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Weather radar sometimes paints broad patches of light rain that never reach the ground. The culprit can be a dense swarm of moths, and meteorologists use timing and signal strength to separate biological echoes from real precipitation.
Japan's MMX spacecraft is headed to Mars's moons to collect a tiny sample from Phobos and return it to Earth. The mission could settle a long-running debate about whether the moons formed from a giant impact or were captured asteroids.
A space jellyfish is the glowing, tentacled plume a rocket can leave when its exhaust is lit by sunlight while the ground is still dark. This explainer covers the timing and geometry behind the effect, why not every launch produces one, and how to recognize it.
A look at the largest transfer of captive belugas from Marineland in Ontario, the risks that follow relocation, and the limited options for whales that cannot return to the wild.
The Orionids come from Halley’s Comet and peak on October 21-22, but a bright waxing gibbous Moon will cut the hourly rate. This guide explains why the hours after 3 a.m., when the Moon sets, offer the best chance.
The Orionids come from Halley's Comet debris and stand out for their extreme speed, a consequence of the comet's retrograde orbit. This article explains why the particles hit so fast, where the radiant lies near Betelgeuse, and when moonlight leaves the 2026 peak dark enough to watch.
Read about the four Crew-13 astronauts, the Falcon 9 and Dragon Grace launch sequence, and what the mission is meant to accomplish during a six-month stay on the International Space Station.
This guide explains when the September 2026 Harvest Moon peaks, why it carries that name rather than October's full moon, and how the Moon's low path affects its colour and viewing.
This article explains why the gravitational constant is so hard to measure, how a NIST torsion balance experiment traces back to Henry Cavendish's 1798 work, and why repeating the 2007 BIPM experiment matters for precision.
Fat Bear Week turns Katmai National Park’s brown bears into bracket competitors. This explains how the vote works, why the bears pack on pounds before winter, and what fat reserves reveal about their survival and ability to raise cubs.
This article explains how a routine map check revealed a newly formed 222-metre crater on the Moon, why the find is unusual, and what it says about impact rates.
This guide covers the first confirmed spotted lanternfly detections in Canada, why the find worries Windsor-Essex grape growers, and the reporting steps the CFIA is asking residents to follow.
Readers will learn how a small spotted cat was separated from similar wildcat species, why it went unrecognized for so long, and what the new name means for its conservation.
Readers will learn what the reported great white shark attack off Quebec’s Gaspé coast tells researchers about the species in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and why a single incident cannot answer larger questions about shark numbers.
NASA selected Blue Origin for a $700 million Mars communications orbiter contract, and losing bidder Rocket Lab is protesting the decision. The article explains the disputed procurement language and why the review could shape future Mars missions.
Learn how the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, now in orbit after a Falcon Heavy launch, will map billions of galaxies, survey exoplanets, and possibly test the standard model of cosmology over its five-year mission.
You will learn how a supervolcano beneath Norfolk and Lincolnshire was confirmed after 40 years of suspicion, what its eruption 454 million years ago means for the region’s geology, and why the same buried magma chamber could one day heat homes.
Learn when the August 2026 deep partial lunar eclipse reaches North America, what different regions can expect to see, and how to watch and photograph it without special eye protection.
This article explains why the Flores earthquake has made rescue and relief difficult, how aftershocks and landslides complicate operations, and what kinds of aid are most useful during the first days of recovery.
Readers will learn why a major earthquake near Flores prompted a tsunami warning, how Indonesian agencies assess the threat, and why an alert can be lifted when sea-level data show no dangerous waves.