SCIENCE

CLEVELAND — A powerful sonic boom that shook homes, rattled windows and startled residents across Northeast Ohio on Tuesday morning was almost certainly caused by a meteor entering Earth's atmosphere, the National Weather Service in Cleveland confirmed.

As spring severe weather season ramps up across the United States, the National Weather Service continues to emphasize the critical distinction between a **tornado watch** and a **tornado warning** — two alerts that often cause confusion but carry vastly different implications for public safety.

NASA is aiming for an April 1 liftoff of the Artemis II mission, setting the stage for the first crewed voyage around the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. Agency officials announced the target date following a successful Flight Readiness Review on March 12, 2026, declaring the program "on track" for the historic 10-day test flight.

A massive adult female Kemp's ridley sea turtle, one of the world's rarest and most endangered species, washed ashore in critical condition near Galveston on March 7, 2026

Our sun, born 4.6 billion years ago near the crowded, chaotic heart of the Milky Way, did not make its journey to the galaxy's calmer outer suburbs alone.

A defunct NASA satellite launched nearly 14 years ago is set to make an uncontrolled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, with most of the spacecraft expected to burn up during the fiery descent but some debris potentially reaching the surface.

A burst of seismic activity shook northwest Louisiana early Monday when four earthquakes struck within a 10-minute window near the small village of Edgefield, intensifying concerns in a region that has seen unusual tremors in recent weeks.

Believe it or not, Australians are the bright minds behind the likes of Google Maps, polymer bank notes, and the electric drill.

A predawn SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch illuminated Florida's skies with a mesmerizing "jellyfish" contrail Wednesday, captivating residents from the Space Coast to north Florida and beyond as the exhaust plume caught early sunlight high in the atmosphere.

Skywatchers worldwide witnessed a dramatic total lunar eclipse early on March 3, 2026, as Earth's shadow fully enveloped the full Worm Moon, transforming it into a striking copper-red "blood moon" for nearly an hour during totality.

Skywatchers across much of the world prepared for a striking celestial event early Tuesday, March 3, 2026: a total lunar eclipse that turned the full Worm Moon a dramatic copper-red hue, often called a "blood moon." This was the only total lunar eclipse visible anywhere in 2026, marking the third in a near-tetrad sequence and the last until late 2028.

Stargazers across much of the world, including South Korea, have a prime opportunity tonight, March 1, 2026, to witness a striking "planetary parade" as six planets — Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — appear to align in a gentle arc across the evening sky shortly after sunset.

Skywatchers across the United States will have a prime opportunity to witness a striking total lunar eclipse — commonly known as a "blood moon" — in the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 3, 2026, as Earth's shadow fully engulfs the full moon, bathing it in a coppery red hue.

A spectacular high-pressure water eruption at SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas has captured widespread attention online, with videos of the massive "water blast" racking up millions of views as the company prepares for its 12th Starship test flight.

A senior NASA planetary defense official warned that humanity remains vulnerable to thousands of undetected near-Earth asteroids capable of devastating entire cities, emphasizing that current detection efforts have cataloged only about 40% of potentially hazardous objects in the 140-meter (460-foot) size range and that no ready-to-deploy deflection system exists for an imminent threat.

Bonobos, humanity's playful and peace-loving closest living relatives, are capable of genuine pretend play — the first time this sophisticated cognitive behavior has been reliably documented in a non-human great ape species outside of humans and, to a lesser degree, orangutans.

Australian scientists have unveiled a theoretical breakthrough that could dramatically accelerate the development of practical quantum computers, proposing the use of tiny "quantum batteries" to power the systems and potentially quadruple the number of qubits packed into the same physical space.

Sydney-based Space Machines Company has been awarded a A$2.9 million contract by Australia's Department of Defence to develop an advanced artificial intelligence-driven system aimed at detecting and responding to threats against satellites in Earth's orbit, bolstering national and allied space security in an increasingly crowded and contested domain.

Brazil is betting its much-hyped climate summit in the Amazon next month can deliver something increasingly rare in a fractured world: proof that nations can still unite to confront a global crisis.

Brazil is betting its much-hyped climate summit in the Amazon next month can deliver something increasingly rare in a fractured world: proof that nations can still unite to confront a global crisis.

Climate cooperation is facing a reckoning. With climate change already causing dangerous extremes across the planet, a United Nations-led system based on consensus and pledges faces tough questions.

"Red John" is an old acquaintance of landowners and ranchers in the Brazilian Amazon.

Three scientists won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry Wednesday for developing a method of designing molecular structures whose multiple uses include tackling climate change by capturing carbon dioxide and harvesting water from desert air.

Protesters around the world Thursday railed at Israel's interception of a flotilla carrying aid for Gaza's besieged Palestinians, urging greater sanctions in response.

Israel said on Thursday it will deport pro-Palestinian activists on an aid flotilla intercepted at sea as they headed towards Gaza, adding that none of the vessels had successfully breached its maritime blockade.

Efforts to swiftly end the US government shutdown collapsed Wednesday as Democrats in Congress went home without resolving a funding stand-off with President Donald Trump and the White House threatened public sector jobs.

Israel said on Thursday it will deport to Europe pro-Palestinian activists on an aid flotilla headed towards Gaza as the Israeli navy intercepted vessel after vessel in the Mediterranean.

Inner Mongolian herder Dorj looked bitterly at the vast grasslands where his flock once grazed freely, before the practice was banned as part of a massive Chinese state greening project.

British primatologist Jane Goodall imitated chimpanzees, sat with them in trees and shared their bananas during her trail-blazing research in Tanzania into the apes' true nature.