There hasn’t been a whole lot of good news in 2020, but here’s something to get excited about: Tuesday’s supermoon will be the closest the full moon gets to Earth in 2020, meaning it will look bigger and brighter than any other full moon this year.
Astronomy
Mar 13, 2020 |
Think things are bleak on planet Earth? At lease it’s not raining metal. That’s the kind of bizarre climate scientists recently observed on an ultra-hot exoplanet they’ve dubbed WASP-76b, located 640 million light-years away.
Mar 9, 2020 |
March’s full moon is called the Worm Moon, and it will be an extra bright supermoon.
Feb 28, 2020 |
The young crescent moon and the blazingly bright planet are in conjunction. Look to the western sky shortly after sunset Friday to see for yourself.
Feb 26, 2020 |
Are we really alone in the universe? A new effort to search for extraterrestrial life is underway.
Feb 12, 2020 |
A local scientist talks about his work to help capture the most detailed images ever of the sun’s bubbling surface.
Feb 11, 2020 |
Local scientists use a powerful new tool to make fresh discoveries from moon dust first collected nearly 50 years ago.
Feb 10, 2020 |
It may not seem like it lately, but the sun does indeed still exist. And NASA is sending a spacecraft to our friendly neighborhood star to get some answers.
Dec 30, 2019 |
From the first-ever image of a black hole to growing concern over climate change, we review some of the year’s top science stories with three of our regular science contributors.
Dec 11, 2019 |
An update on the mission and findings of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, named after pioneering University of Chicago astrophysicist Eugene Parker, who first proposed the existence of the solar wind in 1958.
Nov 25, 2019 |
Dan Hooper spends his time contemplating the biggest mystery of all: how the universe came to be. He joins us to discuss his book, “At the Edge of Time: Exploring the Mysteries of our Universe’s First Seconds.”
Oct 28, 2019 |
A 4-pound chunk of a rare type of meteorite that crashed into a Costa Rican village this spring has found its way to Chicago, and experts say the rock likely contains clues to the origins of life on Earth.
Oct 15, 2019 |
How did researchers reconstruct the face of an ancient human ancestor using a fossilized bone? This story and more from the world of science with Neil Shubin.
Oct 1, 2019 |
The SpaceX founder aims to create a fleet of reusable rockets that will make space travel dramatically cheaper and more accessible. But can he turn what has long been science fiction into science fact?
Sep 10, 2019 |
Adler Planetarium astronomer Mark Hammergren explains how a space-based sentry can help detect asteroids that will pass near Earth.
Aug 29, 2019 |
As society becomes increasingly dependent on space-based systems, there’s a growing need for protection from potential adversaries. But is the U.S. Space Command – and eventually a Space Force – the answer?
