If you have ever been nervous about something that is about to happen, then you may have felt the sensations of nausea and “fluttering” – the recognisable and odd sensation deep in your gut known as having “butterflies in the stomach”.
The search for extraterrestrial life in the water worlds close to home
The discovery of seven exoplanets around a star 40 light years from our Sun has raised the possibility that they could harbour life. Why? Because the astronomers who made the discovery believe some of the planets may have liquid water. And on Earth, wherever there is liquid water, there is life. But we believe we can look much closer to Earth
Chronic stress could be making you fat
Rising life expectancy and why we need to rethink the meaning of old age
You are living inside a massive, musical instrument – and here’s what it sounds like
The ancients believed that the Earth was surrounded by celestial spheres, which produced divine music when they moved. We lived, so to speak, in a huge musical instrument. This may sound silly but modern science has proved them right to a certain extent. Satellites recording sound waves resonating with the Earth’s magnetosphere – the magnetic bubble that protects us from space radiation – show that we are indeed living inside a massive, magnetic musical instrument.
Fact or fiction – is sugar addictive?
Sad about Pluto? How about 110 planets in the solar system instead?
In 2006, during their 26th General Assembly, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) adopted a formal definition of the term “planet”. This was done in the hopes of dispelling ambiguity over which bodies should be designated as “planets”, an issue that had plagued astronomers ever since they discovered objects beyond the orbit of Neptune that were comparable in size to Pluto.
Five of the most explosive non-nuclear chemicals ever made
Explainer: what is wave-particle duality
Our notion of reality is built on everyday experiences. But wave-particle duality is so strange that we are forced to re-examine our common conceptions. Wave-particle duality refers to the fundamental property of matter where, at one moment it appears like a wave, and yet at another moment it acts like a particle. To understand wave-particle duality it’s worth looking at differences between particles and waves.
If atoms are mostly empty space, why do objects look and feel solid?
Chemist John Dalton proposed the theory that all matter and objects are made up of particles called atoms, and this is still accepted by the scientific community, almost two centuries later. Each of these atoms is each made up of an incredibly small nucleus and even smaller electrons, which move around at quite a distance from the centre.
How long is a year on Mercury?
Mercury is a planet of extremes. As the closest planet to our Sun, it experiences extremely high surface temperatures. But since it has virtually no atmosphere to speak of, and rotates very slowly on its axis, it gravitates between extremes of hot and cold. It also means that it’s Sun-facing side experiences prolonged periods of day while its dark side experiences extremely long periods of night.
What is the weather like on Saturn?
Saturn is famous for many things. Aside from its ring system, which are the most visible and beautiful of any gas giant, it is also known for its extensive system of moons (the second largest in the Solar System behind Jupiter). And then there its banded appearance and gold color, which are the result of its peculiar composition and persistent weather patterns.
Through the nuclear looking glass: the moon & the bomb
For centuries, scientists have been attempting to explain how the Moon formed. Whereas some have argued that it formed from material lost by Earth due to centrifugal force, others asserted that a preformed Moon was captured by Earth’s gravity. In recent decades, the most widely-accepted theory has been the Giant-impact hypothesis, which states that the Moon formed after the Earth was struck by a Mars-sized object (named Theia) 4.5 billion years ago.
There are six styles of love. Which one best describes you?
Black holes are even stranger than you can imagine
What is the surface area of earth?
Whoever coined the phrase “it’s a small world” obviously never tried to travel around it! In truth, the planet’s dimensions are quite impressive, and determining just how big it is took many thousands of years. From astronomers determining that Earth was in fact round (and not a flat disc, cube or ziggurat), to the first successful attempts at circumnavigation, our estimates have changed over time.
When birds go roaming: The mystery of avian irruptions
Do vegetarians live longer? Probably, but not because they’re vegetarian
Don’t panic: the northern lights won’t be turning off anytime soon
The northern lights are nature’s very own magnificent light show. They are the mesmerising end result of electrically charged particles from the sun colliding with the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Though more frequently witnessed from the polar regions, the UK and other places on similar latitudes are lucky enough for the aurora borealis to occasionally grace their night sky.
