long cosmic thread
The discovery potentially transforms what we think about how the cosmic environment influences galaxies as they form.
An Adolescent Growth Spurt In Young Stars Helps Giant Planets Form
Stars form in massive clouds of gas called molecular clouds. As they form, they accrete gas from these clouds, and as the stars rotate, gas and dust accumulates in a rotating disk around the star called a protoplanetary disk. As the name makes clear, this is where planets form by accreting material from the disk.
Lessons from the Past: Responsible Science and Astrobiology
In the fields of science and science communication, there are few things more controversial than claims regarding the discovery of extraterrestrial life. This includes claims ranging from the discovery of the most basic lifeforms (lichens, single-celled organisms, etc.) to evidence of advanced civilizations. Such claims are incredibly common, thanks to the sensationalism surrounding the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and the search for life beyond Earth (astrobiology). Even when scientists have avoided issuing declarative judgments, it is very easy for statements to be twisted and misrepresented.
Was Elon in the room where it happened? This senator still wants to know
As he did eight months ago, Sen. Ed Markey asked Jared Isaacman if Elon Musk was in the room when President Trump first offered him the job of NASA chief. And, once again, Isaacman demurred.
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Celebrates 30 Years in Space
The groundbreaking mission designed to observe our Sun and its interactions with Earth celebrates three decades in space this week.
Rare solar flare caused radiation in Earth's atmosphere to spike to highest levels in nearly 20 years, researchers say
Levels of potentially dangerous cosmic radiation in Earth's atmosphere rose to a two-decade high in November after a rare solar super-flare pummeled the planet with high-speed particles from the sun.
Mercury is hard to spot, but you can catch it in the morning sky this month
If you've never sighted this rocky little world for yourself, you'll never get a better opportunity than right now to see it.
Jupiter's Moons
Jupiter has numerous moons, with the four largest being Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. These four, often referred to as the Galilean moons after their discoverer Galileo Galilei, are among the most fascinating objects in the solar system.
Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 28 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandengerg SFB
File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in launch position at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of the launch of the NROL-57 mission. Image: SpaceX
SpaceX is preparing for lunchtime launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base Thursday afternoon.
Rare images reveal active sunspots minutes before they unleashed powerful X-flares that caused November 2025's stunning auroras
We don't often get a good look at X-class solar flares from ground-based observatories.
Watch the 'PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted' for updates on High on Life 2, Remnant Protocol, plus more cool sci-fi & space games
Check out the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted stream and see the sci-fi and space games you'll be playing in 2026 and beyond.
Damaged launch pad: How long before Russia can send astronauts to the ISS again?
A mishap during the successful Nov. 27 launch of three astronauts damaged the only pad that currently supports Russian crewed orbital liftoffs. How long before things are back up and running again?
Comet 3I/ATLAS shows activity in Juice navigation camera teaser
Image: Comet 3I/ATLAS shows activity in Juice navigation camera teaser
