Culture
Cold War science looks different in a correspondence folder
Historian Anna Doel's new Library of Congress account follows the letters, visits and missing photographs behind scientific exchange.
October 20, 2026 · 2 min readTHE AMERICAN EDIT
Science
The latest reporting, guides and features on Science.
The Edit
Separate marker colors with ACS's coffee-filter experiment
Coffee filters, washable markers and a little water are enough for ACS's beginner chromatography activity. Compare the colors that spread from each dot.
October 19, 2026 · 3 min read
Culture
A 3D comet image brings Rosetta's old observations back into view
NASA's October 17 feature explained a stereo view of comet 67P. The source images were taken in 2015, before Rosetta's mission ended.
October 17, 2026 · 3 min read
The Edit
Free Junior Paleontologist booklets for National Fossil Day
The National Park Service's downloadable activities give children a way into fossils without making a purchase or promising a souvenir from a park.
October 14, 2026 · 4 min read
Technology
How IceCube turns Antarctic ice into a neutrino observatory
NASA's October 11 feature revisited the installation of a detector string. The surrounding ice acts as part of the instrument.
October 11, 2026 · 4 min read
Culture
The Moon's far side is not its permanently dark side
NASA's October 10 image feature showed a hemisphere Earthbound observers cannot normally see. Its rough surface also makes an immediate comparison with the near side possible.
October 10, 2026 · 4 min read
The Edit
Make a NASA straw rocket for World Space Week
JPL supplies a printable template for a paper rocket launched with a drinking straw. Build it, measure the flight and change one feature at a time.
October 5, 2026 · 4 min read
Life
The extra bands inside a New Jersey rainbow
NASA's October 4 feature used an older Jersey Shore photograph to explain supernumerary rainbows. The narrow bands come from light interference.
October 4, 2026 · 2 min read
Culture
The missing camera arm in Curiosity's Mars selfie
NASA's October 3 picture feature revisited a 2018 panorama. The photograph's construction explains why the rover seems to have taken it without a photographer.
October 3, 2026 · 3 min read
News
Arctic sea ice likely reaches 4.60 million-square-kilometer minimum; Antarctic maximum provisional
NSIDC reported a preliminary Arctic minimum of 4.60 million square kilometers and a likely Antarctic maximum of 17.59 million square kilometers.
September 23, 2026 · 2 min read
Life
A first Moon-observing session starts with the map you can use
NASA's September 19 event came with hemisphere-specific maps and observing suggestions for eyes, binoculars or a telescope.
September 19, 2026 · 4 min read
Culture
Pluto's bright colors explain something a natural-looking image can hide
NASA revisited an enhanced-color New Horizons image on September 6. Its colors help separate terrain with different compositions.
September 6, 2026 · 3 min read