It sounds like a headline from a science fiction novel, but it’s actually a fascinating discovery in radio astronomy. In 2009, astronomers searching for the building blocks of life in deep space found that the center of our galaxy contains a chemical compound responsible for the flavor of raspberries and the smell of rum. Here…
The famous comparison that there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on Earth is scientifically accurate, but the scale of the difference is even more mind-blowing than most people realize. According to current astronomical and geological estimates in 2025, there are roughly 10,000 stars for every single grain of sand on…
That is absolutely true! If you spent a few months on the International Space Station (ISS), you would likely return to Earth about 2 inches (5 cm) taller than when you left. While gaining a couple of inches of height sounds like a “space superpower,” the reason behind it is actually quite simple—and it’s more…
While it looks like a perfect silver coin in the night sky, the Moon is technically an oblate spheroid—a sphere that is slightly flattened at the poles and bulged at the center. However, planetary scientists often go a step further and describe it as lemon-shaped because it has two distinct bulges: one on the side…
It may like a plot from a sci-fi movie, but the Moon is indeed drifting away from Earth. This phenomenon is known as Lunar Recession, and it has been occurring since the Moon first formed about 4.5 billion years ago. Here is the full breakdown of how it works, how we know, and what the…
Standing on the surface of Mars at dusk offers a surreal reversal of the Earthly experience. While we are used to a blue sky during the day that bleeds into a fiery red and orange sunset, Mars does the exact opposite. On the Red Planet, the daytime sky is a murky butterscotch color, but as…
In space, the biological process of crying remains the same, but the physical behavior of the liquid changes dramatically. On Earth, gravity pulls tears down your cheeks; in the microgravity of the International Space Station (ISS), physics takes over in a much messier way. Here is the full breakdown of what happens when you cry…
Time Dilation: Why Time Moves Slower in Space The idea that “Time Moves Slower in Space” is not science fiction; it is a validated consequence of Albert Einstein’s theories of Relativity. This phenomenon is called Time Dilation, and it means that time is not absolute—it passes differently for observers depending on their relative speed and…
The $12 Million Wardrobe: Why Spacesuits Cost a Fortune! When you see an astronaut floating outside the International Space Station, they aren’t wearing a jumpsuit—they are piloting a highly personalized, miniature spacecraft. The original NASA Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) suits were valued at over $12 million each in the 1970s, a cost that balloons into…
Callisto, the outermost of Jupiter’s four large Galilean satellites, stands as a unique and scientifically pivotal object in the solar system. Often described as the “dead” or “unremarkable” Galilean moon, its relative lack of geological activity is precisely what makes it a crucial relic. It is a world that has largely preserved the record of…
