Dec 21 Just Ask: Probing the Sun ... How Close Can We Get? By Jenny Marder Here's this week's Just Ask! science query: At what point would a spacecraft approaching the sun vaporize? -- Bob Rinehuls We all know the tale of Icarus. He attempts to escape imprisonment in Crete with wings made of feather, wood… Continue reading
Dec 21 Watch FCC Rolls Out New Rules for Regulating Internet Traffic The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday approved new rules, known as net neutrality, for regulating how information and traffic flow on the Internet. Jeffrey Brown talks to Washington Post reporter Cecilia Kang for more. Continue watching
Dec 21 Divided FCC OKs Net Neutrality Rules FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski; Getty file photo Tuesday's Federal Communications Commission vote on new rules regulating the Internet went much as expected, with commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael J. Copps voting with Chairman Julius Genachowski in favor of the… Continue reading
Dec 21 Reliving the Total Eclipse of the Moon Getty Images Last night, for the first time in 372 years, the winter solstice coincided with a total lunar eclipse. For three hours and 28 minutes in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, the earth's umbral shadow crept across… Continue reading
Dec 20 Calling all Night Owls and Moon Gazers: Total Lunar Eclipse in Tonight's Sky During a total lunar eclipse, the moon has been known to turn dazzling colors: blood red, deep copper orange, and sometimes dark grey or brown. For those of you tough enough to get out of your warm beds… Continue reading
Dec 20 What We're Reading: Year-end Wraps, Interstellar Space and Magnified Mushroom Mold Biochemist Photo-Fiddler Here's a fun, visual story on a GlaxoSmithKline biochemist who, in his spare time, used small mirrors, PVC pipes and an old computer hard drive to design a specialized camera that snaps photos of insects in flight. Continue reading
Dec 18 Coast Guard Report Examines Oil in Sea Floor Near Blown-Out BP Well By Jenny Marder A federal report released Friday detailed the levels of oil that remain lodged in sea floor sediment around the blown-out BP well in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil was found in concentrations too small to collect in most… Continue reading
Dec 16 Polar Bears Have a Chance -- If Drastic Steps are Taken A study by a team of high-profile agencies says that polar bears have a chance -- if (and that's a big "if") we sharply cut our greenhouse gas emissions. Polar bears depend on sea ice platforms to hunt… Continue reading
Dec 15 Watch BP Faces Lawsuit to Recover Billions in Damages From Gulf Spill The Justice Department filed a major lawsuit against BP and eight other companies involved in the Gulf oil spill disaster. Ray Suarez has more. Continue watching
Dec 15 DOJ Sues BP, Transocean Over Gulf Oil Spill By News Desk A pelican rests on an oil retention boom on July 25, 2010 near Grand Isle, Louisiana. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images. Attorney General Eric Holder and EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced a major lawsuit against BP, Transocean and other… Continue reading