Phil Plait

Bad Astronomy

Snapshots from Space

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

The X-Files screening in Los Angeles

Flicks like ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The X-Files’ have left their mark on academia and inspired future researchers. Thanks to science advisers, studios can finally get the details right.

How Hollywood Movies and TV Shows Impact Real Science

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.

Snapshots from Space

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