Isro’s GSLV-MkIII-D2 rocket places GSAT-29 in orbit
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Wednesday successfully placed another communication satellite in orbit, while also achieving a crucial success of GSLV-MkIII rocket which is slated to launch two big missions—Chandrayaan-2 and the human space mission—in the next four years.
Chethan Kumar, U Tejonmayam | The Times of India
Data From a Dead Satellite Reveals Lost Continents Under Antarctica
“These gravity images are revolutionizing our ability to study the least understood continent on Earth—Antarctica.”
Becky Ferreira | Motherboard
Researchers Just Turned On the World's Most Powerful Computer Designed to Mimic a Human Brain
Neuromorphic computing just got a big boost with a million-core supercomputer that took over a decade to build.
Daniel Oberhaus | Motherboard
Decades after ‘Star Wars,’ Pentagon looks back to the future on missile defense
The Pentagon’s missile defense policy, if it is released, and February budget request could indicate whether the administration intends to advance an effort to put interceptors in space beyond the study stage.
Paul Sonne | The Washington Post
This Is What USAF Bomber Pilots Would Wear During a Nuclear Apocalypse
It's an obscure Cold War-era technological relic that's still in use—and becoming increasingly relevant.
Tyler Rogoway | The Drive
Where Will Science Take Us? To the Stars
A monthlong visit to observatories in Chile, Hawaii and Los Angeles revealed spellbinding visions of the heavens.
The second of a two-part series on science tourism.
Peter Kujawinski | The New York Times
Clandestine: A Limited and Cryptographic Edition
New from Field Notes: The 41st design in our series of Quarterly Editions has a sleek, mysterious look, fitting for an edition all about secret codes and ciphers.
Will humanity survive this century? Sir Martin Rees predicts 'a bumpy ride' ahead
"There is the idea that we should despair and evacuate this planet and go somewhere else. That's a dangerous delusion."
An interview with esteemed British astronomer Sir Martin Rees.
Dennis Chow | Mach
Burned-Out Cars, Smoke in the Air, Aerial Assaults, All in California
…at every point in the panorama of disaster underway there is a semblance of war — the scenes, the scents, the sounds, the emotions, and even the language of firefighting, of “aerial assaults” and “boots on the ground.”
Tim Arango | The New York Times
Sons of the Pre-Apocalypse
My son was born last week, right before two historic wildfires hit California—his new home state—and burned whole cities to the ground.
Brain Merchant | Motherboard
Existential nexus: The intersection of technological threats
In this issue, leading experts explore how quickly changing technologies that could pose existential threats to humanity increasingly intersect with one another and, as they do, pose new types of global dangers.
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists | November 2018 Special Issue
Our New Age, 1957-1973
Over 15 years, Spilhaus worked with three different artists to make scientific knowledge fun and accessible. Each Sunday comic strip illustrated a recent advance in science or engineering, discussing its implications for how people might live, work or play in the future.
Roger Turner | Picturing Meteorology: Images of Science and History
Minnesota Experimental City: the 1960s town based on a comic strip
It had cars on rails, 100% recycling and a nuclear power station in the centre, all covered by a massive dome. So what went wrong with Athelstan Spilhaus’s vision of the future?
Steve Rose | The Guardian
Rocket Lab Successfully Launches Its First Commercial Payload Into Orbit
The company’s Electron rocket launched at 4:50 pm local time from the company’s New Zealand launch site on Nov 11, carrying six satellites.
Andy Pasztor | The Wall Street Journal
How a Meteor Crash Formed Stunning Desert Glass
Unbeknown to the colliding mountains and swinging apes of the Miocene, the 420,000 square miles that make up the Libyan desert would soon be caramelized into shards of foggy green glass. This rare and precious material, known as Libyan Desert Glass, was found in King Tutankhamun’s burial tomb millions of years later.
Evan Nicole Brown | Atlas Obscura
Entire cities evacuate as hellish wildfires whip through California
A trio of rapidly expanding wildfires are burning in California, marking the latest in a string of harrowing climate-related disasters in America.
Eric Holthaus | Grist
The Voice of Carl Sagan
We dusted off some of our favorite vintage promo clips Dr. Sagan recorded for The Planetary Society to inspire a generation of members to join us in advancing space science and exploration.
The Planetary Society | via Twitter
We need to change the way we talk about space exploration
Building a sustainable human presence on other worlds should be open to all. Comparing the journey to violent conquest doesn't help.
An interview with astronomer Lucianne Walkowicz.
Nadia Drake | National Geographic