Astronauts Opine on Alien Life

At a Darren Aronofsky-hosted discussion for National Geographic’s new “One Strange Rock” series, numerous astronauts touched upon their belief in alien life. Between their advanced scientific background and an outside-of-Earth perspective, astronauts are uniquely qualified to opine on the subject. That said, “We have to think through things to find the evidence,” Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, added—reminding everyone of the value …

Farewell, Stephen Hawking

Perhaps the world’s most celebrated icon of contemporary science, physicist and author Stephen Hawking has died. At 76 years old, Hawking was an anomaly himself—expected to live just a few years after being diagnosed with ALS when he was 21 (while studying cosmology at the University of Cambridge) he went on to have a luminous career that spanned decades. Among his many discoveries, in 1970 …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Nokia's banana phone, exploding stars, the world's oldest tattoos and more in our look around the web

1. Amateur Astronomer Photographs Exploding Star An Argentinian amateur astronomer was simply testing out his new 16-inch telescope by taking a bunch of short-exposure photographs when he managed to snap an image believed to be one in 10 million—or even one in 100 million. The photo is of an exploding star in a distant galaxy—a visual that professionals have been hoping to capture for a …