Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Big news today from Cassini: observations returned from the spacecraft suggest the possibility of liquid water beneath the icy moon’s surface.
Last July, scientists discovered that Enceladus’ southern polar region displayed signs of an envioronment much warmer than had been anticipated on such a small satellite; Enceladus was thought to […]

Virtute et armis is Mississippi’s official state slogan, meaning “By valor and arms.”
There’s nothing valorous about the recent anti-evolution bills submitted in the state’s legislature. As reported by the National Center for Science Education, both of these attacks on science have died in committee:
Senate Bill 2427 is listed on the Mississippi legislature’s website as having […]

A UV-induced fluorescence image of the recently-discovered Thermopolis specimen of Archaeopteryx. Image credit: Dr. Gerald Mayr & The Senckenberg Museum.
It’s always pleasant to see good news.
As I’d mentioned in a previous article, we’d recently seen the introduction of anti-evolution legislation in seven states (eight, now, including the latest shenanigans in Maryland) here in the US […]

A bevy of Plutonian news has come down the pike today.
The Hubble Space Telescope issued a press release today confirming the discovery of two additional moons orbiting Pluto.

Anxiously awaited follow-up observations with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have confirmed the presence of two new moons around the distant planet Pluto. The moons were first discovered by […]

The Planetary Society has posted a call to action, and it’s an opportunity to make your voice heard.
Under current plans, NASAs budget for fiscal year 2007 will severely cut back on space science efforts, and several important programs face being “delayed indefinitely (see syn. @ termination). The agency’s refined goals for the short term divert […]

Finally, some positive news. In an environment where science has been increasingly under attack by religious fundamentalists, it’s quite refreshing to see even a few simple steps in the right direction.
In the wake of Judge Jones’ blistering ruling in Kitzmiller et al v. Dover Area School District (see my previous article in the archives), proponents […]

Sometimes, if I didn’t know better, I’d swear we were living in some bizarre dark age.
Want to be outraged? Read Phil Plait’s latest blog entry.