Without the Moon, Human Society Might Not Exist
The moon helps us keep time, inspires religions and shapes science, yet it still keeps secrets from us.
Stories by Clara Moskowitz
Clara Moskowitz is a senior editor at Scientific American, where she covers astronomy, space, physics and mathematics. She has been at Scientific American for a decade; previously she worked at Space.com. Moskowitz has reported live from rocket launches, space shuttle liftoffs and landings, suborbital spaceflight training, mountaintop observatories and more. She has a bachelor's degree in astronomy and physics from Wesleyan University and a graduate degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
See Your Body’s Cells in Size and Number
The larger a cell type is, the rarer it is in the body—and vice versa—a new study shows
Can We Even Have Babies in Space? Why We’re Not Ready for Life Off-Planet
Reproducing in space is just one of many reasons we should delay settlements beyond Earth
See How Humans around the World Spend the 24 Hours in a Day
A new study calculated the average “global human day,” revealing which activities take up most of our time
The Most Surprising Discoveries in Physics
Experts weigh in on the most shocking, paradigm-shifting and delightful findings in the history of physics
Pebbles from an Asteroid Are about to Be Delivered to Earth, and It’s Totally Awesome
The OSIRIS-REx mission will return samples from the asteroid Bennu that could rewrite our solar system’s history
The Weirdest Particles in the Universe
Neutrinos are bizarre and ubiquitous and may just break the rules of physics
Scientists Solve Star Spin Mystery
Magnetic fields help to explain why some stars are spinning more slowly than astronomers thought they should
Is Time Travel Even Possible?
Two SciAm editors duke it out to see if wormholes and multiverses could in fact exist.
Dog Genetics Reveal Surprising Relationships among Breeds
When it comes to dog traits, genetics-based lineages are more telling than human-made categories
Citizen Science Art Showcases Jupiter’s Beauty
Jupiter shines in images made by citizen scientists using data from NASA’s Juno probe
A Mission to Jupiter’s Strange Moons Is Finally on Its Way
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) and Europa Clipper missions will search for signs of habitability on three of Jupiter’s potentially ocean-bearing moons.
The Science of Melting Chocolate
Researchers used an artificial tongue to understand how chocolate changes from a solid to a smooth emulsion
Cosmos, Quickly: Remembering the Genius of Vera Rubin
Vera Rubin went from a teenager with a cardboard telescope to the “mother of dark matter.” Some of her colleagues and mentees weigh in on her fascinating life and how she was a champion for women in astronomy.
Space Force Humor, Laser Dazzlers, and the Havoc a War in Space Would Actually Wreak
In the inaugural episode of Cosmos, Quickly, we blast off with Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno of the Space Force, who is charged with protecting our space in space, particularly from Russia and China.
The Science of Spring’s Green Show
Spring’s burst of brightness comes before chloroplasts grow and mature
Tiny Bubbles of Primordial Soup Re-create Early Universe
New experiments can re-create the young cosmos, when it was a mash of fundamental particles, more precisely than ever before
This Particle Accelerator Makes a Substance That Has Not Existed in 13 Billion Years
By using one of the most complicated and powerful machines on the planet, scientists have found a way to glimpse back to the very beginning of time itself.
How Do We Find Aliens? Maybe Unlearn What We Know About ‘Life’ First
Science might be redefining what “life out there” really means.
All the Gold in the Universe Was (Likely) Created This Way
For a long time, no one knew how “heavy metals” formed—or showed up on Earth. Now some new evidence finally points the way to an answer.
6 Marvelous Math Stories from 2022
Math made a splash this year. Here’s a look at the fascinating discoveries, mind-bending quests and important events in mathematics in 2022
The Best of JWST’s Cosmic Portraits
These new views of familiar space sights reveal details never before seen
Milky Way Census Shows Stars Take Varied Paths
The Gaia satellite is making the most detailed and complete map of the stars in our galaxy
How JWST Is Changing Our View of the Universe
The James Webb Space Telescope has sparked a new era in astronomy