The exceptional human toll behind the battery in your smartphone
washingtonpost.comTodd C. Frankel Michael Robinson Chavez Jorge Ribas The sun was rising over one of the richest mineral deposits on Earth, in one of the poorest countries, as Sidiki Mayamba got ready for work. Mayamba is a cobalt miner.Europa illuminated by Jupiter's albedo!
Crescent #Europa from @NASAVoyager Voyager 2 with part of the night side illuminated by light reflected by #JupiterWe've discovered the closest possible habitable zone planet!
This is pretty great news, but at the risk of raining on everyone's parade... it's important to remember that while this planet is in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri, Proxima Centauri itself is a very inhospitable star that is prone to flaring ofte...Success! Engine burn complete. After a... - NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Facebook
Success! Engine burn complete. After a five-year journey, our #Juno spacecraft is now orbiting #Jupiter, poised to unlock the planet's secrets. More about our Juno mission: http://www.nasa.gov/junoNASA's SOFIA telescope (i.e. the telescope on a plane) is currently streaming Live on Facebook!
We're live from our flying observatory's mission control center!What would you like to see from this community?
Now that there's a sizeable number of people in this community, I thought it might be nice to throw up the occasional text post and invite people to engage in discussions and get the community to be a little more active. As a start, I'd love to hear from ...The night sky is vanishing: 80 percent of Americans can no longer see the Milky Way
If cities were to switch off all their lights - all their street lamps, illuminated signs, and car headlights - a clear night sky would look something like this: That shimmering arc of stars is, of course, the Milky Way. Most of us living in urban areas c...New Stamps Honoring NASA Planetary Discoveries Debut May 31
Coming next week to a post office near you: new "Views of Our Planets" Forever stamps featuring iconic images of the planets in our solar system, including the well-known "Blue Marble" photo of Earth.Sorcerers and soulstealers: hair-cutting panics in old China
In 1768, close to the peak of its prosperity, China was swept by fear of sorcery. Master-magicians were said to be at work, sending out servants to stupefy victims, clip their hair - and steal their souls. The lost souls, in turn, were to be used to anima...Think Mars is cold now? Scientists say it used to be in the grip of an ice age
This month, Mars is closer to Earth than it's been in years. On a clear night, even without a telescope, "it looks like a big red jewel in the night sky," said planetary scientist Isaac Smith. But if we were to gaze up at the neighboring planet 370,000 ye...Venezuela Is Falling Apart
"The entrepreneur is one of the real people behind those zany “there’s no toilet paper in Venezuela” stories that play up the crisis up for laughs, and clicks. But to Venezuelans like the present writers, and the entrepreneur, there’s nothing funny about ...Kepler's big haul!
NASA's Kepler mission has verified 1,284 new planets - the single largest finding of planets to date.Keep an eye out for Mercury transiting across the Sun on Monday!
"On Monday, most of the world (including the United States) will be able to see the planet as a tiny black dot passing slowly in front of its host star. You shouldn't stare directly into the sun (ouch), but by watching online or using a telescope with a s...More planets in habitable zones!
The newly discovered worlds are now the most promising targets in the search for life among the stars-and the race to take a closer look at them has begun.JWST's mirror looks amazing!
NASA engineers recently unveiled the giant golden mirror of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope as part of the integration and testing of the infrared telescope.




