For decades, biologists have attempted to trace the earliest split on the animal tree of life, one that occurred approximately 600 million years ago. All living animals, from mammals to mollusks, descend from a shared ancestor. The first branching from this ancestor gave rise to two lineages: one leading to nearly all animals alive today,
NASA has begun a crucial test Monday of its towering Space Launch System rocket — marking one of the final steps before the vehicle launches four astronauts into deep space for the first time since the Apollo program ended more than five decades ago. The mission could launch as soon as February 8. The hands-on
IDAHO FALLS — From looking into the future with artificial intelligence to learning about mummies of the past, the Museum of Idaho ventures further back in time, before dinosaurs existed. “Life Before Dinosaurs: Meet the Permian Monsters,” the museum’s newest exhibition, opened Saturday, inviting community members on a tour of the Permian Era, nearly 290
Refresh 2026-02-02T13:48:01.373Z Non-essential personnel cleared from launchpad ahead of SLS fueling (Image credit: NASA/Sam Lott) With the sun rising on the second day of the Artemis 2 wet dress rehearsal, NASA is preparing the SLS for the test’s most critical phase: Fueling. Following NASA’s countdown timeline, all non-essential personnel were scheduled to be cleared from
LOS ANGELES — NASA’s Artemis II mission is set to launch as early as Feb. 6, putting human spaceflight to the moon back in the spotlight after a 50-plus year hiatus, which may inspire future filmmakers to explore the possibilities of space travel in their own work. In celebration of our IRL return to the
quick facts What it is: Lupus 3 (GN 16.05.2 and Bernes 149) molecular cloud Where it is: About 500 light-years away, in the constellation Scorpius When it was shared: Jan. 26, 2026 A tranquil-looking cloud of gas and dust might not sound like much to get excited about, but it’s home to one of the
Long forgotten and hidden under layers of religious texts, the world’s earliest star catalog has just resurfaced. Scientists have managed to pull fragments of it from a 1,500-year-old manuscript by scanning erased ink with X-ray technology. The ancient astronomer Hipparchus had mapped the stars by eye more than 2,000 years ago, but his groundbreaking work
NASA’s Artemis II mission is set to launch as early as February 8, putting human spaceflight to the moon back in the spotlight after a 50-plus year hiatus. In celebration of our IRL return to the drama and wonder of space, we asked 11 astronauts to share their favorite space films that capture the thrill
The length of a night on Mars isn’t too different from here on Earth, lasting just over 12 hours on average. Thanks to its similar axial tilt, it also experiences longer nights in winter and shorter nights during summer — but the gloom is eerie, with temperatures plummeting to as low as -100 degrees Fahrenheit
Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Getty Images How the most massive objects in the universe first formed is one of the biggest headscratchers in astrophysics. With more advanced telescopes, astronomers have found fully formed galaxies and colossal black holes earlier and earlier in the cosmos, just a few hundred million years after the