Science

Ozone layer

Ozone layer, also called ozonosphere, region of the upper atmosphere, between roughly 15 and 35 km (9 and 22 miles) above Earth’s surface, containing relatively high concentrations of ozone molecules (O3). Approximately 90 percent of the atmosphere’s ozone occurs in the stratosphere, the region extending from 10–18 km (6–11 miles) to approximately 50 km (about …

Rigel

Orion is the most-easily recognized constellation in the sky, which is no doubt due to its distinctive configuration, and the fact its constituent stars are very luminous. In fact, it includes two of the brightest stars in the entire sky, including Rigel, a magnificent bluish-white supergiant located 772.9 light years distant, and with an apparent …

Sirius

The brightest star visible from any part of Earth is Sirius in the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. Sirius is sometimes called the Dog Star. Most people in the Northern Hemisphere notice Sirius in the southeast – south – or southwest on evenings from winter to mid-spring. February evenings are a grand time to …

Halley’s Comet

Halley’s Comet, also known as 1P/Halley, is the most well known comet in the Solar System. As a periodic (or short-term comet) it has orbital period that is less than 200 years, and has therefore been observed more than once by people here on Earth over the centuries. It’s appearance in the skies above Earth …

Warm holes

A wormhole; a magical gateway that connects two points in space and time with one another. Just align the chevrons to dial in your destination, wait for the stargate to stabilize and then just walk… walk! to your destination half a galaxy away. Yeah, that would be really nice. Someone should really get around to …

Time travel

Is it real, or is it fable? In H.G. Wells’ novel, The Time Machine, our protagonist jumped into a special chair with blinking lights, spun a few dials, and found himself catapulted several hundred thousand years into the future, where England has long disappeared and is now inhabited by strange creatures called the Morlocks and …