Alan Boyle

Scientists Intrigued by a Surprising Result in the Search for Dark Matter

September 02, 2026

Dark matter is the invisible stuff that accounts for roughly 85% of the mass in the universe, and for decades, physicists have been trying to figure out what it's made of. Now an experimental facility located nearly a mile below ground in South Dakota has recorded a single interaction between subatomic particles that doesn't match what's expected from normal matter. Has a dark-matter particle been detected at last? It's too early to say, but the anomaly is definitely attracting attention from dark-matter detectives.

Quantum Physicist Takes Aim at the Universe's Mysterious Arrow of Time

September 01, 2026

Scientists and philosophers have argued over the nature of time since … well, since time immemorial. Is time real, or is it a convenient illusion? Why does time seem to flow in just one direction? In a new book called “On Time,” British physicist Jim Al-Khalili lays out what he thinks is the answer to such questions.

Roman Rises! Five Things to Know About NASA's New Space Telescope

August 30, 2026

NASA's newest eye on the sky, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, has begun its journey to unravel the secrets of dark matter, dark energy and Earthlike planets — months ahead of schedule.

Lucky 13! Starship Deploys Starlink Satellites and Splashes Down Intact

July 24, 2026

SpaceX's Starship super-rocket deployed operational next-generation Starlink satellites for the first time during its 13th flight test, which addressed snags that arose in the previous test.

How 'Star City' Reimagined the Space Race With Soviets as the Stars

July 10, 2026

How do you capture the mood of the 1960s space race in a fictional universe where the Soviets beat the Americans to the moon? The production team for Apple TV's "Star City" series rose to the challenge.

World's Most Powerful Collider Shuts Down for a Smashing Upgrade

June 29, 2026

Europe's CERN physics research center bids 'Farewell' to the Large Hadron Collider, but it's actually more like 'See You Later, Accelerator!' The new, improved High-Luminosity LHC is due to make its debut in 2030.

Happy Asteroid Day! Prize-Winning Plan Focuses on Space Infrastructure

June 23, 2026

A proposal to create a new network for monitoring cosmic threats to off-world infrastructure has won this year's Schweickart Prize, which recognizes bright ideas for planetary defense.

'Disclosure Day' Tells a Tale That's Light on Science, Heavy on Fiction

June 12, 2026

"Disclosure Day" is nigh! Steven Spielberg's latest movie tells a tale of alien visitation, and even though the tale is totally fictional, it sheds a spotlight on the real scientific, religious and social issues associated with anomalous encounters.

SETI Panel Revises Recommendations for Dealing With 'Disclosure Day'

June 06, 2026

An international committee of experts says it has updated its rules for evaluating and revealing the detection of extraterrestrial intelligence. The revisions to the decades-old Declaration of Principles, created and maintained by the International Academy of Astronautics' SETI Committee, come just days before the release of "Disclosure Day," a movie about alien visitation directed by Steven Spielberg.

SpaceX's Next-Gen Starship Passes Its First Flight Test Despite Snags

May 22, 2026

SpaceX's next-generation Starship V3 rocket got off to a glorious start for its first test flight, and although not all of its engines fired fully according to plan, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the mission "scored a goal for humanity."

Crypto Investor Works on a Plan to Ride SpaceX's Starship Around Mars

May 22, 2026

Chinese-born cryptocurrency investor Chun Wang has become the latest deep-pocketed space enthusiast to set his sights on a trip around Mars. But first, he wants to take a ride around the moon on SpaceX's Starship. And SpaceX is willing to work with him.

Pluto-Like World's Thin Atmosphere Poses a Mystery for Astronomers

May 09, 2026

Astronomers are puzzling over another oddball on the edge of the solar system: This time, it's an icy object less than a quarter of Pluto's size with a thin atmosphere – a layer of gas that's not typically found around objects so small.

Pentagon Releases UFO Files That Go Back to the Apollo Moon Missions

May 08, 2026

The Department of Defense has released a fresh batch of images and transcripts relating to reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena, formerly known as UFOs, including pictures and descriptions from NASA's Apollo missions to the moon.

NASA's Webb and Hubble Telescopes Look at Saturn in a Different Light

March 25, 2026

NASA is serving up a double scoop of delicious Saturn imagery in two flavors — near-infrared from the James Webb Space Telescope, and visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope.

NASA Lays Out Ambitious Plans for Moon Base and Nuclear Mars Mission

March 25, 2026

NASA has outlined an ambitious strategy to start working on a moon base and send a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars by the end of 2028 — leading some observers to wonder whether the timeline was realistic or wise.

CERN Adds a New Particle to Large Hadron Collider's Subatomic Zoo

March 18, 2026

Scientists at Europe's CERN research center say the Large Hadron Collider's LHCb experiment has discovered a "doubly charmed" particle that's like a proton, but four times as weighty.

Scientists Find Evidence of Worlds Colliding ... 11,000 Light-Years Away

March 12, 2026

Astronomers say unusual readings from a star system 11,000 light-years away suggest that two of the planets circling the star crashed into each other, creating a huge, light-obscuring cloud of rocks and dust.

AI Could Make Alien Contact More Likely for SETI's 'Project Hail Mary'

March 11, 2026

A new movie called "Project Hail Mary" tells the story of an unlikely astronaut who teams up with an alien to deal with a common cosmic threat. In the latest Fiction Science podcast, SETI astronomer Seth Shostak provides a status report on the real-world quest for alien contact.

Phew! NASA Rules Out Asteroid Smashup on the Moon in 2032

March 05, 2026

Here’s one less thing to worry about — or to look forward to: NASA has ruled out any chance that an asteroid called 2024 YR4 will hit the moon in 2032.

Report Blames NASA and Boeing for Botched Starliner Flight Test

February 20, 2026

Nearly two years after Boeing’s botched Starliner mission to the International Space Station, NASA put the mishap in the same category as the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters — and said the spacecraft wouldn’t carry another crew until dozens of corrective actions are taken.

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