SCIENCE

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A discarded upper stage from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is hurtling toward a high-speed collision with the Moon on August 5, 2026, marking another chapter in the growing problem of human-made space debris beyond Earth orbit.

EL CENTRO, Calif. — More than 150 earthquakes, including a 4.5 magnitude temblor, struck Imperial County in Southern California on Thursday in a vigorous swarm that rattled residents but caused no reported injuries or major damage.

WASHINGTON — Forecasters are raising the odds of a powerful "super El Niño" developing later this year, with new models suggesting sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific could climb high enough to challenge or exceed historical records and drive widespread global weather extremes through 2027.

PERTH, Australia — Scientists have confirmed the presence of the legendary giant squid in Western Australian waters for the first time using cutting-edge environmental DNA technology, revealing a hidden world of biodiversity in the deep submarine canyons off the Ningaloo Coast.

WASHINGTON — The White House marked National Astronaut Day on Wednesday by posting a tribute to the men and women who venture into space, praising their courage and reaffirming the Trump administration's commitment to prioritizing human spaceflight and exploration.

AUSTIN, Texas — Elon Musk posted a simple but provocative message on X on Wednesday — "The Moon" — accompanied by a video clip from a recent podcast discussion outlining why establishing a lunar base could dramatically lower the cost and complexity of colonizing Mars.

HOUSTON — NASA has quietly released more than 12,000 new photographs from the Artemis II mission, offering the public an unprecedented, intimate look at humanity's return to the vicinity of the Moon during the crewed lunar flyby completed in April 2026.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Elon Musk captivated millions Tuesday with a stunning orbital video captioned "Beautiful machines in space," offering a rare, cinematic glimpse of advanced Starlink satellites gracefully orbiting Earth against a backdrop of swirling clouds, brilliant sunlight flares and the planet's vivid blue curvature.

NEW YORK — Skywatchers across the globe are turning their eyes upward tonight as the Flower Moon, the first of two full moons in May 2026, reaches peak illumination, kicking off a rare celestial double feature that includes a Blue Moon at month's end and offers a spectacular reminder of the rhythms governing our solar system.

LAS VEGAS — A swarm of unusually shallow earthquakes rattled the remote Nevada desert near the secretive Area 51 military base this week, with at least 17 tremors recorded in a 24-hour period including a 4.4 magnitude quake that raised eyebrows among scientists and conspiracy theorists alike.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Elon Musk took to X on Wednesday to celebrate another flawless Falcon Heavy mission, posting a dramatic video of the rocket's twin side boosters executing a synchronized vertical landing at two separate Florida landing zones after successfully delivering their payload to orbit.

NEW YORK — A deadly bacteria known as Vibrio vulnificus, commonly called flesh-eating bacteria, has been detected in multiple Long Island waterways, prompting urgent warnings from scientists as the summer beach season approaches.

ENID, Okla. — A powerful tornado ripped through northwest Oklahoma on Thursday evening, April 23, 2026, flattening homes in southeast Enid, damaging structures near Vance Air Force Base and scattering debris across rural areas as severe storms swept the region.

WASHINGTON — Elon Musk responded with a single word Wednesday to news that China is committing massive financial resources to develop orbital data centers, a move that underscores the intensifying global race to harness space for artificial intelligence infrastructure and high-performance computing.

WASHINGTON — Skywatchers and astronauts alike captured the annual Lyrid meteor shower in spectacular fashion as it peaked Tuesday night into Wednesday, with bright streaks lighting up dark skies on the ground and unique perspectives from 250 miles above Earth aboard the International Space Station.

Here are 10 fun facts about Earth that many people still don't know, even as the planet marks another Earth Day on April 22, 2026. These surprising details highlight our home's unique quirks, hidden extremes and ongoing mysteries revealed by recent science.

Here are 10 essential things you must know about Earth Day as the world marks its 56th observance on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, under the theme "Our Power, Our Planet."

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are investigating a string of deaths and disappearances involving at least 11 American scientists and researchers with ties to sensitive nuclear, aerospace and space defense programs, as lawmakers warn the pattern could signal a national security threat and fuel speculation of coordinated foul play.

WASHINGTON — Elon Musk on Tuesday described SpaceX's unprecedented dominance in orbital rocket launches as merely "a start," underscoring that far greater efforts are required to fulfill the company's ultimate mission of extending human consciousness across the stars.

TOKYO — Japan, situated on the volatile Pacific Ring of Fire where multiple tectonic plates converge, has endured some of the most powerful and destructive earthquakes ever recorded, with the 2011 Tohoku event standing as the strongest in the nation's modern history at magnitude 9.1 and triggering a catastrophic tsunami that claimed nearly 20,000 lives.

SANTA BARBARA, California — Nobel Prize-winning physicist David Gross has issued a stark warning that humanity stands a slim chance of surviving another 50 years, citing the grave risk of nuclear war as the primary barrier preventing scientists from achieving a unified theory of all fundamental forces.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Blue Origin's powerful New Glenn rocket lifted off Sunday morning from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, successfully carrying AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite into low Earth orbit on the company's third orbital mission and marking the first reflight of a New Glenn first-stage booster.

HAWTHORNE, Calif. — SpaceX has unveiled its most advanced rocket engine yet with the Raptor 3, a leap forward in power, efficiency and simplicity that Elon Musk described as "by far the best rocket engine ever made."

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Elon Musk's SpaceX continues to dominate the billionaire space rivalry with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin as 2026 unfolds, launching far more often, expanding its Starlink constellation and advancing ambitious lunar base plans while Blue Origin ramps up its New Glenn rocket and Blue Moon lander efforts in a methodical bid to catch up.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A viral X post by Elon Musk showcasing SpaceX's Starship Super Heavy Booster being transported across the Texas landscape has captivated millions, with the tech mogul declaring it the most powerful moving object ever built by humanity and sparking fresh awe over the rapid pace of reusable rocket technology.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force released striking new images of its next-generation B-21 Raider stealth bomber in midair refueling this week, a dramatic public display that comes amid heightened tensions with Iran and underscores America's advancing long-range strike capabilities.

A sharp jolt rattled homes across the Central West of New South Wales on Tuesday evening as a magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck near Orange, sending tremors through the region and prompting hundreds of resident reports.

NEW YORK — World Quantum Day returns Tuesday as a decentralized global celebration of quantum science and technology, building momentum after the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology with hundreds of events worldwide aimed at making complex physics accessible to the public.

KINGSTON, R.I. — Quantum physics, long confined to laboratories and advanced mathematics, stepped into the spotlight here Friday as the University of Rhode Island hosted its fifth annual World Quantum Day event, drawing elected officials, tech executives, students and members of the public into conversations that blended qubits with culture, ethics and everyday life.