Browsing: Lens_matter

The International Space Station captured this photo of the Sarychev Volcano erupting on June 12, 2009. Volcanic plumes contain turbulence that extends to a wide range of size scales. NASA “Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the seat belt sign. Please return to your seats and ensure your seat belts are fastened.” So […]

Spider webs are veritable antennas humming with signals.

The Antennae Galaxies are in a state of “starburst,” when the gas from the two colliding galaxies crashes together to produce huge numbers of new stars.ESA/Hubble & NASA According to the basic approximation, stars are formed by a stately, gradual process that belies the power it eventually unleashes. Within a great gas cloud, gravity slowly […]

NASA engineer Rabindra Mehta explains the aerodynamics of the World Cup soccer ball.

A journey to the underwater volcanoes where life may have erupted.

One physicist’s radical reinterpretation of the cosmic microwave background.

A 2018 mission will send a probe to within 4 million miles of the sun.

The high stakes of solving one of science’s most obstinate problems.

These tiny swirls of fluid live, die, reproduce, and spark turbulence.

If you’ve ever tried to give yourself a haircut, you know just how hard it is to make something precisely symmetrical. We value symmetry so highly in part because it’s really hard to achieve. Here are five of the most symmetrical objects humans have ever crafted, and why they were so hard to make. Nautilus […]