Razib Khan

Gene Expression

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In this photograph captured by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station on July 31, 2011, the oblique angle reveals the layers of Earth's atmosphere, along with a thin crescent Moon illuminated by the Sun sitting below the horizon. (Credit: NASA Earth Observatory)

Earth Atmosphere - NASA

Earth ends and outer space starts at the Kármán line, some 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the planet’s surface.

The Kármán Line: Where Does Space Begin?

On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard (left) carried out the first American spaceflight, climbing some 116 miles (188 km) above Earth's surface with the help of a V-2-inspired Redstone rocket (right).  
(Credit: NASA)

AlanShepardFreedom7

The story of how America safely sent its first man into space, causing an anxious nation to collectively exhale a sigh of relief.

60 Years Ago, Alan Shepard Became the First American in Space

Schrodinger's cat - dead and alive - shutterstock 227038018 (1)

Why Schrödinger (figuratively speaking) put his cat in the box — and why it may never get out.

Schrödinger’s Cat Experiment and the Conundrum That Rules Modern Physics

NASA - Slime-in-Space-cupola-ISS-1-1

We’ve been launching strange stuff into space since it became possible. 

9 Unusual Things Researchers Launched Into Space for Science

Michael Collins Apollo 11 Flight Portrait - NASA

The astronaut helmed Columbia solo as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the Moon.

Michael Collins, Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot, Dies at 90

(Credit: Les Bossinas/NASA/Wikimedia Commons)

Wormhole travel as envisioned by Les Bossinas for NASA

Faster than light travel is the only way humans could ever get to other stars in a reasonable amount of time. 

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