NASA appointed a new director of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) research this week. Find out what this new role entails and what NASA hopes to contribute by studying these anomalies. I’ve spent a fair amount of time looking at the night sky. I’ve learned how to find a range of planets, stars, comets, nebulae and galaxies. I’ve also noticed some stranger objects like fireballs, aircraft running lights and satellites. Even so, I’ve never seen anything that remotely resembled an unidentified…

“Music is the universal language of mankind,” we often hear, but how true is that maxim? Find out how a new study shows that people from diverse cultures can recognize the emotions expressed in songs. I started taking music lessons when I was seven. I also sang in choirs throughout my youth, and even today, I enjoy writing songs, singing and playing guitar. As an adult, I studied popular songwriting at the Royal Conservatory of Music. …

Carbon offsets allow businesses and wealthy individuals to buy credits to compensate for failing to meet their carbon emission targets. Find out why the system isn’t helping the planet, and the reforms needed to make this emerging marketplace effective. Probably the best thing I’ve ever done to reduce my own carbon footprint was to stop commuting. I was in a position to shift into semi-retirement and start writing for a living in my own home instead of commuting into the city for a 9-to-5 office job.

Lunar missions made the news twice this week, but for very different reasons. Find out why India is celebrating a technological triumph, while Russia is downplaying a catastrophic failure. Only about half of the people living today were around when Apollo 11 first landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. I remember it vividly, including Neil Armstrong’s now-famous, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” speech, that we couldn’t actually make out in the…

Climate Justice is the name of a movement recognizing the climate crisis as a threat to social justice. Find out why human rights group Amnesty International has issued a detailed policy briefing on global warming. Climate Justice is the name of a movement recognizing the climate crisis as a threat to social justice. Find out why human rights group Amnesty International has issued a detailed policy briefing on global warming.

Hydrothermal vents are underwater springs that form on the ocean floor. Find out how an international scientific expedition surprised even themselves when they uncovered a new kind of ecosystem beneath one of these formations. I started snorkelling at a very young age, and I always found underwater swimming in lakes and ponds more enjoyable than doing laps in a concrete pool. There’s something compelling about the underwater world and its inhabitants.

A giant exoplanet has been discovered orbiting a low-mass star. Find out why this finding challenges our understanding of planet formation and helps scientists decipher the origins of solar systems, including our own. One thing that keeps stargazing interesting is the way the constellations move across the sky throughout the year. …

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to investigations of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes of aggression. Find out why the International Criminal Court and the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry are working to hold Russian authorities accountable. I haven’t written anything about the Russian Federation’s armed attack against Ukraine until now. Since it’s been dominating the international news for well over a year, I didn’t think I had much to add.

A galaxy without dark matter has come to light in the constellation Perseus. Find out why this poses a puzzle for astronomers and challenges cosmology’s explanation of how our universe began. Amateur stargazers like me find it hard to locate galaxies in the night sky. I guess we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves, since the existence of other galaxies only came to light about 100 years ago. That’s when astronomer Edwin Hubble realized the Andromeda Galaxy was unimaginably far away…