
Blasts from the past: how massive solar eruptions 'probably' detonated dozens of US sea mines
Nov 08, 2018 16:33 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science
An extraordinary account of the impact space weather had on military operations in Vietnam in 1972 was found buried in the US Navy archives, according to a newly published article in Space Weather. On August 4, 1972,...

Dramatic galaxy collision filled the Milky Way with stars, astronomers discover
Nov 04, 2018 14:30 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science
Imagine trying to map out your home town using only information you could gather from your window. Even with a pair of binoculars youd find it a difficult task. Mapping out our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is a similarly...
How thoughtful, content-rich tutorials can help science students learn
Nov 04, 2018 13:14 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science
Learning is not a spectator sport. Students need to make what they learn a part of their everyday lives. Tutorials are an excellent way to achieve this at university level. When theyre properly designed, tutorials can be...

Curious Kids: If a star explodes, will it destroy Earth?
Oct 31, 2018 13:07 pm UTC| Science
This is an article from Curious Kids, a series for children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions theyd like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome: find out how to enter at the bottom. You might...

Explainer: what any country can and can't do in Antarctica, in the name of science
Oct 31, 2018 13:01 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science
Antarctica is owned by no one, but there are plenty of countries interested in this frozen island continent at the bottom of the Earth. While there are some regulations on who can do what there, scientific research has...

We've spotted signs of collisions that may finally help us prove that supermassive black holes exist
Oct 29, 2018 19:58 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science
Observations of nature tend to throw up unexpected results and new mysteries whether youre investigating the rain forest or outer space. When radio astronomy took off in the 1950s, we had no idea that it would lead to the...
How to read and learn from scientific literature, even if you're not an expert
Oct 29, 2018 19:57 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science
Reading scientific literature is not for the faint-hearted. Its dense, and very often full of foreign terms and ideas. It also assumes a basic understanding of the discipline in question. I cant imagine that many people...