Science

Explore This SectionEarth Earth Observer Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries NewsScience in the News Calendars In Memoriam AnnouncementsMoreArchives Conference Schedules Style Guide27 min read Terra: The End of An EraIntroduction Launched into the night sky more than 26 years ago, on Dec. 19, 1999, from Vandenberg Air Force Base (now...

It is with a heavy heart that I announce that NASA Earth Science Communications has directed The Earth Observer to conduct an orderly shutdown of the publication. No new content will be published after Dec. 31, 2025.While the sunset...

IntroductionThe Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) was initially designed in the late-1980s and early-1990s as a facility instrument for NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS). Since its inception, NASA’s Langley Research Center (LaRC) has led this effort....

CrushJames RiordonThe MIT Press, $29.95Isaac Newton confessed that he had no idea what gravity was. The 17th century English polymath knew what it did, and he described it with a universal law of gravitation. But where the law came...

Good health news for babies, kids and adults regarding the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination kept coming in December.Pregnant people who were vaccinated before becoming infected with the coronavirus had a lower risk of severe COVID-19 — and their infants...

IntroductionThe Observational Products for End-Users from Remote Sensing Analysis (OPERA) project represents a strategic initiative designed to address critical satellite data needs identified by federal agencies. Established in 2021 by the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), OPERA responds to priorities...

From eclipses on demand to a rare interstellar visitor to the chances of Earth being flung out of orbit, some news in 2025 made us ponder our place in the universe. Here’s a look at some of our favorite...

NASA astronaut Brig. Gen. Nick Hague has retired from the agency, concluding a distinguished career that included two spaceflight missions, 374 days in space, and multiple spacewalks in support of the International Space Station. Hague continues service in the U.S. Space...

The pathogen that causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea is notorious for its ability to develop drug resistance. But now there are two more treatment options.In December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved zoliflodacin and gepotidacin, oral medications...

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have imaged the largest protoplanetary disk ever observed circling a young star. For the first time in visible light, Hubble has revealed the disk is unexpectedly chaotic and turbulent, with wisps of material...