Tagged: universe

Four ways to understand the Earth’s age

The Earth is 4.6 billion years old — but how can humans relate to a number so colossal, and where do we fit on the geologic timeline? Comparing the Earth’s lifetime to one calendar year, events like the extinction of dinosaurs and Columbus setting sail took place relatively recently. Joshua M. Sneideman reminds us of our time and place in the universe.

Gravity and the human body

Our bodies function necessarily under the presence of gravity; how blood pumps, a sense of balance and bone growth are all due to life in a world where gravity is an inescapable reality. Armed with experiments from neuroscientists David Hubel and Torten Wiesel, astronaut Jay Buckey presents a thought experiment: How would our bodies work without the force of gravity?

The Soviet Lunokhod Rovers

Although the United States roved the Moon first on manned missions, the Soviet Union was the first nation to robotically rove around the lunar surface with the twin Lunokhod rovers in the early 1970s.