When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s, the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only male military test pilots had the right stuff. But in 1978 six elite women took their place as astronauts. Drawing on her book The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts, journalist Loren Grush discusses how these brilliant and courageous women made history as part of America’s space program.
Adorned with thousands of beautiful rings, Saturn is unique: Other planets also have rings made of chunks of ice and rock, but none are as spectacular or as complicated as Saturn's. Jonathan Fortney, director of the Other Worlds Laboratory, explores what is known about Saturn and what scientists are hoping to discover.
Einstein's theory of relativity was both scientifically and politically controversial in his day, with political enemies creating a public furor to undermine it. The result was a combination of death threats at home and celebrity abroad that led Einstein into exile as the world's most recognizable figure. Steven Gimbel of Gettysburg College offers a unique look into a part of Einstein’s past that is rarely discussed.
Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is the only one in the solar system with a substantial atmosphere, and it is made mostly of nitrogen, like Earth’s. And Titan has water. Sarah Horst, associate professor in the earth and planetary sciences department at Johns Hopkins University, delves into the complex chemistry of this moon’s atmosphere and what it means for potential habitability.
Get those pin-hole projectors and proper viewing glasses ready: On Monday, April 8, a total solar eclipse will occur across the United States, and amateur astronomers and eager “umbraphiles” are already planning to be positioned somewhere along its path from Mexico to Maine. Kelly Beatty, senior editor for Sky & Telescope magazine, presents an overview of the nature of solar eclipses and helpful advice for seeing the next event safely and successfully.
