Space
Launch Viewing Checklist: What to Bring and How to Plan the Day
A practical packing list and timeline for seeing a rocket launch in person, including what to do with kids and pets and how to handle a last-minute delay.
The Science Beat — Space, Earth and the natural world, explained.
Night Sky
Full Moon Calendar: Dates, Eastern Times and Traditional Names
Every full moon for the next year with its exact Eastern time from the US Naval Observatory, the name most calendars use and why some dates differ from what you read online.
Earth
How Deep Is the Ocean? Average Depth, Challenger Deep and Everest
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.
Nature & Animals
How Whales Communicate: Humpback Songs, Blue Whale Calls and Codas
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.
How to Find a Reliable Rocket Launch Schedule and Set Alerts
Launch times move constantly. These are the official sources that update first, and the simple routine that keeps you from driving out for a launch that already slipped.
What Is a Supermoon? How Much Bigger It Looks and When to See One
The Moon's orbit is an oval, so some full moons happen closer to Earth than others. Here is what that changes in the sky and on the coast, and why the giant Moon on the horizon is a trick of the brain.
How Animals Sleep: Half-Brain Naps, Sleeping in Flight and Torpor
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.
How Tsunamis Form and Why They Are Not Ordinary Waves
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.
What Was the Biggest Dinosaur Ever? Length, Weight and Debate
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.
Where Does Space Begin? The Karman Line vs the US 50-Mile Line
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.