Space, Earth and the natural world, explained.
Under water, sound carries far better than light. Here is what scientists know about humpback song, blue whale calls and sperm whale codas, and what is still unknown about their meaning.
Mount Everest could sink into the Mariana Trench and still sit more than a mile underwater. Here is how deep the ocean really is, how scientists measure it and how little we have mapped.
A plain-English guide to the James Webb Space Telescope: why it orbits a point beyond the Moon, why it sees in infrared, and how its pictures go from raw data to official releases.
The FAA does not certify rockets the way it certifies airliners. It licenses launches to protect the public, and it can halt flights after a mishap until safety questions are answered.
Reusable boosters changed how often rockets fly. Here is how a Falcon 9 first stage gets back to Earth, what happens before its next launch and how Starship aims to go further.
A fuzzy patch with a faint tail is what most comets look like. Here is where to point binoculars, how comet names work and why a promised great comet can fizzle.
Some animals sleep with one eye open, some sleep on the wing and some doze in four-second bursts. Here is what brain recordings in the wild have revealed about animal sleep.
A tsunami starts when the seafloor or a mountainside moves water from the bottom up. Here is how that becomes a fast, ocean-crossing wave, what the warning signs are and what NOAA's alerts mean.
A thigh bone taller than a person, a cast too long for most museum halls and weight estimates that swing by tens of tonnes: how scientists size up the largest dinosaurs.
There is no sharp edge where the air stops. Two lines are in common use, and which one a flight crosses decides whether its passengers count as having reached space.
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