Earth
Explainer: Our atmosphere — layer by layer
Earth’s five layers extend from the ground up and into outer space. Each has its own distinct features and serves as the site of different activities and phenomena.
Featured Articles in this Issue
-
Cover Story
Space trash could kill satellites, space stations — and astronauts
As private companies prepare to sprinkle space with tens of thousands of satellites, experts worry about the mushrooming threat of space junk.
Explainer
Technically Fiction
Tech
Can we build Baymax?
Baymax may be science fiction, but soft robotics is not. Experts break down Baymax’s parts and show what’s coming in the future.
Features
-
Space trash could kill satellites, space stations — and astronauts
As private companies prepare to sprinkle space with tens of thousands of satellites, experts worry about the mushrooming threat of space junk.
-
American democracy arrived long before Columbus did
Indigenous peoples of the Americas developed self-rule long before the pilgrims arrived or the U.S. Constitution was written.
More Stories from the March 1, 2023 issue
- Animals
The top side of an elephant’s trunk is surprisingly stretchy
Research on elephant trunks could inspire new artificial skins for soft robots.
- Tech
This leaping robot can out-jump anything — animal or machine
Such a bounding bot might someday help explore the moon.
- Humans
Eight billion people now live on Earth — a new record
The global population hit this milestone on November 15, according to an estimate from the United Nations.
- Genetics
For some kids, their rock-star hair comes naturally
A variant of a gene involved in hair-shaft formation was linked to most of the uncombable-hair-syndrome cases analyzed in a recent study.
- Space
Jets may have sculpted rings of Cat’s Eye nebula
The Cat’s Eye nebula is one of the most complex of its kind. A 3-D model now reveals the source of that complexity.
- Physics
Does the size of a parachute matter?
How does a parachute work? Do bigger parachutes work better than smaller parachutes? Find out in this science project whether the size of the parachute matters.
- Animals
How boa constrictors squeeze their prey without strangling themselves
Tracking boas’ ribs in X-ray videos revealed the snakes’ squeezing secrets. It’s the latest Wild Things cartoon from Science News Explores.
- Materials Science
These fabrics change color as they stretch
Stretchy, color-shifting cloth may lead to new art, fashions and sensors. A century-old Nobel-prize-winning invention served as its inspiration.
