Joe Palca
Stories
-
Path Of A Total Solar Eclipse Passes Over A Major Observatory In Chile
The path of a total solar eclipse passed over the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile on Tuesday. You had to be in the southern hemisphere to see the eclipse.
-
Solar Eclipse Will Pass Over A Major Observatory In Chile
On Tuesday, parts of South American will experience a total solar eclipse. The path of totality passes over one the world's premier observatories located in Chile.
-
Science
Scientists Study Human Cancer Genes In Plants
There are human cancer genes in plants. Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee are studying what they and other human genes are doing there.
-
Education
Getting Fire From A Tree Without Burning The Wood
Cottonwood trees can harbor microorganisms that have a special (and flammable) characteristic.
-
NASA Wants To Send Your Name To Mars In 2020
NASA wants you to go to Mars...at least, they want your name to go. As part of a publicity campaign, the public can fill out a form and have a name coded on a microchip to head up in 2020.
-
Technology
If Drones Had 'Claws,' They Might Be Able To Fly For Longer
Small drones have a problem — their battery life runs out relatively quickly. A team of roboticists says it has created special landing gear that can help conserve precious battery life.
-
Science
NASA's InSight Probe May Have Recorded First Sounds Of Marsquake
A NASA probe called InSight is on Mars listening for marsquakes and it seems it has detected the first sounds of a quake, probably.
-
Science
A Math Teacher's Life Summed Up By The Gifted Students He Mentored
A biologist at Harvard was chatting with a colleague about a mentor who pushed him to do harder math problems. It turns out the colleague had the same mentor — and so did many others.
-
Science
Laysan Albatross: An Unexpected Attraction In Hawaii
For more than a decade, Cathy Granholm has been tracking the Laysan albatross. They come down to Hawaii every winter from Alaska to nest and raise their chicks.
-
Technology
NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity Is Officially Declared Dead
NASA's six-wheeled rover landed on the red planet in January 2004 for what was billed as a 90-day mission. The plucky robot was still going until a dust storm on Mars last summer killed it.