Michael D. Lemonick

The Path to Pluto

A NASA space probe is nearing one of the solar's system's final frontiers after a 9-year journey

By Michael D. Lemonick July 9, 2015

Surprising Discovery From Really Old Moon Rocks

Samples from Apollo 17, the final lunar landing, tell a violent tale of the early solar system

By Michael D. Lemonick February 17, 2015

Best-Ever Photo of Dwarf Planet Ceres

An unusual spacecraft closes in on a mysterious world

By Michael D. Lemonick January 27, 2015

Rings Like Saturn's, but Supersized

Think you've seen big rings in our own solar system? Not even close.

By Michael D. Lemonick January 26, 2015

There May Be 'Super Earths' at the Edge of Our Solar System

This discovery, if accurate, could completely redraw the map of the Solar System

By Michael D. Lemonick January 19, 2015

Ka-Boom! 2 Black Holes Get Ready to Collide

A dance of death that's never been seen before is slowly unfolding now

By Michael D. Lemonick January 7, 2015

Cousins of Earth Found Deep in Space

A flock of planets in their suns' habitable zones boost the odds for extraterrestrial life

By Michael D. Lemonick January 6, 2015

This Is How NASA Fixed a Telescope Currently in Orbit

A vital space telescope recovers after an ingenious long-distance fix

By Michael D. Lemonick December 22, 2014

Voyager 1 Surfs a Cosmic Tsunami

Earth's only Interstellar spacecraft is rocked by a storm from the sun

By Michael D. Lemonick December 17, 2014

Odds For Life on Mars Tick Up—a Little

New findings about both methane and water boost the chances for biology

By Michael D. Lemonick December 16, 2014

What Really Killed the Dinosaurs

It wasn't just an asteroid

By Michael D. Lemonick December 11, 2014

You Can Quit Thanking Comets for Your Water

A new finding from the Rosetta spacecraft upsets a longstanding theory

By Michael D. Lemonick December 11, 2014

Here Are 5 Cool Things You Didn't Know About Pluto

Principal New Horizons scientist answers all your burning queries

By Michael D. Lemonick December 8, 2014

Want to Live Forever? These Men Say They Can Help

It’s not always easy to tell whether the new documentary titled The Immortalists is sympathetic to its two primary characters or whether it’s making fun of them. The men in question, Bill Andrews and Aubrey...

By Michael D. Lemonick December 2, 2014

You've Heard of Shooting Stars, but This is Ridiculous

A new theory predicts a new breed of cosmic wanderers

By Michael D. Lemonick November 26, 2014

Watch a Black Hole Get Evicted From a Galaxy

A dramatic study—and an equally dramatic video simulation—reveal a cataclysmic cosmic event

By Michael D. Lemonick November 20, 2014

Strange Visitors From the Edge of the Solar System

A pair of sort-of comets pose a puzzle for astronomers

By Michael D. Lemonick November 18, 2014

Here's Why Jupiter's Great Red Spot Isn't White

NASA says it's likely "a sunburn, not a blush"

By Michael D. Lemonick November 14, 2014

Rogue Stars Are Everywhere You Look

A recent study found that as many as half the stars in the entire universe live outside galaxies

By Michael D. Lemonick November 7, 2014

New Mesmerizing Image of a Young Star

The detail in the image is far greater than anything even the Hubble could achieve

By Michael D. Lemonick November 6, 2014

Explaining Your Thesis Topic the Hard Way

You'll probably never have occasion to explain how tornadoes might disrupt the biological relationships between tree seedlings and soil organisms. But if you do, you almost certainly won't do it by swinging from a trapeze...

By Michael D. Lemonick November 4, 2014

Asteroid in a Bag? Bag it, Says MIT Space Scientist

NASA's next great manned mission has always sounded like something of a fever dream. There may be a better way to do the same work.

By Michael D. Lemonick October 30, 2014

The Science Behind Good Looks

It's a Hollywood stereotype: Men prefer to partner up with feminine-looking women, and women favor masculine men. But even when you allow for same-gender couples and variations in personal preference, plenty of research suggests that...

By Michael D. Lemonick October 24, 2014

What's Cooler Than One Comet? A Storm of Them

A stunning sighting around a nearby star offers a glimpse of our own solar system billions of years ago

By Michael D. Lemonick October 22, 2014

Ice Spotted on Mercury—Yes, We Know It Sounds Nuts

"This is making a lot of people happy"

By Michael D. Lemonick October 20, 2014

When You've Been To Pluto, What Do You Do for an Encore?

Just because you've reached the edge of the solar system doesn't mean you've run out of worlds to visit. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is set to make that point

By Michael D. Lemonick October 16, 2014

Meet the Lumbering, Quarter-Ton, Extinct Kangaroo

Sometimes the most fascinating animals are the ones that are no longer with us. The oddly named sthenurine is no exception.

By Michael D. Lemonick October 15, 2014

I'm Beautiful, But Hire Me Anyway

Employers often discriminate against attractive women. Here's why—and what the women themselves can do about it

By Michael D. Lemonick October 10, 2014

Steven Pinker's Ultimate Writing Guide

You wouldn't ordinarily take literary advice from a neuroscientist—but Pinker's new book will make you think otherwise

By Michael D. Lemonick October 8, 2014

What's That Thing on Saturn's Biggest Moon?

Something strange is happening on the cloud-shrouded world known as Titan—and a NASA orbiter is trying to figure it out

By Michael D. Lemonick September 30, 2014

Meet the Fish That Can't Get Jet-Lagged

There's a reason you get sleepy at night: because it's dark out. Now a little blind fish helps explain all that

By Michael D. Lemonick September 26, 2014

The People Have Voted: Pluto is a Planet!

A populist uprising restores a space favorite to the planetary ranks. Will the astronomers listen?

By Michael D. Lemonick September 26, 2014

Meet the Dinosaur With the Biggest Nose

"This dinosaur has a huge nose"

By Michael D. Lemonick September 22, 2014

Scientists Solve One Wacky Moon Mystery

We already knew Miranda, one of Uranus' five major moons, has "one of the strangest and most varied landscapes among extraterrestrial bodies." Now, we (probably) know why

By Michael D. Lemonick September 21, 2014

Chin-Powered Energy Is Now Possible, Say Scientists

Can't you just see the infomercial? "Darn it, that hearing-aid battery went out again!" "Never happens to me, Fred. Because I have this." (Pulls out strap, buckles around top of head and under chin. Pops...

By Michael D. Lemonick September 16, 2014

The Biggest, Baddest Dinosaur Ever Has Been Discovered

Most of North Africa is no more than a sun-scorched desert today, but 95 million years ago the landscape was crisscrossed by rivers, dotted with marshes and populated with all sorts of reptilian monsters. The...

By Michael D. Lemonick September 11, 2014

The Remarkable, Movable Whale Penis: It's Just Science, People

A new study of cetacean pelvic bones reveals how pleasing the ladies gave some male ocean mammals a reproductive edge

By Michael D. Lemonick September 9, 2014

Jupiter's Moon Europa Just Got Even Cooler

There is no moon in the solar system like Jupiter's Europa, with an icy surface and a salty sea that may harbor life. Now, it appears that the moon has plate tectonics too—just like Earth

By Michael D. Lemonick September 7, 2014

The Lost Hobbits of the Eastern Arctic

Scientists never understood what became of the Paleo-Eskimos who once peopled the north. Now they know—and there's new reason to miss them

By Michael D. Lemonick August 28, 2014

What Bronze Age Wine Snobs Drank

There were some fine vintages 3,000 years ago, and a new study reveals how ancient mixologists made them finer still

By Michael D. Lemonick August 27, 2014

Evidence of Absolutely Enormous Dead Stars Discovered

Astronomers have a pretty good idea about what the first stars in the universe must have looked like. Theorists say they should have been gigantic, weighing in at anywhere from 20 times the mass of...

By Michael D. Lemonick August 22, 2014

Women Spend More Time Caring for Aging Parents

It's nearly half a century since men were shocked—shocked!—to learn that women weren't entirely satisfied with being second-class citizens. Much has changed since that time, in politics, business, sports and other realms, but not necessarily...

By Michael D. Lemonick August 22, 2014

Humans and Neanderthals Were Actually Neighbors

Paleontologists know plenty about our nearest human cousins, the Neanderthals. They know that this highly successful species walked the Earth for some 300,000 years (we've been around for less than 200,000). They know the Neanderthals...

By Michael D. Lemonick August 20, 2014

Black Holes Now Come in Medium Size, Study Finds

Scientists may have identified an intermediate-sized black hole for the very first time

By Michael D. Lemonick August 17, 2014

Cosmic First: Spacecraft Orbits Comet—With Plans to Land

Watching comets from a distance is one thing. Riding along with one for more than a year—not to mention landing on it—is something else entirely

By Michael D. Lemonick August 8, 2014

This Moon's Volcanoes Spew 'Lava Fountains'

Jupiter's moon Io is more volcanically active than once thought

By Michael D. Lemonick August 7, 2014

California Catastrophes: Why is the Golden State Always a Mess?

First it's droughts, then wildfires, then mudslides. But despite how it seems, the coast isn't really cursed

By Michael D. Lemonick August 5, 2014

Want to See a Live Dinosaur? Set Up a Bird Feeder

An exciting new study lays out in detail how our fine feathered friends evolved from the same ancestors as the T. Rex and velociraptors over the course of millions of years, and how they managed to avoid the same doomed fate as their dinosaur cousins

By Michael D. Lemonick July 31, 2014

NASA Discovers 101 Active Geysers On Saturn Moon

It wasn't long ago that scientists had given up on finding life in the Solar System. Venus and Mercury are too hot, Mars too dry, and everything else way too cold. But thanks to a...

By Michael D. Lemonick July 30, 2014