Phil Plait

Bad Astronomy

Fly over Mars!

Woolly rhinoceros or Elasmotheriinae, one of the ancient rhino species mentioned in this study.
(Image Credit: aleks1949/Shutterstock) 

Elasmotheriinae

Learn more about a rhino tooth that is changing the field of paleontology and providing crucial insights into rhinoceros evolution and conservation.

Protein Found in 20-Million-Year-Old Rhino Tooth is Oldest Ever Sequenced

(Image Credit: Vadim Sadovski/Shutterstock) 

asteroid

Learn about two major asteroid impacts from 3.5 million years ago that may not have had lasting environmental effects. 

Strikes From Two Eocene Asteroids May Not Have Changed Earth’s Climate Long Term 

Ancient tool made from red jasper, not associated with this study. (Image Credit: Tyler Hulett/Shutterstock) 

red jasper arrowhead

Learn more about the colorful and shiny stones that were turned into tools as many as 40,000 years ago, which were sometimes sourced from afar. 

Stone Age People Traveled Miles To Source Stunning Raw Materials, Like Red Jasper, for Tools

Collection of CRISPR-Cas mutagenised rice plants.

(Image Courtesy of the University of Milan) 

Moon-Rice

Learn about the Moon-Rice project, which aims to create rice crops that can grow in space and help keep astronauts healthy. 

Moon-Rice Could Soon Sprout in Space, Adding a Fresh Ingredient to Astronauts' Diets

An artist’s impression of the UK-led CosmoCube spacecraft, which would orbit be tasked with listening out for an “ancient whisper” from the early universe on the far side of the moon.

(Image Credit: Nicolo Bernardini (SSTL Ltd) & Kaan Artuc (University of Cambridge))

CosmoCube

Learn about a cosmic project that will journey to the dark side of the moon in order to listen for the Universe’s earliest echoes.

New Spacecraft Hopes to Capture Ancient Whispers From the Universe’s Dark Ages

Is Earth's inner core solid or liquid? (Image Credit: Rost9/Shutterstock) 

Fly over Mars!

Newsletter