High-altitude balloons are under fire. In February, the US military shot down a Chinese spy balloon and a "unidentified aerial phenomenon" that was presumably a hobbyist balloon. In early May, another enormous balloon was spotted in the southern hemisphere, raising concerns it was a surveillance device. Instead, balloon-borne telescopes that view deep into space from the stratosphere are the future of astronomy. “We’re looking up, not down,” explains Princeton University physics professor William Jones, director of NASA’s Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) team. The roughly 10-foot-tall telescope, launched from Wānaka, New Zealand, on April 15, has circled the southern hemisphere four times on a football stadium-sized polyethylene balloon. Its three cameras capt...

According to a database of author connections, China contributed the most research articles to prominent science publications last year, surpassing the US. According to preliminary statistics given by Nature in a news story, China also overtook the US in Earth and environmental sciences in 2022, although it still behind in life sciences.The Nature Index measures contributions to 82 journals in chemistry, Earth and environmental sciences, biological sciences, and physical sciences. Cell, Nature, Science, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences are among its top peer-reviewed periodicals. Next month will get the whole 2022 dataset. Nature Index data shows that in 2022, nation overtook US. Since 2014, China has contributed more to the index, according to Nature. I...

Last week, astronomers anticipated a "da Vinci glow" around the May 19 new moon. Science for All examines what it is and why it is called after Renaissance artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci this week. Sunset brings the da Vinci light. When a crescent moon is on the horizon, the silhouette of the full moon can be seen shortly after the sun sets in a partially black sky. Earthshine is the glow from light reflected from the earth, not the sun. Earthshine makes moonlight 50 times brighter than full-moon light on Earth, according to NASA. NASA says the da Vinci light is visible on crescent moon days with clear sky. Earthshine is sunlight reflected by the earth and then by the moon before reaching our sight. Since it is reflected twice, it glows faintly. DaVinci shine. L...