A possible cousin of Pluto seems to be circling the far reaches of the solar system.  Known as 2017 OF201, it’s a suspected dwarf planet — a round rock too big to…

Steppe (noun, “STEP”) A steppe is a flat, dry grassland. These grassy plains occur in temperate regions with a dry climate. Steppes contain mostly grasses — often short — and…

Nearly 100 million years ago, a drop of tree resin captured a gruesome scene: a fungus bursting from the body of a young ant. That resin eventually hardened into amber.…

No rainstorm is needed for this new type of rainbow — it’s made of sounds. A normal rainbow separates light waves of different hues, or wavelengths. The different colors that…

Some people see a pickleball and want to smash it. When Anchal Sareen saw some pickleballs lying around a lab a few years ago, she thought about submarines and airplanes.…

Chili peppers famously bring the heat to hot sauces, salsas, curries and many other dishes. And if you’ve ever bitten into food that’s too spicy, you know how much they…

Lagrange point, (noun, “luh-GRAINJ”) A Lagrange point is a position in space near two large space objects, such as the sun and Earth. When a third, smaller object — such…

Massive stars know how to go out in style. Some of the brightest, longest-lived flares likely develop as supermassive black holes shred megastars, researchers report.   Such events are a…