Xenon is a peculiar element. It certainly has one of the most mysterious names (from the Greek xenos, or “stranger”). As a noble gas, it refuses to bond with other elements except under exotic conditions. And its uses are all about as creepy as its name: Folks use it for its eerie glow, to detect radiation, or in its liquid form to hunt for the universe’s dark matter. Read More >>

You might think you were born in Didcot, or Durham, or some sleepy suburb outside Birmingham—but let me tell you, friend, you’re wrong. In a sense, we were all spawned on a tiny island full of rubbish, floating miserably far, far out there. Only now are we beginning to understand the horrifying gravity of what our garbage species hath wrought. Read More >>

What better way to start off your day with a nice, hot cup of existential uncertainty? Forget everything you think you know about yourself or reality, because a gorgeous new video of the Grand Canyon is about to irrevocably fuck you up. In a good way, we think. Read More >>

Earth is exhausting — excruciatingly so, if you’re a young curmudgeon like me. At times, performing even the most mundane tasks, like commuting on a crowded, smelly subway car, feels like an Olympic marathon designed to test one’s patience. Space compels us because it forces us to think outside this myopic view of ourselves — not in a “Dust in the Wind” way, but in the sense that we’re tiny flecks of star stuff lucky to be members of something so vast and incredible. And in recent years, one of the greatest reminders of this is the volume of research and images sent back to Earth from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which first entered Saturn’s system in 2004. Read More >>

Sometimes, the majesty of the final frontier—a cold, unfeeling space—has the power to make our eyes misty. The images from NASA’s Cassini mission have often been able to do this, and since the spacecraft is dying soon, it makes the experience all the more emotional. Before it goes out in a blaze of glory, Cassini has been sending back some of the most incredible images of Saturn and its moons—but one of its latest from Saturn’s rings is especially spectacular. Read More >>

Earth has been the Airbnb for some questionable guests over the years, but none have been more deplorable than humans. Our bad habits are screwing up the planet big time, causing arctic glaciers to melt and sea levels to rise eight inches over the last century alone. At this point, getting adopted by some alien overlords might not be such a bad idea—even NASA seems to be on board. Read More >>

Last month, the solar system lost its collective chill when NASA announced the discovery of a seven-planet system called TRAPPIST-1, just 39 light-years from our Sun. The system is particularly exciting, not only because of its proximity to our planet, but because it has three planets within the habitable zone, where liquid water (and potentially life) could be supported. There’s already a website dedicated to these mysterious planets, filled with stunning art and literal fan fiction. In short, TRAPPIST-1 is already getting the One Direction treatment. Read More >>

Bad news if you’re looking to ditch this planet for another one far, far away. According to new research from NASA, planets in the habitable zone in red dwarf star systems—including much-hyped exoplanet Proxima b—might lose too much oxygen to support liquid water, and therefore, life. Goddammit. Read More >>

The man in the Moon knows a lot more about us than we think. For instance, it’s keeping tabs on the air we breath by collecting samples of it. Read More >>

When the solar system was in its rebellious stage about 466 million years ago, two massive asteroids collided in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, sending tiny pieces of shrapnel flying all over the solar system. After examining bits of crystals that fell to Earth just before the collision, an international team of scientists has learned that space rocks that only enter our atmosphere rarely now were much more prevalent back in the day. And stuff from that big breakup is still raining down on us. Read More >>

Earth has some battle scars from back in the day. When the solar system was still young and wild, roughly four billion years ago, Earth, its Moon, and Mars were attacked by a series of asteroid assailants. It’s long been assumed that the space rocks involved in the assault — called the Late Heavy Bombardment — are now floating around in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Read More >>

Earth’s very clingy friend, the Moon, has long been an object of human fascination. It makes sense, considering we’re just a hop, skip and a 238,855-mile jump from our celestial pal. Read More >>

After a decades-long search, expert scientists at a Japanese university think they've finally hit on the secret identity of the element that makes up the final 5% of Earth's core. Unfortunately, it's not some kickass new compound or even something with a futuristic name: it's probably plain old silicon. Read More >>

Earlier this year, NASA astronaut Jeff Williams captured ultra high definition video of our pale blue dot from the vantage point of the International Space Station. It’s easily the most uplifting thing you’re going to see all day. Read More >>

Today dragging more than usual? Already done all the things you do and it's still not really time to start drinking in bed in front of Netflix? That'll probably be down to the bloody speed at which the bloody earth is spinning around the bloody sun, mate, as scientists counting things have noticed it's getting slower as the centuries pass. Read More >>